Young Whislters - Craggagh National School Co Mayo

The summer of 2011 saw the children of Craggagh take to the fields of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championships in the half-time Cumann na mBunscol Exhibition Games.

5th and 6th classes were amongst the first in the country to undergo training as "Young Whistlers" in preparation for this.

Mayo v Galway - June 26th, 2011 (Pictures at bottom of page)
On June 26th, Riada, Aoife, Patrick, Keith, Seán and Liam officiated between Mayo and Galway. The children formed part of the Guard of Honour for the senior players as they took to the field, and as well as the likes of Andy Moran and Alan Dillon, the children also shared the field with An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny and European Boxing Champion, Ray Motlette.

Mayo v Roscommon - July 17th, 2011 (Pictures left)
Seán and Dylan then braved the near monsoon conditions of the Connacht Final on July 17th, to man the whistles between Mayo and their rivals Roscommon. They also formed the pre-match Guard of Honour before completing their duties at half-time in front of a capacity crowd in Dr Hyde Park.

Mayo v Kerry, August 21st, 2011 (Pictures right)
On August 21st, Katie and Luke then had the honour of beginning their refereeing careers on the most hallowed turf in GAA, Croke Park. During the All-Ireland Semi-Final between Mayo and Kerry, and in front of more than 50,000 people and a television audience of over half a million viewers the two Craggagh children led the pre-match "Give Respect, Get Respect" display and Guard of Honour before patrolling the field during the half time exhibition games.