TV quiz champs the toast of St. Peter’s

June 1995

Students at St. Peter’s College ended their school year on a high last Friday when their all-Ireland winning ‘Blackboard Jungle’ team was presented with a mini bus for the school.

Tom Wall of Ardcavan, Joe Bierney of Crossabeg and David O’Connell of Piercestown were the three quiz team members who beat a total of 96 teams from all over the country to win the coveted first prize on the popular TV quiz show for schools.

The team actually won the prize last February, however their win was not screened on Network 2 until last Friday night. The boys beat St. Muiredeach’s of Ballina, County Mayo, by seven points in the final.

On Friday they were the toast of their school, when RTE presenter Ray D’Arcy and a host of representatives from Frontier Films arrived at the school to present a mini bus, with a decorative Blackboard Jungle logo at the side, to the school.

Speaking at the presentation, the vice president of the college, Fr John O’Brien, said that this was ‘a very proud and happy day’ for the school.

‘Here in St. Peter’s, we have lots of All-Irelands won in different areas, and this is another feather in our cap,’ he said.

He also noted that two of the boys, Tom Wall and Joe Bierney, are sitting their Leaving Cert this year and so may not be back to the school, but he assured them that they would long be remembered through their achievement.

Congratulations were also extended to Tom Bolger, who coached the boys during the competition.

The day also saw the winning team members make a presentation to Ray D’Arcy of RTE, in recognition of his friendliness and support throughout the TV competition.