Miriam arrives down to check up on the calves
MIRIAM PRESENTED THE CALVES AT THE PLOUGHING C’SHIP
WHEN TV star Miriam O’Callaghan makes a promise, she keeps it.
Last September, students from Coláiste Pobail Naomh Mhuire’s were at the ploughing championship in Laois where they met Miriam who had five Irish calves in tow to present to a winning school as part of the prestigious All Ireland Angus competition.
As luck would have it, it was the five students at the school in Buttevant who won the competition. The winning team consisted of John Roche, Annie Cronin, Sharon Griffin, Madeleine O’Connell and Aoife Buckley who are all of farming stock.
As part of the competition, the students had to get a herd number and the calves are kept on the farm of John Roche.
The students rolled up their sleeves and have been feeding and looking after the five calves and along with three other schools they will return back to the next ploughing championship to see who is the overall national winner.
Reverse backwards to the last ploughing championship and like all good students from North Cork who are blessed with the gift of the gab, they along with their teacher, Pat Curtin asked Miriam if she would go to their awards night to celebrate not only their new school but their awards ceremony. The rest, as they, say is history.
On Monday, John Roche organised for the five calves to be brought to the school where Miriam complimented the students and said there was “a great shine off them” and they looked well groomed and well taken care of.
Coupled with Miriam’s arrival, the school this week will also be awarded the Amber Flag for their promotion of positive mental health this week.
Miriam is also happens to be the national ambassador for this fantastic initiative and she presented the school wit the Amber Flag.
She praised the school for their great work in the promotion of mental health and stressed how important it was to do so.
As part of the awards ceremony, the Coláiste Transition Year Drama group who won the All Ireland Schools Drama competition in February gave a half an hour performance of their play ‘Life’.
They received a standing ovation for their play which they wrote themselves.
The production was overseen by the well known local actor and producer Martin Lucey and their English teacher Laura Hayes.
Miriam presented a host of certificates and special awards on the night.
Other notable guests who presented special awards and addressed the student body on the night were Ted Owens, Chief Executive, Cork ETB, Martin Hallanan, Principal Officer at Cork ETB, Professor Noel Whelan who is the former Vice-President UL, Canon Michael Harrington and Sister Agnes Noonan.