Graduation of class of 2014
THE LEAVING Certificate Class of 2014 of St. Patrick's Secondary School, Castleisland graduated on Thursday, May 22, with a mass celebrated by school chaplain Fr. O'Flynn at the Church of Saints Stephen & John followed by an awards ceremony in the River Island Hotel.
In his address principal Denis O'Donovan welcomed teachers, students, parents, former teachers and invited guests: Fr. O'Flynn Denny Porter, George O'Callaghan and Tom and Margaret O'Leary of Griffin's Shop. He congratulated the class of 2014 for reaching the end of a very significant stage in their lives and thanked them for the contribution they had made to school life in many ways.
Mr. O'Donovan said he hoped that they have been prepared and are ready to move on to a more independent stage in their lives and spoke to them about the importance of maintaining great character. This means doing the right thing and more importantly doing the right thing when nobody is watching.
He told them that there will be many instances in their lives where doing the right thing will be the hardest thing to do. He encouraged them to look out for each other and especially for those who might find times difficult and to remember that very often the right word, a smile, a compliment could mean a lot to someone at a moment in time.
He wished all the students well for the future and advised them to work hard and follow their dreams.
Special presentations were made to: Denny Porter and George O'Callaghan for their contributions to school life during the year. A special presentation was also made to the first year basketball team who won the All Ireland 'A' basketball title earlier in the month.
Joseph O'Callaghan, on behalf of all students past and present, made a presentation to Tom and Margaret O'Leary of Griffins Shop who retired from business at Christmas. Joseph thanked them for all they had done for the students of the school down through the years and said the students had seen their shop as an extension of the school. The list of award winners is: Attendance Awards: 1st Year: Blue, Stephen Murphy; Red, Dylan Browne, Charlie Conway and Tommy Curtin. 2nd Year: Padraig Brosnan and William Brosnan. 3rd Year: Patrick O'Connor, Conor O'Shea and Jack Walsh. 5th Year: Joseph Brosnan.
Student of the year award winners: 1st Year, Blue: Luke O'Loughlin; Red: Tommy Curtin. 2nd Year: Padraig Brosnan. 3rd Year: Jack Daly. 5th Year: Jimmy Dowling. 6th year awards: Sports Award, Tomás Lynch. Mathematics: Jack O'Sullivan, Hugh Mulligan and Luke Lyons. Languages: Larry Prendiville, Dara DeLacy. The Jim Lyons Award: Luke Lyons. Sciences: Daniel Kearney, Sean Cremin and Joseph O'Callaghan. Technology: Daniel McCarthy, Brian Hanrahan and Daren Moloney. Overall Student of the Year 2014: Daniel Kearney.