All pupils in Good Counsel College enjoy the benefits of Physical Education, with each class having a double period every week for P.E. and each year group having a further double period each week for games.
During the course of the year, pupils experience a wide range of activities, from all the major field games to Volleyball, Basketball, Circuit Training, Orienteering and Athletics. Emphasis is also placed on Health Education and Hygiene.
The building of the Fr. John Cosgrave,OSA, Sports Centre means that there are ample indoor facilities for PE classes to be unaffected by bad weather. A multi-purpose hall, weights room and handball / squash alley are available and additional showers and changing facilities complete the state of the art sports centre which was officially opened in Sept. ’94. The P.E. and sports facilities have since been further enhanced with the opening of 4 fully floodlit astro turf pitches in 2008.
Good Counsel College enters teams in all Leinster and County hurling and football championships and has enjoyed considerable success in recent years. The college’s most significant victory was achieved in 1999 when the Senior Football team brought the prestigious and much coveted Hogan Cup to the county for the first time ever and, in doing so, were the first Leinster side to win the All-Ireland for 13 years. The school narrowly failed to add the colleges hurling title in 2009 when narrowly losing out to Thurles CBS in a pulsating final.
In the past 15 years Good Counsel College has amassed a total of 26 Leinster titles in hurling and football, being the only school in almost 50 years to win both Senior football and hurling titles in the same year.
Beside Gaelic games the college is also represented in many other sports such as golf, badminton and basketball and has in recent years won All-Ireland honours in athletics, showjumping, hunter trials, handball and swimming as well as provincial honours in Rugby.
In order to broaden the range of the Physical Education Department, use is also made of many local facilities such as the Shielbaggan Outdoor Pursuits centre, the Kennedy Memorial Swimming Pool, New Ross Golf Club and local Equestrian Centres. Ski trips abroad are also organised by the school.
By providing such variety and by encouraging all to participate, it is hoped that each student will develop a healthy interest in at least one sport which will lead to further interest and involvement in that sport after he has left the school. While great efforts are made in the area of extra curricular activities to bring success to the school, this is a secondary consideration to the provision of a comprehensive Physical Education programme to all our students. Good Counsel College supports and promotes ‘Sport for All’.
