The Boys 2013 panel that will take on Cork United in the SFAI Cup final at Evergreen on Saturday (from left) is: back - Oran Fagan, Ben Doyle, James McDonnell, Kayden Dempsey, Fionn Harte, Shane Woods, Tite Williams; middle - Charlie Leonard, Oran O’Reilly, Bobby Keogh, Sonny Tiernan, Bobby Geddes, Brooklyn Gavin, Max Kierans; front - Harry Smyth, Harry McKeag, Jamie Cleary, Ryan O’Toole, Cian Farrelly, Rian Quinn, Dylan Noone, Charlie Cashin.

Academy aiming to go where no NERL team has gone before

SOCCER

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The Boys 2013 panel that will take on Cork United in the SFAI Cup final at Evergreen on Saturday (from left) is: back - Oran Fagan, Ben Doyle, James McDonnell, Kayden Dempsey, Fionn Harte, Shane Woods, Tite Williams; middle - Charlie Leonard, Oran O’Reilly, Bobby Keogh, Sonny Tiernan, Bobby Geddes, Brooklyn Gavin, Max Kierans; front - Harry Smyth, Harry McKeag, Jamie Cleary, Ryan O’Toole, Cian Farrelly, Rian Quinn, Dylan Noone, Charlie Cashin.

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The Girls 2012 panel that will take on Evergreen FC in the SFAI Cup final at Evergreen on Sunday (from left) is: back - Lauren McGuinness, Lily Ward, Daniele Marozaite, Hannah Byrne, Ava Hickey, Lily Mai Hickey, Angie Nicol, Helen Foley; middle - Lucy Doyle, Bellarose Callaghan, Lauren Rafter, Ellen Howley, Janine Nicol, Bonnie Ryan, Kayla Coyne, Lucy Donnelly; front - Eabha McDermott, Pia Clarke, Gabriela Adamczyk, Lilly Carville, Áine McConnell, Ellie Mullen, Emily Donnelly, Zara Chambers. (Robin Healy missing from photo)

Fergal Lynch

Published: Tue 13 May 2025, 4:12 PM

This weekend marks a historic moment for the NERL Schoolboys/Girls League as the 2012 Girls and 2013 Boys squads prepare to contest the SFAI Cup All-Ireland finals.

Representing clubs from Meath, Louth, Westmeath and Cavan, this is only the second and third time in the league’s history that teams have reached this stage with the chance to be crowned All-Ireland champions.

The league’s only previous final appearance came two years ago when the NERL Academy 2010 Girls faced Cork, ultimately losing 1-4.

The 2013 Boys have already made history by becoming the first-ever boys' team from the NERL League to reach an All-Ireland final.

Topping their group with victories over Wicklow and Longford and a draw against Midlands, they advanced to the quarter-finals, where they faced Limerick. After falling 0-2 behind at half-time, the boys staged a remarkable comeback to level the match and secured a thrilling 3-2 win in extra time.

Their semi-final assignment was a tough away tie against Wexford, a stage where no NERL boys' side had ever previously progressed. However, the boys delivered a superb performance to claim a 2-0 win and book their place in the historic final against Cork united in Evergreen FC Kilkenny on Saturday at 3pm.

The journey for the 2012 Girls began on 1st December with a hard-fought 1-0 away win over a strong Midlands side.

They followed this with a commanding 4-0 home victory against Louth and a 5-1 triumph over Longford, topping their group with maximum points.

In the quarter-final, the girls travelled to Mayo and produced a resilient performance to claim a 3-1 win, setting up a semi-final against Sligo-Leitrim.

In a tense battle, the NERL Academy took an early lead before Sligo-Leitrim levelled just after half-time.

With extra time looming, Ava Hickey struck a dramatic late winner to send the Girls into the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny at Evergreen FC on Sunday at 4.45pm — becoming just the second team in NERL history to do so.

Both teams now stand on the brink of history, aiming to go where no NERL Academy side has gone before and bring All-Ireland glory back to their league.