Ashley’s sweet spell of success!
TWELVE-YEAR- OLD Ashley Bolton from Ballinamona, Ballycanew, is buzzing after she was crowned the winner of the Eason All Ireland Spelling Bee.
Ashley, a sixth class student at Bunscoil Loreto, Gorey, fought off stiff competition from three other young spelling enthusiasts to take this year’s title with the winning word, ‘Ravioli’.
The final in Croke Park, which saw Ashley triumph over contestants from Ulster, Connacht and Munster, was broadcast live on the Dermot and Dave Show on Today FM so all Ashley’s classmates in Bunscoil Loreto could listen in.
Ashley says she was thrilled with the win and can’t wait to delve into the hamper of books with her classmates. A real bookworm, she says her favourite books are the Harry Potter series.
The eldest child of Darragh and Antoinette Bolton, Ashley will be starting in Gorey Community School in September and hopes to take up basketball and Gaelic football there.
Mum Antoinette says Ashley, who has one younger brother Dylan, has always been an avid reader.
‘I suppose her love of spelling comes from her love of reading. She has been reading from a very young age and is constantly reading,’ said Antoinette.
‘She did fantastically well and we are absolutely delighted with her. She’s chuffed to bits herself. It was a great win.’
Antoinette says when Ashley returned to Gorey there was a fantastic reception for her at Bunscoil Loreto.
‘When we got off the bus the whole school was out to meet her and it really finished off the day for her.’
Antoinette said that both she and husband Darragh are very proud of their eldest child.
‘It was brilliant. It was some achievement for someone of her age. It was a tough competition and she was very nervous for the final especially as it was broadcast live on radio. It was a very nerve racking experience for her and for us!
‘I was a ball of nerves, on the edge of my seat.’
Antoinette said despite the nerves the entire experience had been very special.
‘We were put up in the Croke Park Hotel the night before the competition so that we weren’t rushed or anything.’
She says Ashley put a lot of effort into her preparations for the final.
‘She did prepare well for it. She’s a hard worker in general and she also took out the spelling bee dictionary from the Leinster Final and was going over that. We have been asking her spellings driving her to school and various places and at school the students and teachers were really supportive too, asking her to spell various words.
‘A lot of it (her talent) comes from her love of reading.’
Ashley had to spell six words in total during the live final, including ‘ tablature’, ‘ravioli’ and ‘parameter’.
Along with winning the prestigious title of the 2017 Eason Spelling Bee champion, Ashley receives a goodie package full of books worth €500. Her school will also receive a mountain of books for their library, to the value of €7,500.
Antoinette said that Ashley is already planning a trip to Eason’s to stock up on her book collection with her winnings and has cleared out her book shelves in anticipation.
Speaking after the final, Today FM’s Dave Moore said: ‘Some of the words were really challenging but the students were well prepared.
‘It’s great to be part of this competition and to see the talent among these finalists was outstanding. Congrats to Ashley on taking the title.’