Limerick – Marie Hennessy

Dia daoibh a chairde! Is mise Marie Hennessy. I am 25 years old and I hail from a place called Rooska, a short distance from the town of Newcastle West. I come from a family of six, including my wonderful parents and three sisters. I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree in Irish and English and my Professional Diploma in Education the University of Limerick. I am a secondary school teacher of Irish and English and am lucky enough to have spent this past year teaching both of these subjects in a local school, Desmond College. I absolutely love my job! Shortly after I completed my studies, I moved to the small Emirate of Sharjah in the UAE to work, live and learn about the culture. Apart from teaching in an International school, I also had the opportunity to enjoy the fabulous lifestyle which the UAE has to offer. Weekends and holidays were spent playing Gaelic football, travelling around the Middle East and South East Asia, and of course, meeting and socialising with our second families both from Ireland and abroad. The highlight of the year was, without a shadow of a doubt, the GAA World Games, the first ever and hosted in Abu Dhabi. The sense of pride amongst the Irish people in Abu Dhabi that weekend was indescribable. I am extremely passionate about the preservation and promotion of the Irish language. I have spent every summer for the past eleven years in Coláiste Bhréanainn Irish college in Ballybunion, County Kerry. I can honestly say I would not know my summer without it! I am absolutely thrilled to have been selected to represent Limerick at this year’s Festival. I cannot express in words what this experience has been like so far and I am very much looking forward to everything that is yet to come!