Laois– Kate Hyland

My name is Kate Hyland and I am 27 years old. I live in a small, quaint village called Clough, in the lovely county of Laois! There are six of us in my family. My dad, Canice, is a dairy farmer in our home village, and my mum, Olga, is Principal of our local primary school, Clough National School. I have two brothers, Shane and Ciaran, and one sister, Ruth. I am the oldest and of course most mature child in the Hyland household! In 2010, I graduated from St. Patricks College, Drumcondra, with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, specifying in Irish Language and Music, and was lucky enough to be given a place on a Post Graduate Diploma in Education. It was always my ambition to be a primary school teacher and so I was delighted to graduate with honours, and am now teaching in Presentation Primary School Portarlington. This is a huge school with over 700 pupils and a staff of almost 49 women and 1 man (God bless him)! I am hugely involved in my local traditional music group – Camross Comhaltas. I joined these at the young age of 11 and have been playing ‘trad-music’ ever since. I play the tin-whistle, flute and concertina. I am also the piano player for our Céilí band. In 2006 I won an All-Ireland with our Under 18 Céilí Band. We are a household of GAA fanatics and so it’s no surprise that I became involved in hurling, camogie and football from an early age. In 2012 I won a Camogie All-Ireland with my secondary school – St. Fergals College, Rathdowney. I continue to be very sporty, captaining this year’s Portlaoise Hockey Team. I am really looking forward to this year’s Rose of Tralee Festival, getting to know all the other girls and of course meeting Dáithí!