24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
See photos as St Joseph's Secondary School in Ballybunion holds annual end of year awards night
Awards were presented on the night by the school's Principal John O'Donovan, Deputy Principal Anne Cummins, and special guests Muireann Ahern and Louis Lovett – joint artistic directors of Theatre Lovett.
Over 30 awards were presented on a night filled with joy, lots of nerves, and many beaming faces. The night was hailed as a culmination of the hard work and dedication shown by the students of the school all year long with Principal John O'Donovan stating:
"I am so proud of our students here in St Joseph's Secondary School, it is a real pleasure and honour to see what they have accomplished all year.'
Organisers of the night said that every student, whether they took home a medal, trophy, or certificate from the evening, everyone was a deserving recipient.
Among the many winners on the night were Moira O' Connor and Kate Fitzmaurice who were both welcomed on stage to receive the Junior Certificate Achievement Award; they both received identical results in their Junior Certificate examinations in 2024. Aoibhín Lynch meanwhile was the honorary winner of the Leaving Certificate Achievement Award following her stellar results in 2024 but, unfortunately, she could not be there on the night due to commitments to college exams.
Several students were recipients of Student of the Year awards for showing outstanding academic results and outstanding improvements in their work.
The overall Junior Student of the Year went to the well-deserving and hard-working Niamh Toomey in 3rd year while Cormac Scanlan took home the coveted Senior Student of the Year trophy. Both students were hand-picked by teachers to receive these awards, and it is fair to say there were no surprises with these choices.
The CEIST Award meanwhile is a special award given to one student of each CEIST school nationwide annually and this year the school felt that Quynh Anh Pham Thi of 3rd year was a worthy recipient for her hard work, selflessness, and commitment to student and teacher wellbeing during the year.
Other awards presented on the night were ones in the areas of craft, literature, Irish language, art, enterprise, basketball, soccer, and chess.
Dara O' Connor was the recipient of the Senior Craft Award while the Junior Craft Award went to Caoimhe Stack. The Senior Art award was presented to Sarah Buckley while the Junior Art award went to Oisín Blake.
The Junior Literature Award went to Seán O' Driscoll while Marian Fitzsimons was the recipient of the Senior Literature Award. Patsy Rose Byrne and Aisling McElligott were presented with our Michael Bunyan perpetual Enterprise shield for their well-designed product that was sold at the Annual Christmas Trade Fair. Cara Reilly was presented with the Noirín Uí Chathain perpetual shield on the night for the great effort she made with Irish throughout the year.
Daithí Keane Tyrell won the Senior Footballer of the Year Award while Brody Mulvihill won the Junior Boys Footballer of the Year category. Orla O' Mahony won the Senior Ladies Football Award and the Junior Ladies football Award was won by Eilidh Cregan. Seán Dalton received Player of the Year in the Junior Boys category in Basketball whilst the ever-deserving Archie Walsh took home a trophy for Senior Boys Basketballer of the Year.
Ellie Walsh O' Boyle won the Junior Basketball Player of the Year Award while Orla O' Mahony won the Senior Basketball Player of the Year Award. Soccer Player of the Year was presented to Max Ryan of 2nd Year whilst the Junior Hurler of the Year award went to Jack Blake. The winner of this year's School Chess Tournament was Aoife O' Connor of 1st Year who received a medal on the night for her victory as well as her very own wooden chess board to keep practising on.
