ST. KIERAN’S COLLEGE RECORD · for Adult Religious Education and Faith Formation, to the Diocesan...

ST. KIERAN’S COLLEGE RECORD

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President’s AddressI welcome this edition of the St.Kieran's College Record which bravelyattempts to chronicle the main eventsof the College during this, the 224thacademic year.

The College campus is home to St.Kieran's College Secondary School forboys, to Creidim, the Diocesan centrefor Adult Religious Education and FaithFormation, to the Diocesan ForumOffice and the Outreach programme ofthe National University of Ireland,Maynooth which with three hundredregistered mature students celebratesits 10th anniversary this year.

St. Kieran's has a proud tradition andwhile maintaining its traditioncontinues to respond to new needs anddemands. A major part of this responseover the past two years has involvedserious financial commitments from allstakeholders especially the CollegeTrustees. During this period thefollowing projects have involved:-

New toilets / Refurbishment of theGlasshall and Ancillary Works / Mainheating system/

Study hall and classroomsrefurbishment / New boilers / Healthand Safety items for the 1979 building /New lift system to the top floor / Watersystem and new tanks / Staff toilets /Sports and playing fields renewal /Pavillion refurbishment / Newfurniture, fittings and lockers / Newcomputers and equipment.

Total expenditure to 31/08/06 stands at€1,769,559 which includes €161,356for necessary maintenance alone. Wehave received capital grants to31/08/06 of €999,042. The CollegeTrustees have continued to invest andshow their commitment in a mostconcrete way. For this phase they havecommitted €646,014 and overall,€1,086,014 to date.

St. Kieran's continues to strive forexcellence and depends on the hardwork, dedication goodwill and supportof many to meet current needs andplan for the future. Sincere thanks aredue to Mr. John Curtis, Principal, andcolleagues and staff, to the students, tothe parents, the Parents' Association, to

my colleagues on the Board ofManagement, and Bishop Forristal andthe Trustees.

This level of involvement hasencouraged us to look forward to aperiod of expansion and developmentwhich will meet the needs of all thosewho make up the community that is St.Kieran's College.

Mgr. Kieron J. Kennedy

President.

The teaching and secretarial staff of St.Kieran’s College Secondary School 2006/07 Front: Ms. Maureen Meany, Mr. Tomas O’Murchu, Mr. John Curtis, Mgr. Kieron Kennedy, Mr. Nicky Cashin, Mr. Tom Looby, Mr. BillyBolster.2nd Row: Ms. Emma Ryan, Ms. Sharon Keyes, Ms. Jacqui Norton, Ms. Jane Galway, Ms. Eadaoin Brennan, Ms. Debbie Lynch, Ms.Ann Wemyss, Ms. Mary Martin.3rd Row: Fr. Sean O’Connor, Mr. Ken Archbold, Ms. Olive Comerford, Ms. Eileen Hanrick, Mr. Ken Maher, Mr. Richard Windle, Ms.Jean Fitzpatrick, Mr. Niall Connolly, Mr. Ger Buckley, Mr. Adrian Finan.4th Row: Mr. Patrick Darmody, Ms. Eilis Aherne, Ms. Bernie Boland, Mr. Tom Hogan, Ms. Loretta Mannion, Ms. Sheila Walsh, Mr.John Quane, Ms. Christine Warner.5th Row: Mr. Philip Walsh, Mr. Martin O’Neill, Mr. Eamon Heffernan, Mr. Don O’Connor,Mr. John O’Keeffe.Back: Mr. Michael Forrest, Mr. Michael Kelleher, Mr. Charlie Lynch, Mr. Larry Cotter, Mr. Joe Kavanagh, Mr. Simon Reddy.


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Principal’s AddressThe end of the academic year gives usoccasion to reflect on the successes thathave been achieved and the changes thathave occurred in the past twelve months.The Record is a celebration of theapplication and creativity of our studentsand is testimony to the breadth of activitythat takes place in St. Kieran’s College.The success of the school is predicated onacademic achievement but we arefortunate in having such a broad spectrumof extra-curricular activity to help matureand develop the personalities and talentsof our pupils. I would like to congratulateour Editor Ms. Keyes on the quality of thisproduction and to thank her on behalf ofall my colleagues on the staff for theenormous effort and time she has put into ensuring that it is a publication ofwhich we can all be proud.

A number of development projects in theschool are continuing or are in theplanning stage and in that regard I wouldlike to thank the President of the College,Mgr. Kennedy, and the Trustees for theirongoing commitment to improvingfacilities for the benefit of the studentbody. Work is continuing on the grounds,

the refurbished pavilion is now open, amajor project will see widows replaced orupgraded during the summer as well assome improvements to classrooms, andthere are plans to develop Computer andLibrary facilities in the school. This year,we introduced a teacher-based classroomsystem and I would like to thank staff andstudents alike for ensuring that it has beena success.

I am delighted, too, that next year wewill see a Student Council in operation inSt. Kieran’s – elections have been held,training and induction has taken placeand the students have already had aninput into the development work that weare planning to undertake. It has been aproductive year for the Parents’Association – a very successful bag-packwas organised to raise funds for adefibrillator for the school. We now havethe defibrillator on site and staff membershave been trained in its operation shouldwe ever be faced with a critical incidentthat demands its use. As always, I wouldlike to thank my colleagues on staff for thetremendous amount of work they haveput in during the year in both the

curricular and extra-curricular spheres. Iwould like to thank the student body fortheir co-operation and diligence,ultimately it is the pride they take inthemselves and in their school that makesSt. Kieran’s what it is.

Finally, on behalf of everyone involvedin the school community I would like towish the Junior Certificate and the LeavingCertificate students all the best in theupcoming exams – their success reflects onus all and we are confident that theeducation received in this school will standthem all in good stead as they make theirway in life.

Mr. John Curtis, M.A., M.Ed.

Once again, it has been my privilege tohound and cajole contributors for ournow annual publication – the StKieran’s Record.

This year, our Record is 56 pages, aconsiderable increase from last year andreflects the enthusiasm for thepublication – and of course the manyaspects to school life at St. Kieran’sCollege in Kilkenny.

I wish to sincerely thank my teachingcolleagues – those who contributedarticles, those who advised and thosewho helped me in any way with thisproduction. Also a special mention and

considerable credit must go to thestudents of the school, many of whomhave submitted articles for this year’spublication once again.

I know the Record reflects positively onevents in our school during the lastyear. I hope that students, particularlythose who are leaving us, will look backon this publication in years to come andremark that these probably were thebest days of their young lives.

On behalf of all my colleagues in StKieran’s I would like to thank mypredecessor as Editor, Fr RichardScrives, for all of the work he put into

the Recordup to 2004.

Finally, Iwish toacknowledgetheconsiderableexpertiseand patienceof the staff

of the Kilkenny People and in particularTom Beirne and Deirdre O’Dowd.

To one and all, have a great summer.

Sharon Keyes,

Editor, The Record.

Creidim was founded in 1994 after theclose of our Seminary. It was established topromote and develop adult religiouseducation and faith formation in thediocese of Ossory. This means that Creidimresponds to the life long learning needs ofthe adults within the diocese.

Through baptism all Christians are calledto be witnesses to the Gospel. The laityshares with the clergy, a responsibility to

enhance the mission of the church.Creidim’s role is to support people to fulfilthis mission.

The most exciting and fundamentalprojects for Creidim this year is in thedevelopment of a formation course forestablished and emerging parish pastoralcouncils. A team of ten people arecurrently undergoing training and shall beavailable from September onwards to

provide education to parish pastoralcouncils as the need arises

Creidim is managed by the co-ordinatorLeona Connolly who is supported by thesecretary Liz Ruth. Leona is responsible tothe steering committee that includesChairperson: - Mr. Declan Murphy, Ms AnnWalsh, Very Rev. Daniel Carroll, SisterHelen Maher, Rev. Martin Delaney, Ms.Mary Mescal and Mr. Billy Murphy.

Creidim

For the Record


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Ossory Diocesan ForumFollowing extensive consultation withpriests and lay people throughout thediocese, the Ossory Diocesan Forum wasestablished in December 2004. TheForum is a representative body of priests,religious and lay people who, with theBishop, seek to address the pastoralissues of the day and plan for the future.Forum members number fifty seven, a layrepresentative from each of the forty-twoparishes, two priests, representing priestsof each of the three deaneries, threereligious, representing the religiouscommunities working in the diocese, fiveco-opted members and a ForumCoordinator. The priorities identifiedearly in the life of the Forum were the

establishment of Parish Pastoral Councilsthroughout the diocese, Young People’sinvolvement in Church andPrayer/Liturgy. Issues are worked oninitially by a Working Group with interestor expertise in a particular topic.Proposals are then brought to the fullForum for discussion, decision andimplementation.

The Forum office is located in St. Kieran’sCollege and Forum officers are:

Chairperson: Seán Treacy, DeputyChairperson: SíleGrant, Secretary: AnneWalton, Treasurer: Seamus Quigley,Coordinator: Sr. Helen Maher,Communications Officer: Diarmuid Healy.

Members of the Leaving Certificate class of 1946 Pictured outside the College with Mgr. Kieron Kennedy, Fr. Sean O’Connor and MrJohn Curtis.

Mr. Billy Murphy

(Chair, Kilkenny CampusSteering Committee)

The location of the NUI MaynoothCampus at the historic setting of St.Kieran's College carries on a longtradition of scholarship and learning atthis site. St.Kieran's was the firstseminary to open in Ireland after therelaxation of the Penal Laws, with afounding date of 1782,which predatesSt.Patrick's College, Maynooth by some13 years.

The city of Kilkenny has a long and proudhistory of learning and narrowly missedbecoming the venue for the secondestoldest University in Ireland (after TCD).The outcome of the Battle of the Boynebrought a premature end to theembryonic University but not to thepursuit of education at third level. In the1950's there was much discussion aboutthe idea of a University for Kilkenny to bebased at Kilkenny Castle, but sadly thiswas not to be.

However, as NUI Maynooth nears its tenthyear in Kilkenny, we look forward to

expanding the provision of third level inour county and in the region, at a timewhen modern technology allows us todevelop the vision of a campus withoutwalls.

The opportunity to pursue lifelonglearning is benefical to the individual forhis or her personal and professionaldevelopment. This has consequences forthe wider society and for our economicwellbeing, which is enhanced by aculture that promotes accessiblecontinuing education.

National University of Ireland, Maynooth, at St. Kieran's College

Sr Helen Maher.


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Jim CarewBy Maureen Meany

Jim Carew taught in St. Kieran’s Collegefrom 1970 until his retirement in 2007.Jim taught French and he began toorganise trips to France to improve thelanguage skills of his students. This ledto him being Mr. School Tours. At firstthe trips were to France, later hebranched out to Switzerland andGermany. In 1988, he organised a verysuccessful trip to Russia. Two busloadsof students and teachers left on a trip ofa lifetime, just as Russia was opening up

to the outside world following theperiod of perestroika and glasnost.Later trips became skiing holidays,which were very popular with students.

Another great interest of Jim’s wassoccer. For many years he coached thesenior soccer teams in the school. Thehigh point came in 1993 when St.Kieran’s won the Leinster CollegesSenior Cup. Every year St. Kieran’s teamsunder Jim’s guidance entered theCarlow/Kilkenny leagues and cup

competitions, and then went on to theLeinster Inter-League Cup.

Jim was a great believer in theimportance of staff morale, as a meansof coping with the stresses of teaching.He was always to the forefront inorganising staff activities like the staffvolleyball games in the gym, nights out,word puzzles and crosswords to wreckour heads and keep us busy. Jim had awry sense of humour and his cleverasides will be missed in the staffroom.

L. to R.: Jacinta Carew, Jim Carew, Maureen Meany, Monsignor Kieron Kennedy, John Curtis and Larry Cotter.

On Thursday 25th January St.Kieran’sCollege hosted the annual FeachtasTrath na gCeist attracting teams fromCarlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary andWicklow. The school was represented by fiveteams:

Brian Banahan 4th year; Niall Quinlan4th year; Ken O’Farrell 2nd year; DerekPhelan 2nd year.Ian O’Fearghaill 5th year; John Wallace5th year; Eoghan Lalor 3rd year; DonalBrennan 3rd year.Niall McQuillan 5th year; Jack O’Connor

5th year; Gary Corcoran 5th.Brian O’Shea 5th year; Tom Ryan 5thyear; David Cummins 3rd year; BillMurtagh White 3rd year; Oisín Daly 5th year; Cathal O’Neill 2ndyear; Rick Leydon 5th; Sean O’Dwyer2nd year.

Irish Quiz


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Prayer for examsLet us pray for all studentsundergoing examinations:

Lord, Pour out your spirit ofwisdom on these students: helpthem to remain calm, to attendcarefully to the question asked, tothink clearly, to rememberaccurately, and to expressthemselves well.

Grant that they may reflect the bestof the work they have done and thebest of the teaching they havereceived. Accept their best effortsin these examinations and in thegreat test of life on earth. May yourlove be upon them, O Lord, as theyplace all their trust in you.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Niall Quinlan (TY)

Colm Manning, Eoghan Grant, ColumKennedy, Michael Sherlock, Liam Doyleand I are to travel to Lourdes this May.

We are travelling with the Ossorypilgrimage. To date we have spent a lot

of time raising money for thepilgrimage. We did two days bag packingin Dunnes Stores, collected sponsorshipon cards and received a donation fromthe credit union and the school.

When in Lourdes we will help out ascarers for the week.

Since September 2006 all of the studentsin St. Kieran’s College have received aclass retreat. These retreats took manydifferent forms. Our First Years went outto the retreat centre in Callan, SecondYears to Grace Dieu in Waterford, Thirdand Fourth years to Kiltegan, Co.

Wicklow and our TYs and Leaving Cert.students went for contemplative walksin local scenic areas.

It is important to take some time out ofour day-to-day routine, and to thinkabout where our lives are going or tocontemplate on the meaning of our

lives. Retreat days are supposed to be arelaxing break from the hustle andbustle of everyday life and it wasimportant that all students had thechance to do that this school year. Wehope to continue these retreats for allclasses in the coming years.

Retreats

Pictured are some of the Leaving Cert. students while on Retreat during the year.

Front L to R: Colum Kennedy, Niall Quinlan, Colm Manning. Back L. to R. EoghanGrant, Michael Sherlock, Liam Doyle.

Ossory pilgrimage to Lourdes


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Young Social InnovatorsHOW’S YOUR DRIVING?This year, as we were in Transition Year,we decided to do the Young SocialInnovators (YSI) project. The aim ofthese projects is to help improvesociety. We decided to base our projecton people’s general lack of knowledgeof the rules of the road. Our groupconsisted of Eamon Costello, PaulForristal, Stephen Li and Oliver Byrne.

We began our project by researching thetopic mentioned earlier, rules of theroad. We searched the internet forinformation. We also visited differentlocations around the county to record avideo of people breaking the rules ofthe road. We used the school cameraand edited our film in the school SIProom.

In February we went to Waterford to aforum to make a two minute speech. Wealso designed a large poster to illustrateour points. As we were due to go onwork experience we had to completeour submission three weeks early. Thissubmission was a twelve pagedocument recording all the details ofour project. Our submission to Dublinwas successful and our project has wona place in the YSI National Showcase inMay. This is a three day event similar to

L to R: Stephen Li, David Doyle, Eamon Costello and Oliver Byrne.

L to R: Robbie Molloy and KieranManning. Missing from photo LiamLahart and Hugh Manning.

the Young Scientist Exhibition and wewill be accompanied by our teacher Ms.Brennan.

We hope that our project will help save

lives and that by highlighting thecommon mistakes made by drivers andreminding them of the rules of the roadpeople will take more care driving.

‘Why recyclingis bad’

For our Young Social Innovators project,‘Why Recycling is Bad’, we investigatedthe possibility that recycling may havedisadvantages. Following our researchwe discovered that in a lot of casesrecycling can be damaging to theenvironment. We submitted our workfollowing a forum in Waterford andhave successfully gained a place at theYoung Social Innovators NationalShowcase in May. We have thoroughlyenjoyed YSI and are looking forward topresenting our project in the RDS.


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Young Scientists

Robbie McPartlan, Eddie O’Shaugnessy, John Cahill (TY)One of the members of our group, Robbie McPartlan had to haverehabilitation and stabilisation of the patella following surgery at thebeginning of this school year, so when we heard about the YoungScientists Exhibition we thought that this would be a great idea for aproject. We did a lot of research for the project using the Internet andwe also got a lot of information from the Doctor who operated onRobbie and from his physiotherapist.

Overall it took about a month to finish this project and we even came induring our Christmas holidays to complete work. We used photographs,diagrams and x-rays of the knee as part of our presentation and we alsoshowed videos of how the knee works on a laptop at our stand. Theexhibition was held in January and was worth the time and effort.

The stabilisation and rehabilitation of the patella following surgery

Jack O’Connor (5th Year)This year Michael Kelleher and I entered the YoungScientists Exhibition with the experiment ‘Does BrainTraining Actually Work?’ We tested the game Dr.Kawashimo’s Brain Training for the Nintendo DS. Weproved, using two test subjects, that the game can cause a12% increase in brainpower.

We also played the game during the Young ScientistExhibition and allowed others to test their brainpower.

The week was an experience in itself; we also made a fewfriends from some of the Dublin schools who had a similarproject to ours. We enjoyed the experience and would liketo extend our thanks to Ms. Hanrick without whom wewouldn’t have gone. We would encourage anyone with aninterest in science to take part in future exhibitions.

‘Does brain training actually work?’

David Griffin (5th Year)Last year, in Transition Year, Bernard McDonald and I entered the youngScientists Exhibition with a project about aromatherapy and its effectson concentration. This year we decided to enter again because weenjoyed last year and learned so much from the experience.

This time we decided to test the effects of music on spatial intelligence.Spatial intelligence is the type of intelligence used to solve problems inMaths or Physics and in games like chess. We tested pupils’ spatialintelligence while we played different types of music and we ran controltests in silence. Our results were fairly interesting with students, onaverage achieving highest results while listening to Rock, followed byClassical, Silence, Reggae, Dance and finally lowest scores achievedwhile listening to Metal.

I would certainly encourage students to get involved in futureexhibitions and would like to thank Ms. Hanrick for her guidance. (Iworked on this project with Bernard McDonald and Paul Barrett.)

The effects of music on spatial intelligence

L to R: Jack O’Connor and Michael Kelleher.

L to R: Paul Barrett, Bernard McDonald and DavidGriffin.

L to R: Robbie McPartlan, John Cahill and EddieO’Shaughnessy.


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Science Olympiad

Past pupil, Stephen Bryan, was awarded an AcademicScholarship from the Institute of Technology, Carlow, duringthe 2005/2006 Academic Year. These scholarships are inrecognition of high academic achievements at second leveland are an encouragement for students to continue to achieveat the same level in third level.

Scholarship

T.J. Sherman (TY)At the beginning of the school year Mr. Finan told us aboutthe Young Entrepreneurs. As friends, Geoff Doyle, ConorBrennan, Colum Kennedy and I started to think aboutpossibilities for the competition. The idea we settled onwas to sell ‘Underarmour Body Warmers’. These are itemsof clothing for people that take part in all types of sportkeeping you warm when it is cold and cool when it iswarm.

To sell our product we went around to all First, Second andThird Year classes advertising the Body Warmers and wegot a great response. We also sold a number outside theschool. We bought our stock from a store in Dublin andhad it sent down to Kilkenny through Elvery Sports.

We won the school finals of the competition and gotthrough to the county final. It was a worthwhile experiencewhich thought us something about setting up a businessand all that that involves.

Due to particularly high results in both Maths and Science inthe Junior Certificate, I was chosen, along with 149 otherstudents in the country, to take part in the Irish-EuropeanScience Olympiad (IrEUSO).

This is a competition for Transition & 5th Year students andyou get to compete in the branch of science of your choice(Physics, Chemistry or Biology), in my case Physics. Tocompete in the Olympiad I had to travel to DCU to take anexam and thoroughly enjoyed the day and the experience.

Corey Molloy.

Geoff Doyle and T. J. Sherman. Missing from photo ConorBrennan and Colum Kennedy

Stephen Bryan being presented with his Academic Scholarship

Corey Molloy (Transition Year)

Young entreprenuers


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Jack O’Connor 5th year

This is the first year the Student Councilhas been established in St. Kieran’s. themajority of students reacted positivelyby putting forward their names andcampaigning for places on the council.Some classes had up to six candidatesput forward.

The council is set to go to work in thenext academic year. Their mandate is togive feedback on how students feel theschool could be improved.

The following students were thosesuccessfully elected as members of nextyear’s student council:

• Paul Lynch 1SC

• Barry Briscoe 1SF

• Wayne Cuddihy 1SM

• Anthony Corr Larkin 1SK

• Jason Collier 2SK

• Oliver O’Neill 2SF

LiturgiesThroughout the year there have beenmany liturgies in St. Kieran’s. Ourbeginning of year mass was celebratedin St. Patrick’s church, welcoming allstudents and staff back to school for

another academic year.

During November we held liturgies foreach class to remember our deceasedloved ones and friends.

Meditation and class prayers werecarried out during Advent in December.

A whole school liturgy was held tocelebrate the feast of St. Kieran in St.Mary’s Cathedral. Lenten preparationswere made during religion classes andwe are currently preparing for our ThirdYear and Leaving Cert. Exams and forthe end of year mass.

Pictured are the members of the new Student Council.

Liturgies

Students preparing to vote for the student council

StudentCouncil

• Michael Costello 2SC

• Anthony McNeill 2SM

• David Farrell 3SF

• Aiden O’Dowd 3SC

• Dylan Walsh 3SM

• Patrick Lennon 3SB

• Donal Brennan 3SK

• Kevin O’Neill TYD

• Brian Banahan TYA

• Corey Molloy TYB

• Cain Lynch TYC

• David Walton 5C

• Niall Mullaly 5B

• David Butler 5A

• Mark Kinsella 5D

• Justin Dermody 5E


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CairdeasCairdeas is a programme which hasbeen set up in the school to help FirstYears to settle into their new schoolenvironment. The Cairdeas team ismade up of twelve Fifth Year studentswho agreed to help out with theinitiation of First Years.

Each of the twelve Fifth Years wasassigned 9 students. At the beginning ofthe year the Cairdeas team introducedthemselves to new First Years.Following this they met with them todiscuss their first few weeks in schooland to help them in whatever way theycould. At Christmas the Cairdeas teamprepared, organised and ran a tablequiz for First Years which was a greatsuccess.

This programme will be continued tohelp First Years settle into their newsurroundings.

On the 18th of October nearly 7,000students in 200 secondary schoolsacross the country took part in a mathschallenge.

The inaugural Problem-solving for IrishSecond level Mathematicians (PRISM)aims to encourage students to take aninterest in problem-solving from anearly age.

Each participating school held aseparate hour-long contests for pre-

Junior Certificate and post-JuniorCertificate students.

The contests feature a series of twentyproblems, in multiple-choice format, tochallenge the problem-solving dexterityof participants.

Results of the PRISM Maths Quiz from StKierans were:

Senior Quiz Congratulations to joint winners

Oliver Byrne 4th Year and John Connolly5th Year, both scored 16/20

Junior QuizCongratulations to

1st Eamonn O’Connor 3SB 18/20

2nd Jamie Fogarty 3SK 17/20

3rd Michael Tierney 2SC 15/20

Thank you to all 180 students who tookpart.

L. to R.: Jamie Fogarty, John Connolly, Eamon O’Connor, Oliver Byrne, and Michael Tierney.

Back L. to R. Ciaran Neary, Jack O’Connor, David Rafter, Martin Gibbons, NiallMcQuillan, James Duncan. Front L. to R. Luke Casey, John Fagan, David Walton, BrianO’Shea, David Buggy, Eamon Foley.

PRISM


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The President’s AwardRory Hogan (TY)

The President’s Award is for people whoare between the ages of 15 and 25, are selfmotivated and like a challenge. There are3 categories of President’s Award: Gold,Silver and Bronze. Each has a set of presetrequirements, a certain amount of hoursof community service, physical activity,learning a new skill and an adventure.

This year in St. Kieran’s College about 40students took part in hopes of receiving amedal (25 bronze and 13 silver) with theaid of 6 teachers who were very helpfulthroughout the experience. We wereallowed to choose our own physical, skilland community but the school organisedan adventure weekend for us in the StarSailing Adventure Centre in Kenmare. Theweekend included two nights in Kenmarewith one day of activities and two days ofCanoeing.

Overall I thought that the President’sAward was well worth the effort andenjoyed the whole experience.

Back: Jack O’Connor, Stephen Quinlan, James Duncan, Andrew Prendergast.Middle: Brian O’Shea, Martin Gibbons, David Walton.Front: David Nolan, Michael Kelleher, Conor Phelan, Oisin Daly.Missing from photo: Ian O’Fearghaill, John Wallace, Patrick Rice, Ciaran Neary

Back: Rory Hogan, Eamon Costello, David Rose, Michael Sherlock, Conor Quigley, Cian O’Sullivan, Neil Butler.2nd Row: John Muldowney, Oliver Byrne, Sean Direen, Robert Butler, Eoin Holohan, Conor Brennan.3rd Row: Michael Nolan, Paul Forristal, Stephen Li, Colin Manning, Robbie Molloy, Hugh Manning.Front: Liam Doyle, Kieran Manning, Darragh Twomey, Niall Quinlan, Corey Molloy.

Silver Medal

Bronze Medal


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Ian O’Fearghaill (5th Year)

This year’s Gaisce adventure weekendwas a little different to last year’sjourney. For a start last year’s tinyminibus was (thankfully) nowhere to beseen, this meant that we were able toenjoy our four hour journey in thecomfort of an air-conditioned, DVDplaying coach. There’s little doubt thatFather Ted DVDs and your own choiceof music passes the time a lot quickerthan wrestling with someone else’sbaggage for a seat. The Fifth Years,Participating in the Silver Award,reached Kenmare on Thursday eveningin good spirits.

Once we settled in to our apartments itwas off into town for something to eat.The choice boiled down to Chinesetakeaway or chips and we soondiscovered Kenmare is not exactly theliveliest place around ( its got two roads,a library and an ATM). That nightentertainment came in the form of arented DVD and everyone probablystayed up just a little too late…

Next Morning there were already a fewtired heads and we caught our firstglimpse of the 4th Years, who werethere for the Bronze Award, as theypassed us out on the way to the “StarSailing” adventure centre.

For those who haven’t kayaked before,let me just say that moving in astraight line is easier said than done.The morning was spent around thepier learning basic paddle strokes,learning how to “raft up’ and prettymuch going where ever the tidewanted to take you. Later on we weregiven lunch in the centre and then it

Gaisce Adventure Weekend

Students at Kenmare Completing activities as part of their President’s Award

was back out onto the estuary, but thistime for multi-person canoeing.Canoes are much easier to control andwe clocked up a decent amount ofdistance. We managed to make it to apier further up the estuary whereeveryone got to relax, stretch their legsand jump in, or if you were unlucky tobe light enough, get thrownin…Everyone managed to get thehang of both canoeing and kayakingwell enough over the course of theday. Fr. Sean claimed to have a’ neardeath experience’ after capsizing butmanaged to get over it by aboutdinnertime.

Next morning the itinerary was muchthe same with mostly Transition Yearskayaking and Fifth Years in the canoes.We weren’t as lucky with the lunch

though, with soggy sandwiches insteadof a sit down meal, to help save timeand cover a longer distance. Ourinstructors also had some interestingwarm-ups for us to try out. One inparticular that Ms. Galway won’t beforgetting any day soon, after she wasbounced on her back along a humanchain of 4th and 5th Years.

By the final day of kayaking tireddoesn’t even describe how most peoplewere feeling. The 4th Years had it alittle easier as they got the canoeswhilst the 5th Years were stuck with theKayaks. Overall everyone enjoyed thetrip and had a good laugh whileearning their Bronze and Silver Medalsbut I think we were all relieved to steponto the bus to take us back toKilkenny!


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The student Investment ChallengeCompetition is organised by SetantaAsset Management and The IrishIndependent for students in SecondarySchools and Third Level students. Theaim of the competition is to promotethe awareness of share purchasing as aninvestment opportunity. Eachparticipant is given a notional 100,000to invest in a choice of shares which aremonitored over a six month period andthe person or team whose portfolio of

shares have appreciated the most inthat time is declared the winner.theCompetition is a national one withthousands of entrants each year.

Thr Irish Independent Featured regularleague tables throughout the periodand St.Kieran's students figuredregularly in the top 10 individualplacings. At the start of the year PaulForristal was doing very well with hisselection of Waterford Wedgewood,Glanbia, Irish Life and Permanent,

Royal Bank of Scotland and Dell.However when Paul's selection beganto slip in price he was replaced in thetop ten by class mate Chris Nolan. Chris'selection of Paddy Power,Kingspan,Ryanair and CRH showed an impressiveincrease of 34.1% over the six monthperiod to earn him second prize in theoverall competition. Chris waspresented with his prize at anenjoyable function in Croke Park inApril.

Student investment challengecompetition

Jack McCarron, Chris Nolan, Mr. Niall Connolly (Class Teacher), Eamon Costello and Paul Forristal.


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CSPE

CSPE Action ProjectJoey Corcoran (2SK)

As part of CSPE for the Junior Certificate,our class (2SK) had to do an actionproject. We had the choice of a fewdifferent topics, so we chose democracyas our topic. Mr. Maher, our CSPEteacher and the class decided that itwould be a good idea to do a survey onthe upcoming General Election. So, thefollowing Tuesday we met a local TD,John McGuinness, who was invited tothe school. We asked him a number ofquestions about being a politician andhe gave us some good advice about thetype of questions we should ask in ourquestionnaire.

When we had compiled ourquestionnaire we each took twenty thatwe were to complete by phoning peoplein our parishes. The questions askedwhich party people would vote for,which TD, what they thought were themost important election issues etc.

On Thursday February 15th we went to

Eamon O’Connor (3SB)In October, as part of our CSPE projectfor the Junior Certificate, we took a trip

to Dail Eireann to learn about

democracy. We split into committees

beforehand in preparation for the trip.

We had to get permission to leaveschool and prepare a list of questions toask the politician we were to meet, PhilHogan was this Politician and he was tobe our guide on the tour of the Dail.

The day began with a trip to Croke Parkmuseum where we learned about thehistory of the GAA. It was veryinteresting and good craic too. Afterlunch we went to Dail Eireann. Here wewere joined by Phil Hogan. He broughtus inside and showed us the differentrooms in Leinster house. We had thechance to go into the Dail chamber fora while when it was in session. Then wewere shown the Senate.

Phil Hogan gave us a talk about thework of the politician and the dailyactivities in the Dail, he explained howthe voting system works and the laws ofthe country. We learned a lot ofinteresting facts throughout the day.

We arrived back in Kilkenny a t aboutseven o’clock. It was a tiring but veryenjoyable day and a big help towardsour CSPE exam.

the Market Cross, Dunnes Stores andother central locations in Kilkenny toget as many questionnaires as possiblefilled in.

In our next CSPE class we tallied the

results; we discovered that Fianna Failwas the most popular political partyand that health and education were thebiggest issues on people’s minds.Overall it was a successful and

CSPE trip to the Dail


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Crossbar challenge

Dylan Walsh (3SM)As part of our studies for Civic, Socialand Political Education our Class (3SM),along with our teacher Ms. Galway,decided to pay a visit to the localcourthouse. On a Tuesday morning wewalked from the College to ParliamentStreet to listen to a number of cases in

the Courthouse. The court began atabout ten and we stayed in thecourthouse until about half twelve.

In the Local Courts they mainly dealwith lesser crimes like, theft, drinkdriving, vandalism etc. the cases wesaw were for crimes like thosementioned above. It was interesting to

see how all parties acted in court; theaccused, defence, prosecution and thejudge. We felt that the judge wasn’t asstrict with his sentences or fines as wethought he might be. It was aninteresting visit and will help with ourunderstanding of one aspect of thejustice system.

The 20th of November was UniversalChildren’s day. Class 2SC decided to do afundraiser for UNICEF to celebrate thisday. UNICEF works worldwide to protectchildren from violence, abuse andpoverty. The CSPE class did a ‘crossbarchallenge’ as part of their actionproject. Students from the junior years

entered the competition. They paid totake five shots in an attempt to hit thecrossbar.

Fergal Brennan (1SK) was the overallwinner of the challenge, with four outof five shots hitting the crossbar.

A raffle was also held on the day withprizes sponsored by Elvery’s Sports,

Hennessey Sports, Argos, Xtravision,Broderick’s music store, Remy DowlingStar Hurleys and the Art and Hobbyshop.

Overall, 275 euro was raised for UNICEF.Class 2SC wish to take this opportunityto thank everyone who took part in thisevent.

The day we went to theCourthouse


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Poetry

Jake Moylan, Transition Year, was highlycommended in the Francis LedwidgeInternational Poetry Competition foradults. This competition receivedentries from as far away as Phoenix,Arizona. The following is an extractfrom the letter sent by the Ledwidge

Society to Jake: ‘Most young people arestruggling to shake off the shackles ofrhyme and echoing poets of old, butyou displayed none of this. In short yourwork is modern, fresh and original.’ Inall Jake entered three poems into thecompetition- here is just one of these:

Twisted fashion and flying

‘Have you ever flown?’

The question bounces around my head.

The answer given to me

On a Monday.

‘Yes I have’ I say answering myself.

I fly as high as insanity takes me.

My father taught me to look outside thebox.

On a Monday.

We are together

Creating our own twisted fashion.

A fashion that only works on Mondays.

My father of fact

Me of fiction

On a Monday.

But as we fly back shock hits me. Thesun lowers its head in sadness.

It knows the moon is coming and we areleaving.

I lie in my bed for hours begging for mywings to come back.

‘Only on a Monday’ says my father in mydreams.

I marvel at my feathers.

My feathers fall and our twisted fashionchanges back to common sense.

Only on a Monday.

Only on a Monday do I fly….and fall.

I wait seven days for my angel.

Fearing the next fall.

I sit in my bed. My mind changing backto the box.

Our twisted fashion leaving.

As the clock beeps midnight I cry.

I cry only on a Tuesday.

Recently students and teachers from St.Kieran’s attended the first creativewriting workshops for both studentsand teachers in the same group (inIreland) which was held on a trial basis,both here and in Donegal.

The workshop was held with local

writer Kerrie Hardie, and organised byour own Mr. Cotter. It was designed toimprove the skill of drafting a piece ofwork into a finished product. Studentsand teachers from across the countygathered in the Kilkenny EducationCentre over four separate days to hone

their writing skills.

Overall it was helpful, each member ofthe group bringing three pieces of workto be critiqued by their peers. Everyonethoroughly enjoyed the workshops andmany of us have continued to meet andpresent each other with our work.

Creative Writing Workshop

Jake Moylan with the Certificate received from the Ledwidge Society


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The Importance of RomancePhilip Brennan (6th Year)

Romance is one of the world’s mostmisunderstood concepts. Nowadays,thanks to chic-lit and Hollywood,romance means roses, candles andultimately sex. It is a great shame thatits true meaning has been lost.Romance refers to the boundlessnessof the human imagination and theextravagant stories and ideas whichcan be conjured to bring us outsidethe realms of reality. Oscar Wilde saidthat romance is “deceiving others”.

This benign deceit is important tosociety and our existence because itstirs the stagnant ditchwater ofeveryday life and lets us imaginebeyond the straight lines andstaunchness of our tedious existence.Romance is the fuel of thephilosophers and novelists and ofthose who make the world a morecolourful and bearable place.

Many people would say the EiffelTower in Paris is “romantic”. And it is,extremely so. But not because it iswhere countless pictures of peoplekissing have been taken but because itis completely unconventional andflamboyant. It reaches beyond theminds of the concentric public andgives them something to awe andgawk at.

Romance is purely human, likewriting and speaking. Unfortunatelyour romantics are often brandedfreaks or weirdoes and cast aside. Ourpoets and thinkers are thrown intodespair while the white-coatedscientists and obedient gentry goahead and dissect that boring slopetowards generic existence which theyslide down so smoothly…

We need to embrace our freaks,they’re more romantic than even theman who scatters rose-petals on theground and proposes to his partnerunder the lights of the… Eiffel Tower!

Those blue-haired peculiar people onthe street have more life-experienceand prowess than the square neat-suited man with the suitcase and

Philip Brennan.

degrees suffocating his walls, wholives in a lovely big square house inthe most exclusive of estates. If all theworld was populated by them we’d beliving in a lollipop without a flavourand we’d all get lost on our squarestreets and forget which one of thesquare plain cars was ours, we’d bebored driving on our perfectly straightroads surrounded our square fieldsand genetically modified cows. Argoswould rule the world and water wouldbe our only beverage.

Whether you think they’re freaks orromantics, they do make life a littleless ordinary and give yours the zestand extravagance which you take forgranted.

Without romance we’d be apes.

The FarmBy Eoghan Grant (TY)

I like to work on the farm

Milking in the Barn.

The clean smell of fresh cut silage

The Tractor starting and working upmileage.

The sight of dew rising on a

Cold spring morning

The splashing sound of slurry falling.

Winter is a sorrowful time

Feeding silage all the while.

Summer comes with longer evenings

Lots of grass no need for silagefeeding.


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Performanceby Stephen Colfer

“Life's but a walking shadow, a poorplayer

That struts and frets his hour upon thestage

And then is heard no more.”

I’m in a field, below me rests an army.The man who leads them to take backthe throne stands next to me but rightnow that isn’t important. What’simportant is that my cousin just asked ifhis family is ok and I happen to knowthey’re all dead. Oh crap. Five minuteslate we begin the march on Scotlandready to take our revenge whensuddenly after only eight steps, ranksbreak, heavy swords are grabbed by theblade and I bend over to make sure mysocks aren’t showing through theseimitation boots.

A theatre is a strange place; the entirebuilding is created with the solepurpose of entertainment. Everytheatre has a character, every theatrehas a ghost, be it the Opera’s Phantomor the lesser known Watergate’s“Padder”. Stepping into one is likebeing introduced to someone, returningis saying “hello” to an old friend. Theseplaces always seem to know what ishappening in them, they shine withapplause when pleased and groan whensomething goes wrong. They may in factbe the reason there is no such thing asan indifferent audience

It is not, however, the blue prints thataccommodate this character, manytheatres consist of nothing more than asmall podium and twenty odd plasticchairs. What gives birth to these beings

As part of English class, Transition YearA participated in a module in MovingImage Education, organized by theIrish Film Institute and Second LevelSupport Services in English. Theprincipal aim of this module was toencourage a visual literacy that would

enable students to interpret, respondand create.

TYA attended three film screenings inthe cinema comprising American TeenDrama, Irish Film and Documentarystyle movies. Following on from this

the class also engaged with movingimage in the classroom using theresources provided. The response was apositive one with students expressingtheir enthusiasm and an increasedunderstanding of moving image andvisual literacy.

6th Year Student Stephen Colfer

Moving image education

are the stories told within them. It’sstrange how an audience never sees atheatre’s real theatrics, the set building,the messed up lines, the weeks ofrehearsals but most of all the lastminute panic that is the ten minutesbefore the curtain rises. It is here thatone can see true transformation, whena person who was nothing more thanlines on a page and has resided insidethe head of an actor, suddenly becomesreal.

You can spend all the time in the worldtrying to become someone else but thisis the only place you truly can becomesomeone else. It’s the one place wherelies are true. Reality can only wait in thewings for the people it bugs all the time,because on stage those people don’teven exist. Performance is all aboutembracing a lie, the only way to getthrough it is to go with the flow. Any trip

to a drama class will instantly show youthe difference between acting anddoing. The actor playing an idiotbecomes the best idiot he can be, hischaracter will be remembered as anexcellent idiot. Then there’s the personwho feels just a little too silly whenbeing an idiot, he himself will beremembered as just an idiot.

The true joy of performance lies withinits perfection. These characters that liveonly on stage get their own idealendings. They live in a world created toinspire and they leave forever satisfied.As actors break character to take a finalbow that person leaves forever and theactor will return as someone else.Performance allows us to live with thesepeople within their ideal world. Andthough the life beyond those wings maybe a stage itself, as a crazy Irishmanonce said, the play is badly cast.


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Poetry aloudTwo St.Kieran’s College students werethe winners of the Poetry Aloudcompetition held in their school thisyear. They were among 66 studentsfrom a dozen secondary schools tocompete at the regional contest. Allwere required to recite a poem by LouisMacNeice and one other poem by acontemporary Irish poet, in thecompetition run by the National Libraryof Ireland and Poetry Ireland.

The competition is divided into Junior,Intermediate and Senior categories. Atthe regional heat students competed forthree places in the All-Ireland final. TheTwo students from St. Kieran’s to gothrough to the Semi-final and final wereStephen Colfer (senior) and CoreyMolloy (intermediate).

The adjudicators were PrinsiasO’Drisceoil of the South East ArtsEducation Advisory Committee, poetMark Roper and Loretta Mannionteacher of English in St. Kieran’s.

(Reprinted from the original article in the‘Kilkenny People).

Students from the South East of Ireland who were competing in the ‘Poetry Aloud’ poetry competition in St.Kieran’s College.

The students who will take part in the Poetry Aloud Semi-final and final in theNational Library of Ireland, including St. Kieran’s College students, Stephen Colferand Corey Molloy.


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AWARDS NIGHT 2006

By Don O’ConnorOne of the highlights of the St. Kieran’sCollege school year is the annualStudent of the Year Award Ceremony,and this year the 12th annualpresentation took place in theWatergate Theatre on Wednesday 31stMay, where students were rewarded fortheir outstanding academic, sportingand extra-curricular achievementsduring the 2005-’06 school year.

Every year St. Kieran’s Collegeacknowledges one of the school’sformer pupils for his exceptionalaccomplishments in Irish society, andthe 2006 recipient and Guest ofHonour was Mr. Padraig Walsh,President of the I.F.A. Mr. Walsh spokeof his affection for the school and themanner in which his education in St.Kieran’s had prepared him for life in atalk that also noted the importance ofplanning and goal-setting.

Hosted by teacher Ms Jean Fitzpatrick,the packed theatre was alsoentertained by musical and poetry actsthroughout the evening, together witha special showing of the TransitionYear film “When the Leaves Fall”.

Principal of St. Kieran’s College, Mr.John Curtis, complimented thestudents on their successes in thevarious fields, wishing the departingLeaving Certificate class of 2006 goodluck and happiness in their futureendeavours.

In the Academic Awards section, prizeswere presented to students in varioussubject categories, with the principalrecipients being 1st Year: MichaelTierney, 2nd Year: Eamon O’Connor,3rd Year: Corey Molloy, 5th Year:Richard Dowling 6th Year: RobbieWalsh.

In the Special Achievement Category,

St. Kieran’s CollegeStudent of the Year Awards

Guest of Honour at the 2006 Awards Night, Mr.Padraig Walsh, President of the I.F.A.and past pupil of St. Kieran’s College.

particular mention was made of thefund raising endeavours of a group ofstudents who succeeded in raisingmoney to provide three boats, the St.Kieran 1, St. Kieran 2, and St. Kieran 3to the victims of the Tsunami disasterin Sri Lanka.

The year’s major sports awards werepresented to Michael Dore(CrossCountry), Eoin Kelly (Athletics), MichaelWalsh (Soccer), Aidan O’Dowd (GaelicFootball) and James Dowling (Hurling)with the Overall Sports Star of the Year

going to handballer and hurler RichieHogan, holder of 17 Leinster titles and10 All Ireland titles.

The highlight of the evening was thepresentation to the Students of theYear for 2006, and this year’s winnerswere: 1st Year: Joey Corcoran, 2nd.Year: Michael Gorman, 3rd Year: PaulForristal, The Patrick Kilroy Award forBest Transition Year Student: CiaranNeary, 5thYear: Stephen Colfer and the6th Year recipient and overall Studentof the Year Award was Eoin O’Shea.


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Award receipentsAcademic Achievement

Mathematics: Harry Maharaj

Irish: Robbie Walsh

Music: Tommy Grace

Technical Graphics: Richard Troy

English: Stephen Shortall

Classics: David Butler

History: Eoin McCormack

Art: Michael Sherlock

(junior)

Patrick Brennan

(Senior)

Business Studies: Richard Troy

(junior)

Killian Everard

(senior)

The Frank MuldowneyAward for Best Results in Junior CertificateExamination 2005: Ian O’Fearghaill

Overall Academic of the YearAwards:1st Year: Michael Tierney

2nd Year: Eamon O’Connor

3rd Year: Corey Molloy

5h Year: Richard Dowling

6th Year: Robbie Walsh

The YOUNG ENTREPRENEURAWARDwent to the winners of the SeniorSection of the Enterprise Awards andwinners of the most innovative productaward in the national finals:

Michael Kelleher

Peter Cody

Waterford Institute ofTechnology and B.S.T.A.I.awards for outstanding Junior Certificate resultsin Business Studies:

Oisin Daly, Niall McQuillan and DavidButler

Texaco Art Competition Highly Commended in the NationalFinals: David Doyle

Cross Country Athletes of theyearU-14 Niall Walsh

U-15 Eamon O’Connor

U-17 Brian O’Shea

U-19 Michael Dore

Athletics:Junior Athlete of the Year:

Alan Tyrell: Third in Leinster 400m.

Intermediate Athlete of the Year:

John Fagan: Winner of the 400mhurdles.

Senior Athlete of the Year:

Eoin Kelly:Winner Leinster Senior HighJump and Triple Jump Competition

STUDENT OF THE YEAR AWARDS Back: Mr. John Curtis, Ms. Mary Cooper, Mr. Padraig Walsh, Fr. Sean O’Connor, Mr. Nicky Cashin.Front: Michael Gorman (2nd Year), Stephen Colfer (5th Year), Ciaran Neary (T.Y.), Eoin O’Shea (6th Year), Paul Forristal (3rd Year),Joey Corcoran (1st Year).


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SPORTS AWARDS Back: Mr. John Curtis, Ms. Mary Cooper, Mr. Padraig Walsh, Fr. Sean O’Connor, Mr. Nicky Cashin.Front: Oisin Daly (Junior Hurler), Brian O’Shea (u-17 Cross country), Richie Hogan (Sports star of the year), James Dowling (SeniorHurler), Michael Dore (u-19 Cross country), Michael Walsh.

SPORTS AWARDS Back: Mr. John Curtis, Ms. Mary Cooper, Mr. Padraig walsh, Fr. Sean O’Connor, Mr. Nicky Cashin.Front: Pat O’Carroll (Soccer), Gavin Houlihan (soccer), James Gannon (Juvenile Hurler), Aidan O’Dowd (Football), Eamon O’Connor(u-15 Cross Country), Niall Walsh (u-14 Cross Country).


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Rugby:Two students of St.Kieran’s College wereselected on the Leinster U-18 RugbyPanel David O’Connor And Colm Bradywho went on to represent the provincein the Interprovincial Series.

Gaelic Football: Player ofthe Year: U-14: Aidan O’Dowd

Hurling: Players of the YearJuvenile Hurler of the Year: JamesGannon

Junior Hurler of the Year: Oisin Daly

Senior Hurler of the Year: JamesDowling

Sports Star of the Year:The 2006 Sports Star of the Year was:Richie Hogan

Certificates of Merit tooutstanding students thisyear go to:1st yr: Denis Hogan and Niall

Walsh

2nd Yr: David Farrell and StephenDuncan

3rd Yr: Paul Forristal

4th Yr: Jack O’Connor, JamesDuncan, David Rafter andNiall McQuillan

5th Yr: Glen Campion

6th Yr: John Lawlor and NiallClifford

Student of the Year 1st Year: Joey Corcoran

2nd Year: Michael Gorman

3rd Year: Nicky O’Grady

Trans Year: The Patrick Kilroy Award:Ciaran Neary

5th Year: Stephen Colfer

Overall Student of the Yearfor 2006:Eoin O’Shea (6th Year)

OVERALL ACADEMIC OF THE YEAR AWARDS Back: Mr. John Curtis, Ms. Mary Cooper, Mr. Padraig Walsh, Fr. Sean O’Connor, Mr. NickyCashin, Ms. Jean Fitzpatrick.Front: Corey Molloy (3rd Year), Robbie Walsh (6th Year), Eamon O’Connor (2nd Year), Michael Tierney (1st Year) missing from pictureRichard Dowling (5th Year).


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Defibrillator

Eoghan O’Connor (1SK)This year the school decided to invest ina piece of equipment called adefibrillator. This is a complex devicewhich can be used in the event ofsudden cardiac arrest, it consists of acentral unit and two electrodes. Thecentral unit provides a source of powerand energy. The two electrodes areplaced directly on the patient. Thedevice delivers an electrical surge to thepatient in an effort to stop the chaos inthe heart’s conduction system. If thiseffort fails, the heart will produce little

or no forward blood flow, which willcause circulatory death through braindamage within minutes. Thedefibrillation current freezes allelectrical activity within the heartsystem, giving the body a chance toregain control of the heart.

St. Kieran’s has a proud sportingtradition and is widely acknowledged as‘one of the best hurling schools in thecountry’. Therefore, it seemednecessary that a defibrillator be at handfor the many sporting events that placethroughout the year in the college.

However, these things cost money and alot had to be done before such a vitalpiece of equipment could be afforded.The staff of St. Kieran’s and the Parents’Council got on the job straight away andsoon a bag pack was arranged inDunnes stores raising a lot of money.The no-uniform day also raised money,this was held when the All-Irelandteams came to the school.

It may seem strange to spend so muchmoney on something you hope never touse, but defibrillators save lives, and alife is something money just can’t buy.

Pictured helping at the bag pack in Dunnes Stores to raise money for a defibrillator for the school are Stephen Duncan and BenO’Connor.


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Senior and U-21 All-Irelandteams visit

Fergal Brennan (1SK)

When the senior, minor or U-21 teams win All-Ireland titlesthey often visit St. Kieran’s with the winning trophies. Thisyear the seniors came with the Liam McCarthy cup and the U-21s with the Cross of Cashel Cup. It was decided that this dayshould also be used as a no uniform day and money could beraised as a result. As the Kilkenny teams were coming manystudents took the opportunity to wear their Kilkenny Jerseys.

By David Hennessy,Donncha Foley, Alan Lawlor

and Wayne Cuddihy (First Year)This year’s St. Kieran’s Day celebrationswere held on Friday 9th march. Our firstimpression of St. Kieran’s day was that itwas a well organised and very enjoyableday. Some of us had already heardabout it from older students who said itwas a day to look forward to.

On the run up to the day lots of posters

were put up around the schooladvertising the many activitiesavailable, like bowling, pool, golf,fishing, horse riding and tag rugby, toname just a few. Students arrived inevery morning eager to see what newposters had been posted. One of themost popular activities with the FirstYears was The Dome in Carlow, so manywanted to go because you got to gobowling, play pool and play on thearcade games.

The day itself began with mass in St.Mary’s Cathedral, the mass was tocelebrate St. Kieran, our school and itsfounding. The school choir, who hadput in a lot of practice, sang during themass. Once mass was over we all metup with our teachers and took part inour chosen activities many of usheading off in buses. The atmospherewas great and we are already planningwhat activities we will get involved innext year

St. Kieran’s day

On the day each student made a twoeuro contribution with the money goingtowards the purchase of a defibrillatorfor the school.

All enjoyed the day and it was great tosee students showing such support fortheir county teams. Many students alsotook the opportunity to get player andmanagement autographs.


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David Rafter (5th Year)LCVP stands for Leaving CertificateVocational Programme. This is a seniorcycle programme designed to give astrong vocational dimension to theLeaving Certificate. The objective ofLCVP is to prepare you for adult life byensuring you are educated in thebroadest sense possible. It helps you tocope in a work environment of rapidchange; there is work experience in thefirst year of the two year cycle.

The programme gears you towards selfdirected learning, you are expected towork out problems for yourself andmore responsibility is placed on you.

LCVP is divided into two link moduleswhich are best explored through activity

based learning. The link modules aredesigned to make connections betweenthe school and the community, futurestudy and careers, enterprise andsetting up a business.

A large part of this course involvesworking on a portfolio over the twoyears including items like a CV, diary ofwork experience, career investigationetc.. The written exam is completed inearly May of Sixth Year which is also aplus. I would definitely recommendLCVP as a subject for the LeavingCertificate.

LCVP could gain up to 70 points for youin the Leaving Certificate and is apositive addition to your curriculumvitae.

The LastSupper

During the year a number of students,under Mr. Kelleher’s guidance, spenttime painting a number of pieces whichwere put together to form a beautifuland impressive Last Supper scene. Thiswork is worth seeing and is hung in theCollege refectory.

David Rafter 5th Year LCVP student

Students working on the painting of The Last Supper)

LCVP

The students involved in painting the Last Supper stand under the finished work in the refectory.


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BY DAVID RAFTER (FIFTH YEAR)ON Friday 23rd March 2007 the FifthYear Agricultural Science Class, alongwith teachers Ms. Meany and Mr.Darmody, attended the careers openday in Kildalton College. The groupwere given a tour of the various systemsof farming , i.e. beef and sheep units,and also got the opportunity to listen tothe lecturers, who gave a detailedaccount of how each enterprise wasrun. There was also informationavailable on the various third levelcourses availadle at the College.

I thoroughly enjoyed this visit toKildalton College and it also provedinvaluable in helping me to completethe various projects required forAgricultural Science as a LeavingCertificate subject.

In 1990 a group of students from LaSalle Secondary School in Belfast visitedSt. Kieran’s College for a weekend, sincethen every alternate year a group ofstudents from St. Kierans spend acultural and activities weekend inBelfast. The students make manyfriends, learn the history and culture ofBelfast and participate in activities

during the weekend. Many studentsremember the Belfast trip fondly yearsafter they leave St. Kierans and it is agreat experience for them.

This year a group of approximately 22students from Belfast are visiting us. Agroup of 1st year students are hostingstudents from Belfast for the weekendof the 11th-14th of May. The Belfast

students will hurl against the school’sunder 14-b team, the host students anda local team. They will be visiting thecastle and going quad biking amongother activities. Ms. Hanrick would liketo thank all of the parents involved andthe board of management for theirparticipation, without whom it wouldnot be possible to hold these trips.

Belfast trip

Kildalton trip


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TYFUNDRAISING

All Transition Years were involved in collecting money for anumber of charities and organisations throughout the year,they included: The Wheelchair Association, Holly DayCollection for the Central Remedial Clinic, bag packing to helpfinance the defibrillator for the school, Special Olympics.

SAMBA DRUMSAll transition Year students spent a day with Samba drummerDave McFarlane. During this workshop the boys gainedexperience in team work, rhythm and concentration. It was avery energetic and enjoyable day.

4-2-1 DrugsTwelve Transition Year students have been training in the 4-2-1 Drugs Programme and have been working with First Yearstudents during the year.The programme is designed to teachTransition Year students about the different types of drugs,their effects and some of the reasons why people use drugs.Having trained for three days these students in turn devise asix week course where they present their new foundknowledge to First Year students in the school.

TRANSITIONYEAR

Just some of the many activitiesthat TransitionYear students havebeen involved in over the schoolyear


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Carols for BotharAravind Menon (1st Year)

On a wet and rainy December day,one week prior to our Christmasholidays, over one hundred First,Second and Third Year choir singersbacked up by a drummer and twoguitarists followed Ms. Comerford intothe town hall to sing Christmas carolsfor a charitable organisation calledBothar.

Any First Year students not singingwere collecting money. The collectorswere designated spots in the city byMs. Norton, not too far away from thesingers. It was a miserable day evenby Irish standards. Just five minutesin, the heavens opened and many ofthe collectors were drenched, butthankfully none suffered frostbite orhad to be hospitalised. However theweather did not keep the singersdown as we were an enthusiastic

Kilkenny Music FestivalSt. Kieran's College student, GerryWalsh, was among over 2,000 youngmusicians and singers who performedover the four days of the Kilkenny MusicFestival 2007.

Gerry played a piece on the saxophonecalled “Folk Shuffle” for the under 15category and was placed fourth, he willbe eligible for this age group for twomore years.

Second Year student Gerry Walsh.

Members of the school choir who sang at the various Liturgies throughout the year andto raise money for Bothar at Christmas

crowd and we sang enthusiasticallyfor two and a half hours.

Supermacs offered us free food, which

we graciously accepted. We raised€1647.95 and survived this wetexperience.


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Chris Casey 3SBOn Monday 13th November, the twoThird Year music classes and the SecondYear music class went on a trip to theNational Concert Hall in Dublin. TheNational Symphony Orchestra wasplaying several concerts for JuniorCertificate students to give them theopportunity to experience the sound ofthe symphony orchestra and some of thepieces that they were studying. As well asthis they would also learn about thedifferent eras of music.

The concert started off impressively with

the main theme from Star Wars by JohnWilliams. This was a brilliant piece tobegin the performance with, as it is verypopular and energetic.

The concert progressed with a selectionof other pieces, including the extremelylively French piece, the Can Can, and thesimple tune Happy Birthday.

With Happy Birthday, the conductordemonstrated the different ways inwhich a composer can change a piece, bychanging the instruments, the mood orthe volume.

The orchestra also played the set pieces

to be studied for the course: Hoedownfrom Rodeo by Copland, the Peer GyntSuite by Grieg and the BrandenburgConcerto by Bach.

The one thing that disappointed meabout the concert was the final piece,Cead Mile Failte. I felt that it was tooplain and too anti-climatic for the end. Itlacked the power and the energy of theopening piece and I think that theyshould have played a more dramaticpiece to leave a lasting impression.

As a whole, however, I think that theconcert was a very beneficial andentertaining experience.

National Concert Hall

Some of the equipment in the theatre during this year’s music practicals.

Camerata Ireland is one of the worldsleading chamber orchestras. Itremains unique in carrying thedistinction of being the only orchestrawhich enjoys the joint patronage ofboth the President of Ireland, MaryMcAleese and Queen Elizabeth 2nd.

Over the last 3 weeks, St. Kieran'sCollege was Fortunate to be part oftheir residency in Kilkenny, organisedby the Kilkenny County Council Artsoffice. This involved a series ofconcerts, educational workshops andopen rehearsals. The musicians who

visited our school gave coachingsessions, short recitals, demonstratedtheir instruments, explained about theorchestra and also about the musicthey perform. It was undoubtedly oneof the musical highlights of the schoolyear.

Camerata Ireland


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Back: Patrick Hughes, Patrick Drennan, Aidan Byrne, Conor O’Shea, Thomas O’Hanrahan, Brian Bradshaw, Mark Randall, DonalO’SheaMiddle: Thomas Talbot, Jack McGrath, Ciaran Prendergast, Billy Leydon, Enda Morrissey, Patrick Duggan, Richard Brennan,Aodhain MurphyFront: Tommy Hearne, James McGrath, Kevin McGrath, Noel Kehoe, Fergal Lalor, Stephen Thompson, Ciaran Casey, Emmet Byrne,Conor Long

Back: Aidan Cleere, David Carroll, Barry Briscoe, Ultan Movan, Andrew Whitney, Robert Lennon, James Quinn, AlexanderKacznarek,Middle: Michael Donnelly, William Murphy, Conor Holligan, Benjamin Scariff-lalor, Fintan Lougnane, Mark Foley, Patrick Dorney,Shane O’NeillFront: Harry Wallace, Conor Buggy, Daire Gleeson, James O’Shea, Robert Holohan, Kevin Kerpis, Jimmy O’ Reilly, Dean Walsh,Martin O’Shea.

1st Year Class Photos


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Back: Eoghan O’Connor, Declan McQuillan, Brian Cantwell, Daniel O’Neill, Kevin Butler, Paul O’Neill, Barry power.Middle: Anthony Forristal, Fergal Brennan, Diarmuid Cody, Peter Butler, Stephen Brennan, William Murphy, Jake Casey, CiaranMurphy.Front: Anthony Corr-Larkin, Andrew Tierney, Joseph Ryan, Jack Bruton, Eoin Corcoran, Aravind Jayadev-Menon, Michael Freeman,Diarmuid Nolan, James Rice, Richard Fitzgerald.

Back: Paul Comerford, David Hennessy, Robert Tucker, Craig Cummins, Alek Danilovs, Robert Hayes, Alan Lalor, Tim BrennanMiddle: Jason O'Reilly, Ben Lahart, Kevin O' Neill, Peter Walshe, Richard Reid, John McGrath, Shane Fitzpatrick, John Mullan.Front: Cillian Treacy, David Holden, Paddy Walsh, Donagh Carney, Luke Sheady, Wayne Cummins, Craig Breen, Donncha Foley,Adam Cummins.


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Back:William Phelan, Cillian Buckley, Andrew O’Dwyer, Cian Prendergast, Michael Dunne, Michael Shortall, Sean Wemyss, MichaelTierney.Middle: Sean Lowry, Darragh Carrigan, Eoghan Connolly, Cillian Phelan, Darragh Buggy, Patrick Butler, Brian O’Shea, Sean Lennon,Jack Nolan.Front: Jack Hanrahan, Michael Costello, Patrick O’Carroll, Hugh O’Neill, Darragh Griffin, Peter English, Brian Walshe, DannyMoloney, Dylan Meagher.

Back: Stephen McKenna, Keith Doyle, Shane Noonan-Holohan, John Dunphy, Luke Feehan.Middle: Shane Brennan, Eamonn Wallace, Seán Farrell, Shane Dowling, Conor Foley, Gerard Looby, Daryl Cody, Bill Simpson, PaulBuggy, Trevor Looby.Front: Tom Mullan, Keithh Shanahan,, Michael Clark, Ryan Bolger, Oliver O' Neill, Peter Nolan, Wayne Johnson, Darragh McComb,Ciarán Madden.

2nd Year Class Photos


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Back: Kevin Brennan, Daniel Farrell, David Mullins, Michael Whitely, Niall Walsh, Derek Phelan, Seán O’Dwyer, Shane Brennan,Declan Bennett, Jason Collier.Middle: George Allen, Michael Lanigan, Mark Grace, Jason Nugent, Jake O’ Brien, Thomas Whitely, Fionbar Hayes, Tom Brennan,Matthew Nolan, Seán McDonald.Front: Cathal O’ Neill, Ken Farrell, Eoin Walsh, Cormac Costello, Gerry Walsh, Faris Ali, Cian O’ Sullivan, Joey Corcoran, AaronNolan.

Back: Thomas Lennon, Steven Carr, Robert Lacey, William Gaffney, Patrick Brennan, Denis Hogan, Ger Smith, Sam JohnstonFront: Conor McMorrow, William Harrison, Jamie Minogue, Luke Hickey, James Burke, Steven Chappell, Anthony McNeill, AaronMcDonald, Richard Prendergast.


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Back:Caiman Browne, Corey Rigley, Gerard Teehan, Ian Matthews, Keith Dowd, Evan Barry, Shane O’Sullivan, Pierre Morrissey.Middle: Michael Cotter, Michael Gorman, Chris Casey, Jonathon Neville, Eoin Delahunty, Patrick Lennon, Colm McPartlan, ThomasByrne, Michael Hayes.Front: Kieran Lynch, Eamon O’Connor, Jamie O’Hara, Conor Maharaj, Darren Booth, Sean Phelan, Niall Kenny, Conor Gorey, ParaicMeany, Laurence O’Carroll.

Back: Kieran Casey, Anthony Wilson, Kieran White, Ciaran Gough, Andrew Cantwell, Ben O’Connor, Alan Byrne, Aidan O’DowdMiddle: Dermot Kelly, Mark Prendergast, Shane Egan, Stephen Duncan, Conor Hogan, Sean Queally, Rory McPhillips, Jake Egan,Sam MoylanFront: Karl Dos Santos, Kieran Fennelly, Michael Sheehan, Rory Bryan, Ciaran Colfer, Reamonn Brennan, Dermot Heafey, BernardMullan, Padraig Walsh, Michael Twomey.

Back: Kieran O’Brien, Evan Cass, Robert Skehan, Gavin Holohan, Michael Dowling, Patrick Lawlor.Middle: Richie Maher, James Holohan, Dara Nolan, Damien Tynan, David Luttrell, Cathal Healy, Stephen LennonFront: Mark McCarthy, Niall Heuston, Eoin Brennan, David Farrell, Paddy Dowling, Paddy Jackman.

3rd Year Class Photos


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Back: Donal Brennan, Richard Deasy, Daryl Butler, John Costigan, Joseph Clohosey, Gary Corcoran, Brian Prendergast.Middle: Jamie Fogarty, Gavin Butler, Gareth Hayes, James Gannon, Edward Dunphy, John Meehan, Paul Holden, Pádraig Walsh.Front: David O’ Connell, Shane Grace, Eoghan Lalor, David Freeman, Bill Murtagh,-White, Seán Malone, Cornelius O’ Flynn, SeánMcPhillips, David Cummins.

Back: Alex Stelmakh, Marcin Fiegel , Kenneth Kinsella, Nicky Creane, Eoin Prendergast.Middle: Darren Evans, Michael Lennon, Luke Greene, Paddy Delaney, Cillian Phelan, Irakli Tvildani, Ciarán Leahy.Front: Dylan Walsh, Hugh O’ Brien, Ciarán Snype, Kevin Ireland, Gavin Joyce.


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Back: Jack McCarron, Chris Nolan, Donal O’Farrell, Hugh Manning, Eamonn Costello, Cian O’Sullivan, Brian Banahan.Middle: Colm Walsh, David Doyle, Oliver Byrne, Jamie Monahan, Neil Butler, Liam Doyle.Front: Robert Butler, Kieran Manning, Liam Lahart, Darragh Twomey, Michael Nolan, Niall Quinlan, Stephen Li, Robbie Molloy.

Back: David Rose, Richard Shortall, John Fitzgerald, Rory O’Brien, Seamus Hayes, Eddie Ryan, Donal O’Riordan, Mike Kealy.Middle: Edward Murphy, Mark Sheehan, Shane Norton, Eoin Holohan, Colin Manning, Richard Troy, Andrew Kavanagh.Front: Samuel Johnson, John Muldowney, Corey Molloy, Brian Fitzgerald, Michael Sherlock, Ronan McCann, Paul Barron.

Transition Year Class Photos


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Back: John Cahill, David Prendergast, Padraig Burke, Rory Hogan, Kevin Nolan, Evan Prendergast.Middle: James Byrne, Sean Direen, T.J. Sherman, David Ryan, Shane Farrelly, Eanan Cooke.Front: Conor Barry, Cathal Kavanagh, Colum Kennedy, Stephen Mullins, Cain Lynch, Jake Moylan.

Back: Chris Randall, Eoghan Grant, Philip Ryan, Brian Fitzpatrick, Sam Holmes, Kevin O’Neill, James BrennanMiddle: Stephen Comerford, Eddie Nugent, Jack Walsh, Geoff Doyle, Thomas Tennyson, Frank IrelandFront: Enda Madden, David Kennedy, Trevor Kelly, Barry Mullins, Gary Armitage, Jonathon Dewberry.


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Back: Jack O’Connor, Bernard McDonald, Ciaran Neary, David Rice, Gary Cody, Richard Moss, Ciaran TreacyMiddle: Robbie Doyle, Joseph Walsh, Brian Cooper, David Butler, Stephen Quinlan, Thomas Armitage, John Holland, DannyGlendon, Shane O’Keeffe.Front: Philip Heafey, Tomas Flynn, Kieran Kelly, John Fagan, David Brett, Richard Whitney, Kevin Bolger, Martin Phelan.

Back: Thomas Hession, Shane Carr, Mark Kinsella, Alan Tyrell, Caiman Brennan, Eoin Brett, Paraic Phelan, Colm J. Dowling.Middle: Craig Martin, David Nolan, Eoghan Curtin, Billy Hayes, David Rafter, Jack O’Connor, Joe Brennan, Michael Walsh, PeterCody, Brian McPartlan.Front: Paul Barrett, Eamon Foley, Brian O’Shea, Niall McQuillan, David Griffin, Robbie Kavanagh , Patrick Rice, Niall Mullaly.

5th Year Class Photos


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Back: David Walton, Thomas Hayes, Rick Leydon, David Buggy, Stephen Murphy, Justin Dermody.Middle: Darren Guilfoyle, Declan Rafter, John Prendergast, Conor Phelan, Martin Gibbons, Oisin Daly, Colm Dowling.Front: Patrick McQuinn, Luke Casey, David McPhillips, Tom Ryan, John Wallace, John Connolly.

Back: DavidHanrahan, AndrewPrendergast, GavinDuffy, Niall O’Brien,Niall ScanlonFront: DarrenCornally, Mike Maher,Ciaran O’Malley, ChrisCummins, GaryO’Brien.

Back: Joseph O’Brien,Kevin Nolan, EoinLong, ShaunMcGrath, MarkSimpson.Front: RobbieCulleton, MarkDowling, KennethHeffernan, MiksGlaveckis, ShaneO’Halloran.


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Back: David Hession, Colm Brody, Ml. Brennan, Sean Leahy, Shane Brennan, Conor O’Brien, Glenn Campion, Aaron Quigley,Stephen Colfer.Middle: Paddy Foley, James Cahill, Sean Houlihan, Philip Brennan, James Shortall, Darren Rafter, Aidan O’Neill, Martin Meany,Chris Foley.Front: Padraig Butler, John Creegan, Richard Dowling, Eoghan Carney, Darren Ferns, Paul Mullan, James Taylor, Liam Frayne,Darren Glennon.

Back: Morgan Crowe, Damien O’Dowd, Tony McGrath, Keith Hogan, Ml. Lawler, P.J. Delaney, Keith Mullins.Middle: Ml. Gannon, Padraic Murphy, Stuart Delaney, Jonjo Farrell, Tony Moore, Colin Murphy, Ml. McDonald, Sean O’Shea, JamieMcCarthy.Front: Peter Dore, Noel Darmody, Darragh Wafer, Liam Ryan, Shaun Hayes, Shane Dunphy, Luke O’Mahony, Jonathon Rigley, PaulO’Dwyer, Brian Meagher.

6th Year Class Photos


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Back: David Walsh, Mary Casey, James Nolan, Craig Dowling, Darren Brennan, Paul Harrison. Front: Julian O’Keeffe, Stephen O’Keeffe, T.J. Fitzpatrick, Philip Johnston, Ml. Johnson. Missing from photo: Shane Scanlon andAndrew Canty.

6DBack: Nigel Kavanagh, Ml. O’Neill, Ml. Slattery, T.C. Walsh, Richard Norton, Liam Geoghan, James Meehan. Front: Jason Tallott, Ml. Meany, Darren Adams, Robert Dillon, Andrew Hickey, Enda Fitzpatrick, Tony Hall. Missing from photo:Declan Long


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Jack Bruton (1st year)Hello! My name is Jack Bruton and I amwriting about the first year cross-countryrace. Everyone in first year participatedin the run, unless you were injured orsick. All the classes walked the full coursebefore moving into the starting position.The two teachers involved were Mr.O’Keeffe, our running coach and our Year

Head, and our other running coach, Mr.Hogan.

Many people trained on the Mondays,Wednesdays and Fridays leading up tothe race but there were also those whowere first timers.

When Mr. O’Keeffe started the race ConorO’Shea (1SC) was out like a bullet with achasing group not far behind. Many

runners soon faded away from the leaderbut there were a number right on his tail.

Declan McQuinlan was one of the strongcontenders making Conor push all theway. Conor was triumphant and Declanfinished a strong second.

1SC had the highest points score beat 1Skby 23 points to take home the MichaelBrannigan trophy.

The Big Race

Cross Country running has become apopular school sporting activity.Students are encouraged to take uprunning to develop their physicalfitness. Runners of all ages andstamina levels enjoy the structuredtraining runs in the castle park. Thepreparation for the inter-schoolcompetition intensified after theHalloween break. As always theemphasis is on ‘team’ and not theindividual.

John F. Kennedy Park, New Ross was

once again the venue for the SouthLeinster Cross Country Championships.We had seven teams competing, in allfifty-six runners. We won all four teamtitles, which is a considerableachievement. Diarmuid Cody led homethe U-14s. George Allen was theinspiration for the U-15s finishingsecond in the race. Eamon O’Connorrallied the Intermediate U-17 teamwhile Stephen O’Keeffe was the captainof the U-19 senior team.

All our winning teams qualified for the

Leinster Championships, which wereheld in D.C.U. Dublin. The minors andjuniors were second in their respectiveraces while the seniors went one stepfurther and won gold. We won the titleof ‘Best Cross Country School’ inLeinster. Two teams qualified for theAll Irelands. The All Irelandchampionships rounded off anothercross-country season with our juniorteam finishing fifth and our seniorstudents winning bronze in the teamcompetition.

Cross Country RunningA number of the students who regularly went on structured training runs in the Castle Park.


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Senior/U-19:

Back: Thomas Hayes, Niall Quinlan,Brian O’Shea.

Front: Eamon O’ Connor, Eamon Foley,Stephen O’Keeffe, John Connolly.Missing from Photo- Robbie Kavanagh.Trainers John O’Keeffe and Tom HoganPictured with each group.

CCU-17 Intermediate/U-17: Back: Jonathon Neville, ShaneO’Sullivan, Aidan O’Dowd, Ben O’Connor,Ciaran Fennelly.Front: Cathal Healy, Conor Hogan,Raymond Brennan, Eamon O’Connor,Paddy Dowling, Padraig Walsh, LiamRyan.

Junior/U-15: Back: Michael Costello,Peter English, Niall Walsh, George Allen,Sean Lowry.Front: Declan McQuillan, Conor O’Shea,Danny Farrell, Ryan Bolger, Hugh O’Neill.

Minor/U-14: Back: Harry Wallace,Michael Donnelly, Thomas Talbot,Darragh Gleeson, Peter Walsh, EoinO’Connor. Front: Enda Morrissey, Jack Bruton,Diarmuid Cody, Eoin Corcoran, BenLahart.


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HandballLeinsterChamps

Eamonn Foley and Ciaran Neary wonthe Leinster Colleges Doubles SeniorChampionship 60x30 and 40x20 andLuke Greene won the Leinster CollegesSingles Junior Handball Champonship60x30 and 40x20.

This year’s badminton got off to aneager start with a large turnout showingup for Thursday practice.

The first competitive event took placein February where the U-19 team wonout the Kilkenny schools’ tournament inimpressive style.

In March the U-14’s followed suit byovercoming five other local schools.This secured them a place in theLeinster schools’ finals in Baldoylewhere they came in runners-up to astrong Salesian College team.

Between Easter and the summer breakthe players continued to practice andplay ladder games against one anotherin a bid to reach the top of the ladder.The year will be rounded off with adoubles summer league.

Fergal Brennan, Declan Bennet, Ms. D. Lynch, Daniel Farrell, Patrick Walsh.

Robert Butler, Conor Brennan,Darragh Nolan,

Joseph Walsh.

Eamon Foley, Ciaran Neary, Luke Green.

Badminton


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Golf ’06-’07

SENIOR GOLFIt was a very good year for the seniorgolf panel who participated in the G.U.I.Leinster Branch Fourball Match playChampionship.

Our team members were: Craig Martin(5th year), Jack Walsh (T.Y.), ThomasHayes (5th Year) and Ciaran Colfer (3rdyear). The team defeated CastlecomerCommunity School and Callan C.B.S.

We also entered the Stroke playcompetition. A qualifying round washeld in Kilkenny Golf Club- a team ofthree playing off scratch. Thecumulative score is calculated. St.Kieran’s was one of 2 teams to qualifyout of 21 schools that entered. All 3team members- Craig Martin, ThomasHayes and Ciaran Colfer- playedexceptionally well on the day withCiaran recording a personal best grossscore of 77. Craig recorded a 4-underpar 67. The next outing was inRathsallagh Golf Club. The standard ofGolf was very high resulting in St.Kieran’s being edged out of thecompetition.

Thomas Hayes and Ciaran Colfer.

Jack Walsh and Craig Martin.


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First Year Hurling League

Traditionally, the First Year hurlingleague is the students’ introduction tohurling in St. Kieran’s College. Theseleagues are unique in that they cater forall abilities i.e. anyone interested inhurling is given the opportunity to play-which is the true meaning of amateursport.

We started with 82 students divided intosix teams of approximately thirteenplayers per team. Between Septemberand Christmas over 18 games were

played, all of a very high standard andmany potential “ Sheffs” and “DJs” werespotted. Time will tell!

At all stages during the competition wenoticed a great enthusiasm,competitiveness and seriousness and itall culminated in an excellent finalwhere there could only be one winner(unfortunately).

This competition would not have beenpossible without our dedicated andenthusiastic referees led by Ciaran Neary.

We wish to thank the Kilkenny CountyBoard for their continued support andsponsorship- they provided a set ofbeautiful trophies for the winners andmedals for the runners-up. The trophieswere presented by our P§rincipal, Mr.John Curtis.

Thanks to the three teachers involved inthe organisation and running of thisleague; Michael Forrest, Jane Galwayand Patrick Darmody.

Earlier this year a ‘Champions League’was held for First Years. 90 studentsentered the competition which wasbased on the real Champions League.The early stages of the competitionwere fought out on a group basis withthe winners and runners-up of eachgroup playing one another in the semi-finals. Each First Year class entered twoteams.

Competition was tight and Arsenallooked promising earlier on with a 4-0win over Celtic. A.C.Milan, Real Madridand Barcelona also got off to a goodstart. However, after a long and hard

fought group stage four teamsemerged with hopes of a place in thefinal. Arsenal (from 1SK) and A. C.Milan (from 1SC) both had 9 pointsfrom 3 games. Man. Utd. (1SK) andCeltic (from 1SC) were both grouprunners-up.

The semi-finals produced a fewsurprises with Celtic seeing off Milanand Man. Utd. making someuncharacteristic mistakes to set up anexciting final between Arsenal andCeltic. The final was held on the 30thMarch with all First Years attending.The Arsenal defence had a shaky start

allowing Celtis to steal an early goal.But the ‘Gunners’ picked themselves upand found the equaliser through somegreat skill by Jack Bruton. It was end toend stuff for much of the remainder ofthe game. Both teams had chances,both teams had missed opportunities,but it was Celtic who emerged aswinners with a late goal from NoelKehoe to seal the victory.

Congratulations to Celtic. Well done toall students who participated in theFirst Year Champions League this yearand to Paul Lynch of A. C. Milan whowas the tournament’s top goal scorer.

First Year Hurling League winning team.

First Year Champions League


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Leinster Senior Schools Swimming Championships

The Leinster Senior Schools SwimmingChampionships were held in theNational Aquatic Centre Abbotstown onSunday 14th January ’07. Swimming forSt.Kieran’s College were Cian Mullalyand Conor McMorrow at Junior (13/14age group) and Colm Dowling at Senior(17/19 age group), all qualified torepresent their school at All-Irelandschools level in the Grove pool in Belfaston the 2nd and 3rd of February ’07.

Cian came in 2nd in the final of the100m backstroke. He also competed inthe freestyle final and came in 4thplace.

Conor swam in the final of the 100mbutterfly and came in 3rd position andhe also competed in the final of the200m individual medley and came in4th place.

Colm had double gold, a greatachievement and at a level Colm iseligible for again next year. In the 200mindividual medley Colm won gold andreceived the Challenge Cup which is inexistence since 1919. In the final hebeat the championship record whichwas previously held by Justin MitchellNewpark CS, Blackrock in 1993 Colmswam in a time of 2.08.55. Colm alsoswam in 100m freestyle final and wongold in 52.29 making him one of thefastest in his age group in the country.

The schools international was hosted byIreland in the National Aquatic Centreover the weekend of the 10th March.There were four teams of approx. 40swimmers each from England, Scotland,Wales and Ireland competing in eachevent. There were 8 swimmers in eachfinal, two from each country.

Swimming from St. Kieran’s was ColmDowling who swam at Senior level in

the 200m individual medley the 200mbreaststroke and the 4x100m freestylerelay. In the 200m individual medleyColm came in second place registering atime of 2:12:46, which was a personalbest. Colm then went on to help his 3Irish team mates to 3rd place in the4x100m freestyle relay in 3:35:57, aJunior National Freestyle 4x100 relayrecord.

Congratulations to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd andTransition Year swimmers on passingtheir Safety and Rescue Awards of theIrish Water Safety Association. Aboutfifteen students took the test and allwere successful.

Colm Dowling.

Wise InternationalSchools Gala

Safety andRescueAwards


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Soccer

Tom Brennan

Tom Brennan, captain of theU-14 soccer team, reports onthe season gone by.The U-14 soccer team did very well thisyear. They reached the league final butwere beaten by an excellent Carlow CBSteam 4-2, after extra time.

They were very unlucky and hit theupright twice during the game.

To reach the final they had to play Carlow CBS previous and St Kieran’s won 2-0,and also secured a hard earned drawagainst a tough Tullow team.

In a friendly game, St Kieran's had acomprehensive win over Pobalscoil, 11-1.

Stephen DuncanThis year’s under 18 soccer started with a2-0 defeat to a very strong Kilkenny CBSside. We then had a comfortable 2-1 winagainst Tullow Community School and a0-0 draw with Carlow Presentation.

With only one game remaining a win wasneeded to advance to the league final.The game started off horrendously withCarlow CBS taking a 1-0 lead after onlyfive minutes. Great work by AndrewHickey and Daragh Walsh brought CBS

crashing down and completed a greatday out. An inspiring 3-1 win sentKieran’s into an exciting final with rivalsKilkenny CBS.

In the league final a superb effort fromPhilip Johnson gave the Kieran’s boys adeserved 1-0 lead at half time. Greatdefending headed up by our captainTony McGrath was the backbone of theteam and gave little chance for the CBSto get back into the game. Martin Phelansealed the victory with a nice worked ball

and a pinpoint cross for a sweet header.

The quarter final of Leinster was againsta disappointing Kells CommunityCollege. With appalling conditions theboys did very well and fully deserved a 2-1 win.

Unfortunately the lads went down in theLeinster finals to a very good AthloneCommunity College, with two of theirgoals coming in the first and last fiveminutes. The lads were very unlucky andlost 3-2.

Under-18

Back: Sean Direen, Michael Walsh, Gavin Houlihan.Middle: Martin Phelan, Andrew Cantwell, Andrew Hickey, Declan Casey, Stuart Delaney, Darragh Walsh, Philip Johnson.Front: Ms. Eadaoin Brennan, Michael Gorman, Eoghan Carney, Tony McGrath, Oisin Daly, John Holland, Stephen Duncan, Mr. Ken Maher.

Under-14


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A year promised much, but

unfortunately ended in disappointment.

Despite finishing top of the league,

having won all the group matches, St

Kieran’s College succumbed in the final,

to second place Tullow Vocational

School.

Games: —

SKC 2 C.B.S. Kilkenny 1

SKC 2 Carlow C.B.S. 0

SKC 2 Tullow Vocational School 0

SKC 3 Pres Carlow 1

In the final with dominant SKC leading1-0, with only two minutes remaining, a

dubious penalty decision was taken,resulting in the score beingleveled…seconds later Tullow wentahead with a great shot from outsidethe box. A last minute penalty appealwas turned down, therefore againstrun-of-play; St. Kieran’s had to settle forrunner up spot.

Under-16

Panel; Conor Barry

Stephen Duncan

Robert Skehan

Andrew Cantwell

Donal O Riordan

Sean Direen

Andrew Kavanagh

Gavin Holohan

Darragh Walsh

Nicky Creane

Sean Queally

Trevor Kelly

Ciaran Snipe

Conor Gory

Kevin Ireland

Shane Farrelly

David Cummins

Edward Nugent

Brian Donovan


52

Juvenile Football

St. Kieran’s juvenile football teamreached the Leinster Football Final thisyear after an excellent campaign whichsaw the team retain their South Leinsterfootball title along the way.

The season started with the groupstages of the competition which saw St.Kieran’s top their group producingsome excellent football. Along the waythey were convincing winners overTullow CS, 6-20 to no score andCastlecomer, 5-11 to 1-2.

This qualified the team for the SouthLeinster quarter final where they beatScoil Eoin of Athy on a score line of St.Kieran’s 3-9 Scoil Eoin 4-3.

The team then progressed to a SouthLeinster Semi-Final where they weresuccessful against FCJ Bunclody after avery tough game - St. Kieran’s 3-10 FCJ5-1.

This was the second year in a row thatthe team reached the South LeinsterFootball Final, and they retained theirtitle following a very entertainingmatch played in Stradbally, St Kieran’s5-2 Colaiste Iosagain, Portarlington 2-8.

St. Kieran’s then faced the champions ofDublin, Colaiste Enna on the 13thFebruary in the Leinster semi-final. Ona very wet day St. Kieran’s won on a

score line of St. Kieran’s 0-13 ColaisteEnna 2-5.

This result put the team into theLeinster Final which was played in Dr.Cullen Park in Carlow against ColaisteMhuire of Kildare. However this gameended in defeat for the college teamwho lost the Leinster title on a scoreline of St. Kieran’s 2-5 to ColaisteMhuire’s 3-9.

The team was managed for the secondyear in a row by Ms. Ryan and Mr.Windle.

JUNIOR FOOTBALLThe Junior Football campaign beganwith a good win away against TullowCommunity School, with the teamscoring four goals in the process. Ournext outing was at home to Athy. Thiswas a closely contested match with Athygoing five points up by half time.However St. Kieran’s responded to thechallenge and scoring 1-5 to Athy’s 0-2,in the second half, were leading by apoint going into injury time. A costlyloss of possession allowed Athy in for awell worked late goal which proved tobe the decisive score.

St. Kieran’s would then play the winnersof group A, Naas, in the quarter finals.During this quarter final St. Kieran’splayed manly, holding a very fine Naasteam to a point advantage in the firsthalf. St.Kieran’s conceded a goaldirectly after half time but the teamcontinued to play valiantly trying tobreak down a very strong Naas side.

Naas added further points and finishedwinners on a score line of 1-12 to 0-7,thus ending the Junior FootballCampaign for this year.

JUNIOR FOOTBALLPANEL

Donal Brennan, Thomas Byrne, DavidCummins, Keith Davitt, Paddy Dowling,Stephen Duncan, David Freeman, JamesGannon, Michael Gorman, AidanO’Dowd, Shane O’Sullivan, BrianPrendergast, Paul Barron, John Cahill,Sean Direen, Brian Donovan, GeoffDoyle, Eoghan Grant, Sam Holmes, AndyKavanagh, Kevin Nolan, Shane Norton,Eddie Nugent, Michael Rice, Eddie Ryan,Mark Sheehan, Richard Troy, DavidBuggy, Robbie Culleton, Ben Nolan,David Nolan.

Ms. Emma Ryan and Mr. Richard Windle with the U-14 (Juvenile) football panel who retained their South Leinster title thisyear.


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TRACK AND FIELDAt the recent South Leinster track andfield competition, held in Scanlon Park,St. Kieran’s fielded much weakenedMinor and Junior Teams due to a fixtureclash. However the students who didcompete did so with distinction and thefollowing students qualified for theLeinster finals.

Peter English 1st Junior Discus

Daniel Farrell 2nd Javlin

Jason Nugent 1ST 100 metres.

The Intermediate and Seniorcompetition was held on Friday 4th Maywith only the most dedicated athletestaking part. John Fagan broke the recordin the 400mts and the 400mts hurdles(both records were previously held by

Eoin Everard and Jamie Quane, formerSt. Kieran’s pupils) and Stephen O’Keeffecame second in the 5,000mts. EamonO’Connor won the mile U-16.

On the 15th May the following achievedsuccess at the Leinster Schools Finals:

Peter English 1st Junior Discus

John Fagan 1st Senior 400m Hurdles

Eamon O’Connor 3rd U-14 Mile

Mr. Pat Murphy and Mr. John O’Keeffe with the U-16 (Junior) Football Panel.

Front: Jason Nugent, Peter English, Stephen O’Keeffe, Eamon O’Connor.Back: John Fagan, Daniel Farrell, Mr. John Quane.


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Hurling

On Friday the 20th of April St.Kieran’s College was represented by75 students at an under 14 hurlingblitz. There were 3 panels of 25hurlers competing in the blitz. Oneteam went to St. John’s Park with Mr.Finan and were very successful,

winning the tournament havingplayed matches against Castlecomer,Callan and Good Council . Two moreteams competed in Palmerstown inanother blitz against teams from CBS,Mooncoin, Abbey Community Schooland Thomastown. Both of these

teams reached the semi- final andwere narrowly beaten. The studentshad a brilliant day with all teamsplaying at least 4 games. Anotherblitz will be held in May andhopefully we will have as muchsuccess if not more.

The First Year students involved in the u-14 blitz with Mr. Adrian Finan, Ms. Eileen Hanrick and Mr. Ken Maher.

The U-14’A’ Panel Pictured with Mr. Pat Murphy and Mr. John O’Keefe.

We are the defending Leinster SchoolsJuvenile Hurling 'A' Champions, thecurrent holders of the Dr. Barry Cup.

This year's championship began in lateMarch with nine teams divided intothree preliminary groups. In our firstgame we defeated an athletic andphysically strong South Dublin Colleges0-12 to 0-9. The game was played in theCollege on a wet, heavy pitch whichsuited the bigger Dublin players. Weplayed our best hurling in the first tenminutes of the second half scoring fivepoints in a row without a Dublin reply.

After Easter we travelled to the north ofthe county and encountered a veryspirited Castlecomer side. The hungrierCastlecomer team surprised us and wewere defeated 2-11 to 3-10. St. Kieran'sfinished the group as runners up andwent through to the quarter finalsagainst Dublin North Colleges. In amuch more confident performance led

U-14 ‘A’ Hurling

Under 14 B Blitz

by the inspirational Cillian Buckley whois team captain. We overcame theDublin opposition 6-13 to 1-7.

In the semi-final we met St Brendan’s,Birr and the outcome of that game was3-15 to 1-10 so as we go to press we are

through to the Leinster Schools finalplaying against Dublin South Colleges.

Following a competitive game StKieran’s won the Leinster Schools Finalby a point on a score of 2-4 to 11points.


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Senior HurlingSt. Kieran’s hurlers opened theirLeinster league campaign with a stifftest against Castlecomer CS. The collegeboys started well and with the aid of agreat John Joe O'Farrell goal theyreached half time leading by fivepoints.

The Comer boys stormed in to thesecond half and with five minutes to gohad established a three point lead. TheKieran’s team showed great characterin turning the tide and points fromShane Brennan, Liam Ryan and a KeithHogan free earned the college a crucialdraw.

Next up was an equally tough

encounter against local rivals KilkennyCBS. The CBS team who boasted five oflast year’s county minor team wasranked as favourite for thecompetition. The game was regardedas one of the best ever between thesetwo hurling strongholds. A blisteringstart saw the sides level at 2-4 eachafter 12 minutes. For the remainder ofthe half scores were much harder tocome by and the two teams retired athalf time level, 2-6 apiece.

CBS had a great start to the second halfand went five points up in as manyminutes. Two great goals from LiamRyan and Shane Brennan brought

Kierans back in to the game andcoming up to injury time they hadestablished a one point lead. With thegame still in the balance it was the menin black and white who finished thestronger with points from James Nolanand Liam Ryan helping them to amerited 4-12 to 2-15 win. This victorywas enough to see the College team into the Leinster league final.

The league final saw the Kilkenny boysface up to their great Wexford rivals -Good Counsel of New Ross. After thecloseness of the previous two gamesthis proved to be a bit more one sided.A storming first half saw the College

The U-16 “B” Panel.

The Juniors began the campaign with agood win away to St. Mary’s CBSEnniscorthy. Their next outing was athome against St. Brendan’s Communityschool, Birr which the away team wonby five points. The score was St. Kieran’s3-6, Birr 4-8.

In the quarterfinal St. Kieran’s facedold rivals St. Peter’s College, Wexford, in

Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow. This was a veryexciting game that went to extra time.St. Kieran’s emerged victors on a soreline; St. Kieran’s 5-12 St. Peter’s 2-11.

St. Kieran’s faced much fancied cityrivals, Kilkenny CBS in the semi-final.However, after a very close encounterthe college emerged with a three pointvictory. St. Kieran’s 2-8 CBS 0-11.

Junior Hurling Review 2006-2007

The U-16 “A” Panel pictured with Mr. Tom Hogan and Mr. Philip Walsh.PanelThomas Byrne, Geoff Doyle, AidanO’Dowd, Paddy Dowling, RichardTroy, James Gannon (Capt.), DonalBrennan Kevin Nolan, BenO’Connor,

Michael Cotter, Sean Phelan, ShaneNorton, Sam Holmes, Eddie Ryan

Tom Ryan, Laurence O’Carroll,David Buggy, Nicky Creane, RobbieCulleton Caimin Browne ConorDoyle Daire Nolan, Danny LuttrellConor Hogan,

Ciaran Goff, Paul Holden, AndrewCantwell, Padraig Walsh.

The final against Good Counsel NewRoss was played in Dr. Cullen Park andproved to be a bridge too far for thespirited college side. Good Counsel ranout winners by 6 points. Good Counsel0-16 St. Kieran’s 0-10.


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boys lead by 4-6 to 0-5 with goals fromLiam Ryan, Joe Ramsbottom,.KeithHogan and Shane Brennan.

The second half saw the New Ross mencoming back in to the game and acouple of late scores made thescoreboard a little more respectablefrom their point of view - a win forKieran’s 4-11 to 2-10.

The College boys worked hard over theremainder of the winter in preparationfor the Leinster championship. Theirfirst game was against traditional rivalsSt Peters of Wexford. The men from theModel County made St. Kieran’s workhard for the full hour. The accuracy ofKeith Hogan's free taking was crucial inkeeping the Kilkenny men in the game.With minutes to go Kieran’s had only atwo point lead but a goal from ShaneBrennan and points from Joe Brennanand Keith Hogan gave Kieran's the win -1-15 to 0-11.

The city boys were now up againstCastlecomer CS in a Leinster semi-final.Played in Nowlan Park the game startedevenly enough. However a two goalblitz by James Nolan in the 10th and11th minute seemed to have set St.Kieran’s on their way. The Comer boysresponded with a goal of their ownbefore half time which left Kieran’sleading at the interval by 0-5.

Playing with the aid of a breeze themen from Castlecomer gradually beganto claw their way back in to the game.With ten minutes to go a Comer goalsaw them take the lead for the first

St. Kieran’s College Senior Hurling panel.

Members of the Kilkenny senior All-Ireland Team who are past pupils of St. Kieran’s College.

Back: Eddie Brennan, Michael Rice, Brian Hogan, John Tennyson, James ‘Cha’Fitzpatrick, Stephen Maher.Middle: Paul Kinsella, Henry Shefflin, Donncha Cody, Andy Comerford, Eoin Reid,Richie Power, Sean O’Neill, Pat Dunphy.Front: Brian Cody, Tommy Walsh, Michael Kavanagh, Monsignor Kieron Kennedy,Jackie Tyrell, Eoin Larkin, Derek Lyng.

time. A further pointed free left themargin at two points. Despite a numberof raids on the Comer goal this was agame the Kieran’s men were unable toclose.

This was to be the only defeat theKieran’s team had all year in acampaign that saw them beat both theeventual All-Ireland finalists. Thisgroup of players can certainly holdtheir heads high after giving their all intraining and in games throughout theyear. Many of them are still availablenext year.

St Kieran's panel - Michael Gannon,Niall McQuillan, David Walsh, MichaelWalsh, Brian O'Shea, Martin Phelan,Michael Fagan, Rick Leydon, John JoeFarrell, James Nolan, David Walton,Shane Brennan, Joe Brennan, KeithHogan, Liam Ryan, Ken Heffernan, OisinDaly, Padraig Phelan, Alan Tyrrell,Darren Ferns, Enda Fitzpatrick, MichaelMcDonald, Joe Walsh, James Gannon,Padraig Murphy, PJ Delaney, CiaranTreacy, Stephen Quinlan, Sean Phelan,Tony McGrath, Sean Holohan, DavidBuggy, Thomas Byrne, Michael Lawlor,Conor McQuillan.

ST. KIERAN’S COLLEGE RECORD · for Adult Religious Education and Faith Formation, to the Diocesan...

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