First prizegiving in new school
PRINCIPAL Con McGinley welcomed all to the first prizegiving ceremony in the new St Mary’s College before the end of the school year.
The successes of students in all aspect of College life were acknowledged and rewarded on the night. This year the guest speaker was past pupil Sean Duffy Medieval History Professor at Trinity College, Dublin.
During a very entertaining speech the Professor reminisced with great fondness on his days in the Marist and drew a connection between his time there, 1970’s Ireland and World events. He highlighted the difficulties of that era in Irish life mentioning the oil crisis, widespread unemployment and political unrest between the great powers on the world stage.
He reflected on the wonderful new building and the superb facilities that Marist students now enjoy. He concluded by encouraging the students to avail of a third level education and to see it as a stepping stone towards finding their true passion.
He reflected on how his former History teacher in the Marist, Mr Cecil Hughes had awakened a lifelong love of history. Having found something that he truly loves he observed that he would be happy to work for enjoyment rather than monetary gain.
He wished the current student body in St. Mary’s College the same good fortune. With these aspirations in the minds of all present the awards ceremony began.
Among the award winners for their successes in sport this year was Sky Sports Republic of Ireland Student of the Year, Patrick Fu, Republic of Ireland soccer players, Jade Reddy and Lynn Craven, Conor Nicholson, Craig Callan and Athlete, Jonathan Rice.
The student council were acknowledged for their contribution to the school community as was 6th Year student Leigh Copas, the recipient of the MEA Marist Education Authority Award. The Pearse Lyons Catalyst for the future Scholarship was awarded to Science student, Bill Wells, who is studying in Trinity College this Year, Bill also achieved the best Leaving Certificate results in the college in 2015.
Business student Vicky Yatskiv received the new Doohan Financial Planning Bursary Award and 3rd Year student Luke Coburn Moran was the first winner of the McGeown Award for Best Junior Busine ss, the new award, in honour of and presented by Business and Accounting teacher Ms Christina McGeown.
Academic excellence was recognised in all subject areas at Senior and Junior Level, Jack Boylan won the Hearty Award for Best Pre-leaving results 2016, Bartlomiej Baran won the Mullen Cup for Best Junior Certificate Results 2015. The Chaplaincy Award and the Fr. McGeough Trophy was awarded to Student of the Year, Shane Cheshire for his constant contribution to the academic, social and sporting life of St Mary’s