National award for Loughfouder NS
LOUGFOUDER National School in the parish of Knocknagoshel won the top prize at the annual Cornmarket Cumann na mBunscol Awards in Enniskillen last Friday. The two-teacher school with 33 pupils on roll scooped the top prize in the School of the Year competition for schools with less than 150 pupils on roll.
Recently retired school principal Micheál Herlihy was on hand to accept a cheque of €500 for his school and will also be announcing to the pupils that they will be guests of honour at Croke Park next May when they will be treated to a tour of the Stadium Museum. Micheál compiled a fabulous project tracking the promotion of Gaelic Games at the school from 1987.
From the development of the school field right up to the pinnacle of their achievements for their on field activities when they claimed the county title in the 2-teacher competition in Austin Stack Park last November Mr Herlihy chronicled the on field successes from the local Castleisland District competitions the pupils who represented the school on the Primary Game, Sam’s visits and much more. He also documented those experiences through the words of his pupils in prose, poetry and through their artistic work.
Meanwhile, Dan O’Flaherty from The Maherees, Castlegregory who spent ten years teaching in the capital before moving to Wexford in 1977 was this year’s winner of the Pat Trainor award. Dan is a lifelong Kerry supporter and very proud of his roots in the kingdom. He accepted the award as a proud Kerry man who has given a lifetime of service in the promotion of Gaelic games through his association with Allianz Cumann na mBunscol.