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Contents Principal’s Foreword Prize Giving Speech Teaching Staff 2009 - 2010 Mrs Angela McGuckian Kathleen Murtagh Shauna Shivers Paddy Mc Erlean Mr Cox Leaving Head Boys & Girls St Patrick’s Dine ‘n Style Rotary Youth Leadership Development School Formal 2009 Art Year 10 STEM/CEIAG Activity Days Careers Fair for Health Related Professions Year 12/13 Careers Convention 2010 1st Years Entrepreneurial Experience Project Business Visits St Patrick’s Workskills Showcase Day Work Experience Reports Year 9 Masterclass @ St Patrick’s College Creative Writing - ‘In The Dark’ 9BE Poetry Corner Another Successful Book Fair CCEA Learner of the Year Awards AS Beach Study 2009 Peatlands Trip 2009 Art ‘AN BORD SNIP’ Welcome Europe Irish Medium Pupils 2010 Tanzanian Project Language Assistants Feis Charn Tóchair Magical History Tour Trip to Stormont American Dream St Brigid Choirs Schools Stars In Yer Eyes Art My Political Journey - By Connor Morgan The Pope John Paul II Award 2010 Art
Launch of the STEM Report and Module ‘It’s a Knock-out’ at Science Fair BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition St Patrick’s College Pilot E-Learning 2009 Toyota Technology Challenge Thinking Skills L.E.T. Programme School Aid Romania Comenius Ski Trip 2010 Spirit of Enniskillen Medjugorje United Kingdom Maths Challenge 2010 Art ‘Our Day Out’ Art Year 8 Football Blitz D’Alton Cup Final Stephen Quinn Memorial Shield Nannery Cup Final Corn na n-Óg Football Final Rannafast Cup Campaign MacRory Cup 2009-2010 MacRory Panel My Sporting Career, Connlan Bradley Year 8 Hurling at St Patrick’s Maghera BT MacNamee Cup Final Forester’s Cup Hurling Mageean Cup Hurling Year 8 Ulster Camogie Final Ulster Under 16 7-A-Side Camogie Title Junior Camogie Emma Agnew Noeleen McKenna (Captain) Siobhan McKaigue - Senior Captain Ulster Senior Champions Camogie All Stars Primary Schools’Football, Camogie & Hurling Sports Hall Athletics 2010 Cross Country 2010 Year 8 Year 12 Year 14 Year 14 Pen Pics
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50 51 52 53 54 54 55 57 560 62 63 66 68 69 70 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 81 83 84 86 87 88 90 91 92 94 94 95 95 97 99 101 103 104 109 114 118
t Patrick’s College - Maghera St Patrick’s College - Maghera
Principal’s Foreword 2009/10 has been an unusual year, full of great highlights and also filled with great sadness. It is probably still quite unreal that the year from the beginning was clouded by loss and tragedy. The early days of August when we were all still in the throws of enjoying our summer break, saw the beginning of what was to be a very sad year. Mrs Angela McGuckian lost her three year battle to Cancer. It seems such a short time ago when she first became unwell, June 2006, when she learned of her condition. I was filled with admiration at her initial reaction and subsequent strength of character as she faced her journey, always smiling and tossing her head as if was just a cold that would pass in time. Twice Angela came back to school and threw herself back into the job, but finally she had to let go of school to let the cruel hand of nature take its course. The College family came together in mourning in the summer of 2009; we miss a great friend and a wonderful teacher. Angela has left a strong legacy in the College and a wonderful family of whom she can be very proud. Early in the first term, on 22nd September we lost another valued member of staff, Mrs Kathleen Murtagh who was a lunchtime supervisor in the St. Mary Building. Kathleen worked there for over thirty years and was a lovely lady and much respected and valuable member of staff.
from us. Losing pupils is one of the most difficult experiences that a school has to face; the entire school population was thrown into shock and grief. In the midst of our pain and grief we received a wealth of support and comfort from one another and from many people far beyond the school gates. Fr Paddy Baker was a tower of strength to us at this time. Our school memoriam services which the Religious Department prepared created a deep sense of calm and dignity, within which we could reflect on our loss and remember the good times and fond memories of Paddy and Shauna. We hold the memory of Paddy, Shauna , Mrs McGuckian and Mrs Murtagh close to us and pray for them and their families. May they rest in peace. Whilst the school year was deeply affected by loss, we were fortunate to have had many good times also. Sport featured strongly throughout the year as usual, bringing some successes and some failures, but as we all know sport is not always about winning, but is about building character, and in St. Patrick’s we are good at building strong characters. We also had many other great achievements, some new ones, like the 2nd place achieved by the Senior Choir at the Ballymena Festival, I am sure this will not be our last success in this competition. The Science Specialist work has continued as you will see in this edition. There were numerous trips, locally and abroad, Skiing, Comenius, Romania and the wonderful trip to Medjugorje. The pupils who participated in each of the excursions were wonderful, a great credit to the College and to their families. As staff know it is quite a responsibility taking pupils abroad, but we have been very privileged and fortunate to have pupils whose behaviour is exemplary when they travel with us. I am very proud of the pupils and when you read about their experiences in this edition of the Patrician you will know why. I hope you will enjoy reading The Patrician 2010.
In November we were once again dealt another horrific blow and loss to the College, Paddy McErlean tragically taken from us to be followed 2 weeks later by Shauna Shivers. Two lovely year 11s, both of whom were full of fun and laughter were suddenly taken
Anne Scott
Prize Giving Speech Reverend Fathers, Special Guests, Governors, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our annual Prize Giving ceremony. I am delighted this evening to welcome back Dr. Jenny Quinn who is our special guest for the second time. The reason we have invited Jenny again, is not only did she thrill us with an insight into her research work on her last visit, but since then she has through her Cancer research, made significant breakthrough into treatment of certain cancers. None of us can say that we have not had some experience of this disease, whether it is on a personal, family or other level. This year we in the school lost one of our teachers to Cancer, Mrs Angela McGuckian, Chemistry teacher lost her 3 year battle in August. It is poignant that we have Jenny here to tell us how her work takes us a step further in beating the disease. We have lost 3 members of staff to cancer in the past 4 years.
Dr Quinn’s research has focused on trying to find the best chemotherapy treatment for both breast and ovarian cancer sufferers. She has investigated the effects of the drugs on patients with and without the BRCA1 gene, which controls cell growth in normal breast and ovarian cells, preventing tumours forming. Ovarian cancer patients are generally treated with both platinum and taxane based chemotherap y. However Dr Quinn has found that patients without BRCA1 benefited significantly from platinum only chemotherapy while those with normal BRCA1 levels gained an almost two year improvement in survival if they also received taxane chemotherapy. Dr Quinn is now planning further studies that may ultimately lead to the development of a test involving BRCA1 for determining the best chemotherapy treatments for patients with ovarian cancer. Such a test may also prove useful in breast, lung and prostate cancer.”
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Dr Quinn recently addressed leading academics from across America, Australia and Europe, including those from Harvard Medical School in Boston and from Oxford and Cambridge universities at a Conference hosted by the Centre for Cell Biology and Cancer Research (CCRCB).
What you hear will give you a tiny insight into this very lively school. All of the activities and class activities are provided to give pupils the best possible school life they could have and in doing so help pupils grow into articulate balanced human beings. The Northern Ireland Curriculum has done a lot to support the work of the college, as has our Specialist status, whereby, teaching has focussed on skills, sound career planning, and close working with employers and the local community, so that pupils are developed to serve the needs of the local and wider community. We have a significant number of fundraising for charity and underdeveloped countries, whereby pupils and staff become involved, and in doing so develop self effacing traits and a strong sense of good citizenship. We are conscious of the biased and stereo typical view of young people in our society but here we see it differently. Pupils in the College have been incredible when it comes to giving to charities; we had one child who raised in excess of £1000 last year for the orphanages in Medjugorje. Most of this she raised outside of school herself.
CCRCB is currently carrying out around 50 national and international clinical trials into various cancers with the aim of offering patients new treatment options which will have the best outcomes for them as well as fewer and less severe side effects. Dr Quinn with her colleagues is at the cutting edge of Cancer research. We are honoured to have her as our special guest. Last year we had large numbers sitting A2, AS and GCSE examinations. Such numbers made great demands on staff and on the College; however this did not interfere with the usual busy and eventful life of the College.
The College which is bilateral, one of four in the province, like all other schools is challenged by the Department of Education to provide a wide, varied and balanced education for pupils in the South Derry area. Part of this has been the need to review admissions criteria and to review our curriculum in terms of delivering the NI Curriculum and our fitness for purpose to deliver the entitlement framework by 2013. The College is in the fortunate position, due to its size, of being able to offer more than 24 subjects at GCSE and more than 27 at A level. With our extensive curriculum, we are supporting smaller postprimary schools in this area. This is the future of education – collaboration. We too have sought support from other educational establishments, as in our Occupational studies and some Construction modules from the NRC. Our plans for the future are to extend the help we can give to other schools. This will not be at the expense of our own pupils; our pupils will always take priority over all others, but there is a lot to be gained by sharing our expertise with others.
Our results were outstanding, with A level results increasing by 4%. This was incredible as they were already very high for the College. As a result all but a few pupils have progressed to further and higher education across the usual wide variety of courses. Quite a number have gone to study Pharmacy, Medicine, and Law, just to mention a few of the 3rd level courses. In the past 7 years, the A level results have crept up and up year on year and now, they are 21% higher than they were in 03. We had 470 subject entries, 83% were in the A-C range. 7% pupils gained 3 or more Straight As. 15 Subjects have equalled or increased their A – Cs, with 8 gaining 100% A-C. As a Specialist School for Science, their targets were exceeded. All 3 Sciences Biology, Physics and Chemistry improved their grades from last year, with 90%, 93% and 100% grades A-C respectively. The GCSE outcomes were also outstanding, bringing 174 pupils back to the college to study AS subjects. We had notable results from 15 subject areas who achieved 90% or higher in the A*-C. As in A Level, the Sciences performed particularly well, with all subjects improving on previous best. Performing Arts which was only introduced as a Double Award subject 2 years ago had outstanding results with 6 candidates achieving A*, 6 achieving A’s and 2 with C’s. This is remarkable for a newly introduced subject. Needless to say we are delighted that due to our success, we have launched Performing Arts as an AS and in addition to our own cohort of pupils, we have 4 pupils from one of our partner schools joining us to study Performing Arts.
In terms of Transfer of pupils at the age of 11, the College, with its Grammar band, will continue to maintain this status. In comparison to our Grammar counterparts, we fare very favourably in terms of examinations and other achievements, if not better in some cases. We will continue to offer and deliver this high quality education, but it will be for all pupils, regardless of ability. In many ways we are what the Minister has visioned for NI education, a school which caters for all abilities, with an extensive menu of subjects, offered at every level to suit every ability. 2010 transfer will present many problems. This year we were oversubscribed by more than 40 pupils, in Year 8; this was the case with criteria which included academic selection. For 2010, we have removed this as a criterion in line with the Ministerial direction. Parents are confused and concerned for their children’s future. This is an unfortunate position but I would hope these difficulties can soon be eradicated so that our young people can move to the school of their choice and receive a good high quality education. Rest assured, whatever the future holds, St. Patrick’s will be at the forefront of change, of sound education and of success.
It is notable that the STEM subjects, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics have featured as some of the strongest performing subjects in our curriculum. These subjects are being promoted by the Department of Education. This is in response to employment need and concern for the growth of our economy in relation to STEM knowledge and skills. It must be said that the work and progress made in these subjects is commendable, much of which can be attributed to our Specialism, through which we have had the opportunity to develop strong teaching and learning methodology. This work has filtered across the College, with other subject areas learning from and contributing to the raising of standards.
Class of 2009, you can say you have had that experience, your achievements testify to that; I wish you success in all your endeavours and in your life ahead.
Alongside the academic development and progress of the College, many other events and activities took place, the Head Boy and Head Girl will recount these for you in their address.
Thank you, Mrs Anne Scott
BR: Mr Cusack, Mr Brady, Mr Kelly, Mr McErlain, Mr McGale, Mr Kelly, Mr O’Kane, Mr O’Connor, Mr Hughes, Mr Henry, Mr Clarke, Mr McAllister 5th Row: Mr McConnell, Mrs Scott, Mrs Donnelly, Miss Quigg, Mrs Bryson, Mrs Bell, Miss Peden, Mrs Walls, Mrs O’Kane, Mrs Young, Mr Lavery 4th Row: Mr Quigley, Mr Donnelly, Mr McGregor, Mr O’Donnell, Mr McDaid, Mr Curran, Mr Quinn, Mr Clifford, Mr Lockhart, Mr McGuigan, Mr Harkin, Mr Terrington, Mrs McReynolds 3rd Row: Miss McLaughlin, Miss Conway, Miss O’Kane, Mrs Taggart, Miss McHugh, Miss Devlin, Miss Gilloway, Mrs McCloskey, Mrs McGuckin, Mrs McCotter, Miss O’Hagan, Miss Campbell, Mrs Mc Elhinney 2nd Row: Miss Holmes, Dr Garland, Miss McWilliams, Mrs Kelly, Miss Ferguson, Mrs Devlin, Miss Gallagher, Mrs Conway, Mrs Heffron, Mr Cunningham, Mrs Crilly, Mrs Quinn, Mrs McNicholl, Miss Morrison, Miss Steen, Mrs Murray, Mrs McCullagh FR: Mrs Walsh, Mr Clarke, Mrs McKenna, Mrs O’Kane, Mrs Donnelly, Mrs Devlin, Miss McConnell, Mr Toner, Mrs Scott, Mrs Mussen, Mrs Hughes, Mr Walls, Mr Doherty, Mr Collins, Mr Coyle, Mr Kielt
Teaching Staff 2009 - 2010
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Very Fondly Remembered Mrs Angela McGuckian to us all. When her health permitted, Angela returned to the classroom and her duties as Year Head, always trying to minimise the effect her illness had on the classes she taught. She used her personal experiences of serious illness to influence pupils, to encourage them to value their lives and to make the most of their time in school. She was an excellent role model.
“A good teacher is like a candle, it consumes itself to light the way for others.” (Unknown) There are lessons and there are lessons. The former determined by the taught curriculum, the latter by the example of the teacher. Angela McGuckian will be remembered as the great teacher who excelled at both. She was appointed to the staff of St. Patrick’s College as a Chemistry teacher in 1996 and from the outset it was apparent to us, her colleagues, that Angela had the motherly touch for those entrusted to her. Her ability to bond with her pupils, to understand and resonate with their feelings and emotions was something that did not go unnoticed and was no doubt a determining factor in her appointment as Co-ordinator of Vocational Science in 2001 and later as a Year Head in 2005. WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get; a term used in computing and one that sums up Angela. Angela told it as it was, and you always knew where you stood with her, a rare quality indeed. In her role as Year Head she cared for the pupils in her year group as if they were her own and all were treated with equal respect. Always with a smile on her face even when things got tough, she could see the bright side of things, would seek to find the positives in every negative situation, always philosophical.
The love of horses and indeed of all animals was a passion of Angela’s. She loved the countryside and her beloved Donegal. It therefore came as no surprise when she founded the school’s ‘Environmental Group’. Planting trees, growing plants, putting out bird feeders in the winter and maintaining the various shrub beds around the school were just some of the activities that Angela and her Eco Warriors were involved in. The whole school community was shocked when they learned of Angela’s death on 5 August 2009. We had lost a dear friend and colleague, someone we admired and respected. Angela had been a devoted wife to her husband Paddy and a very caring mum to her three daughters Niamh, Katie and Eimear. Their tireless care and support for Angela was admired by all who knew them. During her illness Angela’s extended family had also been a great support for her. Angela was a woman of great faith and with her mother and brother she travelled to Lourdes in the summer of 2008. At a time when the families were coming to terms with Angela’s death they were struck a further blow with the death of Angela’s mum, Maureen on 1 February 2010. Her father, Frank, sisters Bernadette and Brenda and her brothers Francis and Richard have had to come to terms with the loss of two family members. We hope and pray that all the McGuckian and Flynn families can draw strength from the example of Angela’s life. May God have mercy on her soul and on the soul of her dear mum.
Sometimes it is only after someone has gone when we reflect on their life and exchange stories with others that all the little pieces, like those of a jigsaw, come together to reveal a more complete picture of the person. The picture that emerges for Angela is of a person who both inspired and influenced those she taught and those who taught with her. When diagnosed with cancer in June 2006, Angela’s strength of character, determination and sheer courage was an example
Kathleen Murtagh Kathleen joined the team of supervisors in the St Mary Building in 1986 and soon became a firm favourite of pupils and staff alike. Her friendly personality and caring nature endeared to all she came in to contact with. Kathleen had a genuine interest in the pupils she supervised and cared for them in her own special individual way.
She had a ready smile and kind word for all. Her sudden death in September 2009 brought great sadness to the whole school community. May she rest in peace.
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Shauna Shivers I thank her for being my friend, I’m glad I met her, she was always there for me and many others and I was there for her. There are so many memories of Shauna, in and out of school, that I will never forget. Peggy Mulholland 11Na
S H A U N A
hauna was the coolest person I ever knew. he was so much fun to be around, she would’ve had so many tories to tell about so many different things. earing her whisper something so very random to you during class. earing her laugh about something would just make you want to laugh along with her. word she liked most would be “George” for fter hearing the tape read out “Of Mice & Men” she’d never stop saying it. would hardly ever see her upset, but would always see her full of joy, life and excitement ow, one thing she never did was let anyone who would annoy her get to her, she would ignore and walk on. fter meeting Shauna, I know that there will never be nyone like her again.
Paddy Mac
Paddy Mc Erlean
There is a table With an empty chair Though you’re gone In our hearts you’re still there. The laughs and jokes are all said And the carry on for now; Even though dear Paddy Your character still lives on. You were one of the best Better than all the rest All the things said and done; And Paddy you will always be number one
Paddy McErlean was the most cheerful and fun-loving person you could ever meet. He was the heart and soul of everything and was loved by all who were fortunate enough to count him among their friends. Larger than life in all he said and did; while we are left mourning a loyal, trustworthy and compassionate friend we have lots of fond and joyful memories. He will be deeply missed in our school. Rest in Peace Paddy.
Sleep tight little batman All your worries are over What we have lost God has truly won. X x x Gone but never forgotten Rest in Peace Paddy. By Ciara McNicholl 11Si
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Popular St Patrick’s Maghera teacher ‘going home’. With St Patrick’s College Maghera closing for the summer holidays on Friday past the day also saw Mr.Thomas Cox say goodbye to the College as he returns to his native Fermanagh to continue his teaching career. Thomas has very successfully taught in the Technology and Design Department in the College since 1998. He has served with the Pastoral team as Head of Year and in that time he has also been heavily involved in many of the College’s extra-curricular activities. College stage and musical productions saw Thomas helping with the building of sets, setting lights and co-ordinating sound and electronics while his involvement with the President’s Award group also had Thomas trekking in the Sperrins and camping overnight as College pupils were shown a different way of life during the year. Hurling in St Patrick’s was a real passion also with Thomas having been involved with all of the College teams over his eleven years in St Patrick’s – coaching three successive MacNamee Cup winning teams, capturing the Forester’s Cup and being part of the coaching team for the All-Ireland winning O’Keefe Cup team in 2006 were only some of many sporting highlights.
Presentations were made to Thomas in the College from staff, and at a function to mark his departure, presentations were also made on behalf of the Technology department, the Pastoral team and the Sports Department. All in St Patrick’s, and many past pupils, will wish Thomas and his wife Rosemary well on their return to Fermanagh.
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Head Boys & Girls
Ronan Lowry Head Boy How do you feel about leaving the College? I have mixed feelings about leaving the College this year. On one hand I feel sad to be leaving behind all my friends and oddly, the routine of school life. On the other hand I am excited about going to university next year and meeting new people and experiencing life on my own. I have some great memories of the College and they will not be easily forgotten.
What activities have you been involved with outside the classroom? What have you learnt from this? Again Romania was a big event for me when I was at the College. I learnt to appreciate what I had and how much I had. I learnt the importance of teamwork and to look out for others in my team as well. Who have been your greatest influences? I’ve had a few influences through the years but my friends are definitely a good influence as they were there all through the 7 years. To be honest I would probably have been lost without them.
What has been your favourite year at the College and why? First Year was a great year because there were no real worries looking back from today. No exams or pressure for coursework. You couldn’t beat it with a big stick! What has been your proudest moment? My proudest moment was probably being selected for Romania last year. I remember how nervous I was when Iwas sitting in the Lecture Theatre when Mr Clifford was calling out those lucky few who were picked to go. I can’t neglect to mention being chosen as Head Boy either.
What is your best moment at the College? I had a few great memories, but taking part in Strictly Irish Dancing for the 2008 Romanian group was a fantastic memory. I had a great night’s craic, even though me and Miss Conway didn’t win. What are your plans for the future? After St Pat’s I’ll go to Queen’s University in Belfast then... who knows!!!!
What has been your funniest / most embarrassing moment at the College? My funniest moment was in First Year. It was in the middle of winter and Steven Hughes had forgotten his P.E. shorts. Anyone would have opted out of the lesson but not Steven! He braved the elements in his blue boxer shorts. Good times.
What advice would you give to new pupils entering Years 8 and 13 in September? The time will fly in. I would say that you will make great friendships and enjoy the time spent here. Take part in as much as you can and always do your best in whatever you do.
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Rachel Gribbon Head Girl How do you feel about leaving the College? I feel really excited about leaving the College as I am about to begin a new adventure by going to University and seeing what is out there. However I am sad about the fact that I will be leaving all my friends and the teachers I have got to know over the past seven years whilst being a pupil at Saint Patrick’s College.
What activities have you been involved with outside the classroom? What have you learnt from this? I was a part of the Junior Camogie panel in Fourth Year, which I enjoyed a lot. I’ve also participated in the Pope John Paul II Award, Peer Mentoring and travelling to Romania. I learnt many skills and qualities whilst doing these and also learned more about myself.
What has been your favourite year at the College and why? My favourite year has to be Lower Sixth, when I got the opportunity to travel to Romania with School Aid Romania and making loads of new friends. Also in Lower Sixth many new students joined the school and I made many new friends this way. However, I’ve also really enjoyed Upper Sixth at the College.
Who have been your greatest influences? All the teachers that have taught me have been my greatest influence, especially those in the Irish Department who have helped me so much in deciding what I am going to do in the future. I also can’t forget about my family and friends who have been there for me from the beginning. What is your best moment at the College? The best moment at the College has to be sitting in the Lecture Theatre and being told by Mr Clifford that I was chosen to go to Romania. The feeling was so unreal! I still can’t believe it over a year later.
What has been your proudest moment? My proudest moment has to be when I got the letter to tell me that I had been chosen to be Head Girl. The feeling was amazing. I was also so proud in Third Year when our year had a traditional music competition and myself and two other members had to get up and play the tin whistle which we had just prepared the day before and never made a mistake. Very good times.
What are your plans for the future? I plan to go to university to study Irish and then maybe become an Irish teacher.
What has been your funniest / most embarrassing moment at the College? My most embarrassing moment has to be in Fourth Year when our class 11B1 had to get up on stage in front of the entire year and performed ‘I need a hero’ with me singing the main part and unable to sing.
What advice would you give to new pupils entering Years 8 and 13 in September? The best advice you could give to anyone entering the College is enjoy every moment of it and sign up for everything so that you can live the full life of the College and take advantage of it the best way you can.
Michael James Groogan Deputy Head Boy How do you feel about leaving the College? I am quite saddened to be leaving the College after an enjoyable seven years, although I am also quite excited about the prospect of moving on to university as I feel I am ready for a new challenge.
What has been your funniest / most embarrassing moment at the College? Some great laughs over my seven years at the College, but an embarrassing moment in my First Year stands out. Asking Miss Quigg a question, I addressed her by shouting ‘mammy’. It was rather embarrassing.
What has been your favourite year at the College and why? I think my best year at St.Patrick’s would have to be Year 13, as new people were introduced to the year group and I got the opportunity to meet a lot more people within the year as our class groups were changed from the previous five years.
What activities have you been involved with outside the classroom? What have you learnt from this? Being a sporting man, I have been a part of a number of teams ranging from Mac Namee Hurling to Rannafast Football. From this I have learnt what a great honour it is to pull on the ‘St Pat’s’ jersey, and to represent the school on the sporting field.
What has been your proudest moment? I have been fortunate to have quite a few, but personally my proudest moment was being appointed Captain of the Mac Namee Hurling team in second year stands out. Being chosen as Captain of a St Patrick’s Maghera sporting team is a great honour, one I will never forget.
Who have been your greatest influences? Trying not to single out anyone particular, I would say my friends. It is those people you spend your days with throughout school. I have been lucky to have a great bunch of friends.
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As well as my friends, I would say my A-Level teachers as they prepare me for the challenge of university.
What advice would you give to new pupils entering Years 8 and 13 in September? Mainly to enjoy yourself. I know it’s an old saying that ‘school days are the best days of your life’, but now in Year 14 you begin to realise that they are. Your time in school will fly past, enjoy every moment. Also I would say to get involved in things such as the extra curricular events, be a part of the musicals and sporting teams, it is those great memories that you will carry with you throughout your life.
What is your best moment at the College? God, so many! I would have to say, 2nd Year Class League. Having gone through both 1st Year Class Leagues in both Football and Hurling, my class never won a single game (8B1 that is). I scored the winning point, which I kicked over my head from a good 20 yards against 9C1. That was a memorable moment. Of course that was the only game we ever did win! What are your plans for the future? Hoping I get the grades in August I intend on going to Queens University to study Civil Engineering.
Oonagh Devlin Deputy Head Girl This task has allowed me to gain awareness of the satisfaction one gets from helping those with learning difficulties.
How do you feel about leaving the College? St Patrick’s has been centre of my life for the last seven years and I can admit that within these last seven years I have made some of the best friends I will ever make, I have had so much fun and I can personally say I will definitely be very sad to leave this chapter of my life behind me; although excited to begin the next.
Who have been your greatest influences? I won’t name any names, but the teachers who I have had for these past seven years who I have grown with for the last few years. My family and my friends have also been a tremendous influence to my life.
What has been your favourite year at the College and why? It’s hard to choose one year but it has to be between 4th and 5th year compared to Upper 6th. All very different years but the craic that we had in 4th and 5th year was immense. I loved Upper 6th though so it’s difficult to define between the two.
What is your best moment at the College? In Third Year when we travelled to Galway for the All Ireland Final. I can just say there was a lot of laughing done. Calamity Jane, I loved being involved. Also I think Joe Smith’s rap at our Formal deserves a mention, priceless!
What has been your proudest moment? Being elected Deputy Head Girl has to be one of them. Winning the All Ireland Sevens Camogie when I was Fifth Year and also winning the Juniors in Third and Fourth year.
What are your plans for the future? To hopefully become a teacher through St Mary’s Teaching College or a Speech and Language Therapist. I love the idea of doing both jobs and I hope all goes well and I achieve the grades I need to become the person I want to be.
What has been your funniest / most embarrassing moment at the College? It’s hard to think of the most embarrassing I tend to be clumsy on a regular basis so I’ve gone beyond the stage of getting embarrassed now, but I did walk into a gate a couple of years ago; painful but hilarious.
What advice would you give to new pupils entering Years 8 and 13 in September? First and foremost to enjoy their time at St Patrick’s because speaking from personal experience I have loved every minute of it and wouldn’t change a thing. Take part in all the activities the school has to offer, there’s something out there for everyone, and if you are in any way musically inclined try out for the musicals. It’s hard work at the time, but the feeling you get from performing those eights shows is amazing, words can’t describe it and the friends you make will be some of the best you will ever make. Finally, work hard and enjoy.
What activities have you been involved with outside the classroom? What have you learnt from this? Outside the classroom I have had the opportunity to be involved in Camogie, Choir (both Junior and Senior Choir), being part of the past three school musicals and the ensemble group. Through these activities I have learned and developed key attributes necessary to becoming successful in life. I realise the importance of time keeping, commitment, team work and communication. I also got the opportunity in Lower Sixth to become a Peer Mentor and a Literacy Peer Mentor and I have been able to further this into my Upper Sixth Year. 10
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Patrick Rogers Deputy Head Boy How do you feel about leaving the College? I feel very sad in leaving the school as I have had 7 great years here and I have very special memories of the school. However, I am looking forward to seeing the big bad world. What has been your favourite year at the College and why? First Year. No pressure, no repeats, no studying (like I have now), it was just my year and the craic was great. Could you ask for any more?
What activities have you been involved with outside the classroom? What have you learnt from this? From being Head of the Formal Committee(self appointed), and being a part of school hurling, football, school musical and choir. I have learnt that effort and hard work are the recipe for success. Who have been your greatest influences? Jim B Bradley. He does it his way!
What has been your proudest moment? It would have to be the honour of Deputy Head Boy. What has been your funniest / most embarrassing moment at the College? The most embarrassing moment was in First Year P.E. when we were playing dodge ball and I fell and Ryan ‘Canada’ Convery fell onto me and knocked me out.
What is your best moment at the College? One of my best moments would probably have to be as a First Year witnessing the Senior Boys winning the MacRory and Hogan Cups. It was a great introduction to life at this school. What are your plans for the future? Not sure what I want to do, but I will enjoy it What advice would you give to new pupils entering Years 8 and 13 in September? Enjoy yourself, and get involved with the school.
Una McGill Deputy Head Girl we practised in the evenings and at the weekends, but it was really worth it. I made friends with older and younger pupils in the school and have a lot of great memories from these.
How do you feel about leaving the College? I don’t think it has really hit me yet, but I can’t believe this is our last few months in school. I’ll be sad to leave but at the same time I am really excited to be starting something new. I’ll miss all the friends I have made throughout the 7 years and the teachers as well who have helped me so much.
Who have been your greatest influences? I’ve been influenced by a lot of teachers and I’m going to miss loads of them, but I think my friends and other pupils in the school have also been a good influence on me. When I was part of the junior school I really was influenced by the older pupils. Now that I am a senior pupil in the school I hope that I have been a good influence on others.
What has been your favourite year at the College and why? My favourite year was probably Lower 6th. It was a lot different from 1st to 5th Year and we got the opportunity to go out to the town for dinner. The move to the 6th Form Centre was really different and we were given the chance to work independently. It was also the year I went to Romania with the school, which was an amazing experience and I really loved it. I made lots of new friends from other schools and got to know the pupils from our school a lot better especially those who has just came to St Pat’s that year.
What is your best moment at the College? My best moment was taking part in ‘Stars in yer Eyes’ as the group Girls Aloud. I was along with Oonagh, Niamh, Orla and Shona and yes as you can imagine I was the sensible one. We had so much fun practising for it in the Music Suite, but we didn’t really take it too seriously. It was really good craic and I think we ended up coming 2nd overall.
What has been your proudest moment? I think my proudest moment was being appointed Deputy Head Girl. I was delighted when I got the letter and am very grateful to have bee given the role.
What are your plans for the future? I hope to pass my exams and go to university in Liverpool to study Music, and possibly go in to Music Therapy after that. I want to travel across the water and get the chance to start something completely new, so I am really looking forward to it.
What has been your funniest / most embarrassing moment at the College? My funniest moment was last year when I was walking to the toilets from the 6th Form Centre at dinner time. I slipped on a grape and landed on a pile of schoolbags. I didn’t really find it funny, but everyone else did. Very embarrassing!! What activities have you been involved with outside the classroom? What have you learnt from this? I have taken part in 3 school musicals, The Wizard of Oz, Grease and Calamity Jane. This took a lot of commitment as 11
What advice would you give to new pupils entering Years 8 and 13 in September? I would advise you to work hard, but to enjoy it more than anything because it will go in so quickly. Don’t be shy about doing things that you’ve never tried before and take part in as much as you can because it’s school trips and other events that you’ll remember the most when you leave.
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St Patrick’s Dine ‘n Style in the Tullyglass Hotel Every child is a special child and every child has needs – some of us just happen to have more needs than others. As a person I have known and recognised this about children since my young cousin Ciaran was born in 1978. Ciaran was one of those children who just had some more needs than others but, as is so often the case, Ciaran was also very, very appreciative of the efforts made for him by so many people – he grew and developed as a person as a result of the special efforts made by so many of his family, especially of course his mother. Unfortunately Ciaran is not with us any longer but his life and my many, treasured experiences of knowing and helping Ciaran has always been valuable to me as a teacher because of the vocation which teaching is – we give of ourselves for the good of others, regardless of who they are. When the children are in our classrooms we are ‘ in loco parentis’ – we are as their parents in that situation and we seek to give and do for them in exactly the way we remember teachers having given and done for us as children in the past. When we then come across those children who have just some more needs than others it is not in our nature to turn away from them nor to discard their efforts – in this situation we react to the child in them and seek to help.
St Patrick’s is very strong in doing this with our MLD unit and the structures which allow us cater for all pupils with those extra needs and it has been my privilege to work in this area alongside people such as Anne Quinn, Katrina Crilly,Mary McNicholl and the many, many excellent classroom assistants who do so much good work with the children. Our night of Dine ‘n Style was an effort to allow us here in St. Patrick’s to enhance the help we can give these children – to ensure their school experiences are positive and that they might look back on their school years with happiness and in the knowledge that they were well cared for while in St Patrick’s. Declan O’Doherty spoke at the event and his speech is reproduced below - Declan’s is a story of real honesty and hope and you only had to be there on the night to recognise how the audience valued Declan’s delivery of his own story as a child with those extra needs in St Patrick’s. Thank you to all the staff who worked so hard at organising the event; to the many generous sponsors; to those who willingly donated money to a very worthy cause and especially to Declan for giving such eloquent purpose to the evening. Gráinne Hughes
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Speech given by Declan O’Doherty Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen Tonight I am acting as an ambassador for Special Needs pupils everywhere. There is a lot of discussion about what ‘Special Needs’ really means. It’s very simple. It means you are special and you have needs!! For the purpose of this evening, ‘special’ can mean ‘different’ So the needs of pupils who are different in some way must be met in a unique way.
This means that you must persevere. You must carry on in the face of apparently limited success. You must persevere with the pupil who won’t speak up or who takes longer to understand. You must persevere with the pupil who misses classes or simply doesn’t ‘fit in’. Perseverance does bring results and rewards. You must persevere. Those of us with ‘special needs’ have to. Remember the 3 ‘P’s PATIENCE, PARTICIPATION AND PERSEVERANCE
In a school setting this can be achieved in a variety of ways if the will is there. In St. Patrick’s I have found that it is. What does it mean to be different? It means that pupils may have one or many barriers to learning that the majority of the school population do not have. These could take the form of reading and spelling disabilities, intellectual disabilities, communication and social difficulties or physical problems or - a combination of all of them. The most important aspect of having any disability is that it is recognised. Next it must be accepted. Finally it must be treated appropriately.
When I first arrived at St. Patrick’s College nearly five years ago, I was quite simply terrified. I had endured an erratic primary school career due to my Asperger’s Syndrome, dyslexia and general ill health. The first person I met in the college was Mrs. Anne Quinn, the head of the Learning Support Unit. I can honestly say that she changed my life. I’d like to publicly thank her now. So Mrs Quinn, wherever you are, please take a bow. ----------In the words of the great Philosopher Rod Stewart ‘ you ease my troubles that’s what you do’
Therefore parents and teachers must be alert to signs of stress and unusual behaviour in their children and pupils. Bad behaviour might in fact be the result of unresolved issues with learning, or the social problems that can arise in school. If someone is consistently failing to read fluently and spell accurately, yet is constantly criticised for this failure, it can lead to low self esteem. Low self esteem can lead to very strange behaviour, ranging from open rebellion to complete retreat.
I was slowly integrated into the ‘Unit’ as it was known, and larger mainstream classes. I have fond memories of being taken by taxi to join the other first year pupils in the St Mary Building even though it was a daunting experience. With teaching and understanding to suit my needs and ease my difficulties, I achieved great success. The classroom assistants were invaluable to support and enhance my school life.
Having said that, bad behaviour could simply be bad behaviour! I’m sure you are all adept at dealing with this. Once a pupil’s needs are recognised, then it is the duty of everyone associated with them to help them achieve their full potential.
After 3 years within the Learning Support Unit, I began to study for my G.C.S.E’s. I was given a timetable designed to suit my strengths and needs and I was included fully in mainstream classes. I was also assigned a scribe to help with the spelling and writing difficulties from which I suffer. All my teachers accept my difficulties and help me to succeed. The ‘unit‘ is still my ‘base camp’ where I return for study classes, break times and ‘refuge.’ However, each day I leave it for the foothills of 5th Year classes and by August I hope my ascent to the summit will be complete.!!!
This requires a number of attributes and personal skills which can be summed up as the 3 P’s Patience Participation and Perseverance In dealing with special needs pupils a lot of patience is required. It takes time to get to get to know pupils and their difficulties properly. It may be frustrating for some,- but don’t get mad - get involved! This brings me to the second skill – participation. You must be prepared to become actively involved in supporting, explaining, maintaining, helping and guiding those of us who might take a little longer to do what is required of them in school. Your patience may be tried but – participate don’t delegate.
The ‘in’ word at the moment is ‘inclusion’ It is crucial that pupils with special needs are included in mainstream as far as possible even if they have to be accommodated differently. Other pupils must learn to accept and tolerate difference too. The opposite of inclusion is ISOLATION and this is very damaging to individuals and the school community in general. 14
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No matter how difficult or awkward or unfulfilling inclusion might be, it is still a challenge that must be met. Remember, working with special needs pupils is a lot easier than actually being a special needs pupil. In the words of John F Kennedy when justifying the attempts to put a man on the moon: “We choose to do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard” People with special needs face many challenges daily, so our parents and teachers must face them too. So how can you make a difference as a parent, a teacher or a student. You can stop and think You can support and learn and tonight You can share what you earn. I would like to thank my family for supporting me here tonight. In particular I would like to thank Mrs Grainne Hughes for helping to organise this event, for the personal support and care she gives me and for the opportunity to share my experiences with you. You see, pupils with special needs are God’s children too. God simply gave us different gifts to unwrap. Thank you, Enjoy your evening.
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Rotary Youth Leadership Development I took part in the Rotary Youth Leadership Development Competition in which six students from Year 13 were entered. Two members of the Rotary Club in Cookstown came into the school and interviewed us. We were asked about what we knew about the Rotary, what skills a good leader should have and who we thought was a good leader. I was then chosen to be interviewed again in the 2nd round in Cookstown where the interviewers asked similar but more detailed questions and also asked about what I knew about the Lisbon Treaty and my views on it. Unfortunately I didn’t make it through the 2nd round, to go on to compete for the prize trip to Strasbourg. However, I was invited to dinner along with the Rotary Club Cookstown in the Glenavon Hotel. It has been a great experience and has taught me lots about leadership and also gave me good experience of interviews and meeting new people. Ruairi O’Donnell
School Formal 2009 On the 9th of October 2009, the College held its annual Formal in the Tullyglass Hotel, Ballymena. It was an extremely successful and fun filled night. The Formal Committee, which consisted of the Head Boy, Head Girl and the Deputies, along with our Vice Principal, Mrs Mussen, organised the greatly anticipated event. Extra pressure was placed on the committee especially as the only topic of conversation in the Sixth Form Centre for the entire month of September seemed to be ‘The Formal’. The committee spent hours and hours ensuring all aspects of the evening were covered from the entertainment to the prizes and that was without getting our own dresses and suits sorted. This process involved many hardworking lunchtimes, breaktimes and free periods, but I believe that it was worth it. The big night came and the Tullyglass was lined with limousines, buses and Hummers and out came the Class of 2010; everyone looking their very best. The meal was delicious and there were some laughs during it with the Lower Sixth photos up on screen and the speeches! Then came the dreaded ‘Awards’ which took the most planning as we had to get music to match the awards, the pictures and of course the prizes. All the committee members presented the prizes to the members of the year ‘lucky enough’ to receive them. My personal favourite was the ‘red sauce award’. After all the hard work was over the real party began when all the tables were cleared and the dancing started,
teachers and all! Honestly some of them showed us younger ones up especially during ‘rock the boat’. The craic continued late into the night and early hours of Saturday morning! I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of our year to thank Mrs Scott, our Principal, for giving the Formal the go ahead and Mrs Mussen for all her great help, also to all of the Formal Committee and to those outside of the committee who helped by collecting money and handing out tickets. It was truly a night to be remembered! Rachel Gribbon
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It was the last thing on my mind when I got the job as Head Boy, but I was reminded of the Formal every time I turned around in September. Everyone wanted to know about the Formal, when it was and where it was.
The Tullyglass is famous for its meals and it lived well up to its high standards, with a 3 course meal and plenty of seconds to go around. Easy part over! The dreaded speech was next. Thankfully we got through it without too many heckles... The coveted awards followed the speeches. These included the red sauce (Goes with everything) award and the Comeback Kid.
Unfortunately Deputy Head Boy Patrick had appointed himself head of the committee with a motto of, ‘I’m here to be served, not to serve!’ Expectations were low to say the least. Thankfully, when the committee was called together for the first time, Mrs Mussen had booked the Tullyglass Hotel for the evening, and things were finally looking up. We now had a location and we only had to spread the word and make the awards.
These awards were topped off with an unforgettable live performance of Joe Smith’s ‘Man with the Plan’ rap song. The evening ended (for the teachers at least) with a disco in the Tullyglass and a few ‘soft’ drinks.
The evening came and went without a hitch. It began with all the photos being taken, and I must say that everyone was looking well, everyone except for you know who....
Ronan Lowry
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Art - GCSE
Clodagh O’ Loughlin
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Tanzanian Project This summer, St. Patrick’s College, Maghera - in collaboration with Holy Cross College, Strabane - is participating in charity work in the parishes of Moshi and Kilulu in Tanzania.
Four of our senior students and three teachers have volunteered to repeat last year’s exercise and are currently engaged in fundraising to ensure that the investment in the educational projects is continued and extended.
Teachers and students from the College already visited schools in Moshi over the last three years and have contributed a significant amount of both money and time to various projects.
The biggest problem in the area is poverty. With more than one-third of the population of Tanzania living below the poverty line, most parents cannot afford to send their children to school so attendance can be erratic and, because of this, progress can be very slow.
Father William Maningi, Parish Priest of Moshi, visited the College in October 2009 to express his own personal gratitude and that of his parishioners for the work and funds offered by the College, and to encourage us to persist in our efforts and continue our assistance in the various projects in which we engage. Father Frank Diamond, a native of Bellaghy, also paid an inspirational visit to the College and he gave a very moving presentation on life in West Tanzania where he is based. We will also spend a week with Fr. Frank working in the local schools in his area.
Last year, St. Patrick’s College and Holy Cross College invested in projects such as putting electricity into Uchira Primary school for the first time. We also completely renovated two classrooms which were not being used due to their poor condition. Other current projects involve improving the fabric of Uchira Kindergarten, and enhancing facilities in Karanga Technical College. The colleges also supplied mosquito nets to Fr Frank in his parish and made a financial contribution towards the build of his new hostel in which we will hopefully be staying.
We intend to do this work because we see education and schooling as being the best tools that we can provide to allow the Third World to help itself escape from the vicious circle of poverty, malnutrition and deprivation.
The students are really looking forward to the experience and to contribute to such a worthy cause, they have put in a lot of hard work in fundraising and know that all their hard work will be worth it when they arrive in Tanzania.
Aoibheann O’Doherty, Mr Colum Lavery, Mr Seamus McAllister, Paula Convery Chantal Feeny, Miss Eimear Trolan, Niamh Cavanagh 20
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Year 10 STEM/CEIAG Activity Days Sentinus also conducted workshops where the students had to work in a group to ensure their product was ‘First to the market’ and the next activity involved the students working in pairs to build an electric car. These activities enthused the students and aimed to inspire them in the areas of science and technology. They also promoted the understanding of the subjects and supported the development of team work and communication skills. All students involved had an enjoyable day.
On Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd February Sentinus in collaboration with the NEELB visited the school to deliver workshops on STEM related careers. Students from our own school along with students from St Colm’s Draperstown, St Mary’s Clady and St Paul’s Kilrea attended presentations from STEM ambassadors on possible career opportunities available to them. Some of these presentations included learning about the role of a Pathologist, a Biomedical Scientist and an Engineer.
Careers Fair for Health Related Professions On Thursday 4th February twenty Year 13 students headed to Altnagelvin Hospital to attend a Careers Fair for Health Related Professions. The students got a chance to speak to Occupational Therapists, Dieticians, Speech Therapists, Radiographers and Optometrists all who work currently within the Western Health Board. The students found this a very beneficial morning which answered some questions in regards to possible career opportunities.
Year 12/13 Careers Convention 2010 On Monday 8th March the College hosted its annual Year 12/ Year 13 Careers Convention in the College Sports Hall. In attendance were a number of representatives from the University of Ulster, Queens and representatives from local Regional Colleges along with Careers Service NI. This was a very informative night for the pupils and their parents in regards to choices at both Post 16 and Post 18. 21
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1st Years Entrepreneurial Experience All Year 8 students took part in a workshop organised by Young Enterprise Northern Ireland. Entitled “Big School”, the workshop seeks to facilitate the transition from junior to senior school for the students, as well as fostering in them a sense of business and enterprise awareness. Young Enterprise Northern Ireland conducts seminars in the classroom that focus on skills the students will need to be successful in their new school – skills like communication and team work. These skills will also be invaluable to students who hope to enter an entrepreneurial career area later in life. During the course of the workshop, the First Year students were also given the opportunity to work with sixth form students – the senior students shared their expertise and experience
with their junior counterparts, helping to teach them new skills as well as faciliating the familiarisation process for the junior students at their first term at St Patrick’s College. Jane Hanna from Young Enterprise commented, “Our aim is to make school as positive an experience as possible for these young people. The skills they learn now can be applied in any new experience, and will therefore help them prepare for success in their working life when the time comes.” The excellence of the seminar programme experienced by the Year 8 students has proved highly beneficial in developing their awareness of entrepreneurial skills and employability.
Project Business Visits St Patrick’s All Year 10 students took part in a half-day Young Enterprise Business workshop between Thursday 24th and Friday 25th February 2010.
Also included in the programme was a visit from a local businessman Damien McElhone from Eurospar and Siobhan Devlin, Manager of the Maghera Bank of Ireland. Their input was especially valuable, as they related their businesses to the school curriculum. They explained the important of skills such as organisation and the need to be motivated in order to be successful in life.
The Young Enterprise Business Programme is a new and exciting initiative which provides pupils with an opportunity to develop economic and business understanding and appreciate the role of business and enterprise in our society. The Year 10 students engaged in a practical, activity-based insight into economic and business life. The session gave students hands-on introductions to a wide range of subjects relating to how businesses interact with investors, customers, employees and society in general.
Workskills Showcase Day On Wednesday 27th January three students from the College attended a Workskills Showcase Day at Antrim Forum. This day was organised by the NEELB to allow these students
to experience practical activities in relation to possible careers they might enter once they leave school. All the students found this day very interesting and informative.
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Work Experience Reports - Katrina Sweeney My name is Katrina Sweeney. For my work placement I went to the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast. I chose this placement as I have always had an interest in law and wanted to see what actually happens at a court and all aspects of it. During my Work Placement I was in the Queens Division, the Chancery Department and the Family Division. In the Queens Division I got to sit in on actual cases both in the Court of Bail and the Court of Appeal. When I was in the Chancery Department, I witnessed what a court clerk does and saw what they do during court hearings. Also I got to see some of the administration side as chancery deals with finances etc. So I got an explanation of what the Probates does and saw how they handle wills.
When I was in the Family Division, due to confidentiality, I unfortunately was unable to get to witness any court hearings but I got to see the administration side of it. This dealt with a lot of paperwork and sorting through files. I enjoyed the Court of Bail the most as it was exciting. The defendants were in Maghaberry Prison and via video-link they were in the court session. I got to see the barristers defend them, and see what an actual hearing was like. My experience throughout has helped me make my career choice. I don’t think that I want to go into the field of law or do any administration work, so this placement has been very valuable.
Work Experience Reports - Oran Mc Flynn My name is Oran Mc Flynn and on Friday 23rd of October I visited Dimensions Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic in Magherafelt to complete work experience with the principal Physiotherapist called Teresa Hastings. I chose this placement because I want to go on and study Physiotherapy at University and hope to have a career in the field in the future. During the placement I watched Teresa as she massaged, consulted and gave advice to those who had various injuries. One example was a woman who had a Hallux Valgus operation on her left foot as shown; I enjoyed the experience thoroughly and I enjoyed dealing with many sports injuries as Tersea does Physiotherapy for numerous sports clubs such as Castledawson G.A.A. and The Rainey Old Boys Rugby Club. This work experience has definitely helped me choose my career path and I now know that I want to go into Physiotherapy.
Work Experience Reports - Colleen Rafferty For my work experience placement in Year 13, I attended the Mid-Ulster Hospital in Magherafelt and I was assigned to Ward Six where they attend to the care of the elderly patients. I decided to go to a hospital for my placement as I have always been interested in a career in nursing. On my placement I carried out various daily tasks such as cleaning and making beds, preparing the linen trolleys and cleaning the waste trolleys and providing each patient with fresh water and filling out the diet sheets. I also got to observe the nurse carrying out routine checkups on the patients such as checking their blood pressure and oxygen levels. I was shown the various medical equipment in the hospital such as the crash trolley which is used in emergency situations. I really enjoyed my work experience and my favourite part was observing the check-ups. I feel it has really helped me to gain an insight into nursing and has convinced me to pursue my ideas of becoming a nurse. 23
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Year 9 Masterclass @ St Patrick’s College All of Year 9 students participated in the Year Nine Masterclass run by Young Enterrpise. This was an innovative programme that was fun and interactive and had close links to the Employability programme. Through active participation, students learned what it means to be enterprising and discover what it takes to be an entrepreneur. They achieved this by exploring local SMEs and learning from the example of existing entrepreneurs in their local community. For this two speakers, one from Walsh’s Hotel and the other from the local Ulster Bank, attended the College to give an account of their daily jobs. Students also learned about the importance of innovation and creativity. Students had a very enjoyable morning at the workshops and they proved to be highly beneficial in improving their knowledge of enterprise and the importance of employability.
‘In The Dark’ Elizabeth had never been observant: one minute she had been wandering aimlessly through the enchanting forest and next minute, suddenly woken from her day dream, she was lost. She had been so deeply submerged in her own thoughts that she hadn’t realised she was far off the path. It was dark now and the night was closing in on her, swallowing her up. The sun’s evening rays had been comforting but now the rain fell as sharp as swords and the fog was a blindfold ensuring that she could not see. Feeling her way blindly through the fog Elizabeth felt something solid… like a gate. She pushed it open and stumbled clumsily into her refuge from the forset. The mist was beginning to clear now…she could see a castle! It was obvious that no-one had been there in a very long time. The stone, dirt-encrusted walls were crumbling. Ivy slithered its way up the sides maliciously and the garden was so overgrown that the grass towered over her head. She walked up to the tall double doors of the castle and knocked twice. The door handle, a large lion, was covered in rust. It looked like something out of a history book. To her surprise the door opened immediately and she stepped inside. “Hello?” Elizabeth called. No-one answered. “Hello?” She tried again. “Anyone here?”, she asked. Again, no answer. As she looked around she noticed some rather large, gargoyles, their eyes watching her, following her every move like birds of prey. A cackle of laughter. Cautiously, she turned around and heard a blood-curling scream. In shock, she realised it was her own. Frozen, Elizabeth glared at what was in front of her. A young man, quite a lot older than her, stared confidently back at her. His warm brown eyes seemed almost hypnotic. His eyelashes were as black as the night sky and his skin, a perfect caramel colour, glistened in the little light coming through the small, thin and ancient window. His huge muscular frame was both menacing and awe-inspiring, like a tiger waiting to pounce on its prey. “Am I the prey?” Elizabeth thought to herself. The long sword, pointed dangerously in the air, reflected the little light blinding everything in its path. Although he seemed perfect, he could not be trusted. She knew that much. Just as she thought this his rose-red lips curved up into a sinister looking smile. Without thinking, she ran; what other option was there? She knew she could try screaming for help but that would only be a wasted attempt. She quickly glanced behind her. To her surprise she saw nothing; just a large, dark, vacant room. Almost as if she had seen nothing. As if she fantasised everything. No. The trembling in her hands was definitely genuine fear. She knew she must make her way out of the dark.
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‘In The Dark’ It was 6:03am and the sun was beginning to rise as I sat in the mud writing a letter to my ma. I read it over and over again until I knew it by heart: Dear Ma, I just cannot stick it! The worry that goes through my head every time a gunshot is fired. The pain of knowing that we have to wake up to this terrifying, scary battle every day, counting down the dreadful minutes left. But I am surviving and will continue to do so. It’s not all as good as they told us it would be; it’s bloody, it’s frightening and it’s dangerous. I miss you all very much. Joey and I will come home in one piece; that’s a promise! Lots of love Ma, Michael. xox The rest of them were all sleeping, including Joey my big brother, who was in a very deep sleep, snoring if you like. I woke him up. “Joey, Joey, will you give yourself a shake and get up man!” He sat up, gave a yawn and looked at me. I knew that look and it wasn’t good. He used to give me it when I woke him up at home and I knew what was coming next. “Do you think I’m your slave?” sitten there tellin me what to do!” At that moment he raised his fist and lifted me by the scruff of my neck. “Don’t have me to tell you about this again, hear? Joey let go and slowly crept through the mud that clung to him. I sat there against the hard, dry muddy wall of the trench and started to cry. “What‘s wrong wi’ you?” asked Paul. “I’m fed up with this place; I can’t take it any more!” I whimpered. The whistle blew and everyone ran out to the sergeant’s attention. We all hated this man: he was the most horrible, annoying, irritating person we had ever come across. I stood there, straight as a rush, waiting once again to be humiliated by Sergeant Seamus. “Chin up. You silly gype!” he proclaimed. “Yes sergeant!” Sergeant Seamus wasn’t very tall. In fact, he was quite stout and plump; like someone who had eaten too many mince pies over Christmas! He had short black hair and a sour looking face with tight lips and a very small round nose. As for his feet, well, that was a different story! They were as long as the English Channel and his toes were curled up at the end like tree trunks. ”ATTENTION! LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT!” and to his words we marched on as monotone and motivated as rabbits in headlights to another burrow in the ground. The next day the Germans attacked, swarming us in their thousands. The air was full of black smoke. Joey and Paul alerted all of us in the trench. We clambered through muck and dirt, furious to get at them. “Aim, fire!” said a voice in the distance. The German planes were firing bombs at us as we ran with our guns, jumping and ducking in and out, stomping over the dead bodies that lay there lifeless and still. “Will someone walk over me like this?” I thought to myself as I tried to ignore the blank faces staring at me through the mud. Judging me. It was near dusk and everything had just stopped as quickly as it had started. It was like something was pulling us away from victory. I got shot in the arm and was bleeding severely. I sat up and shouted for Joey. “Joey, Joey, where are you?” I cried out, a tear rolling down my cheek. It felt like it was burning and eating away at my skin. I lay down and shut my eyes and I knew that this was the end. I had given up. I had promised mum that Joey and I would come home in one piece. I guess that was a lie because I lay there badly wounded and, as for Joey, I had no idea where he was. The end was now. It was silent from then on and I was getting worried. I pulled myself up with all my might but I had no energy and no strength, like the boys I trampled over on my way here; to a six foot hole in the ground. How appropriate! My bones felt like they just wanted to give up and it was like I was paralyzed. I felt around on the ground, trying to roll over on my belly but it was no good. The muck and mud collided so that I no longer knew if I would sink into the abyss and disappear. I didn’t know if I would even try to swim if I did. I was already sinking. Lost, forgotten and in the dark. By Breeda Hardy 9Be.
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9BE Poetry Corner There was once a hippo, fat and round; Its stomach nearly reached the ground. An animal with no hair, Who looks sort of rare And who weighs over 20,000 pounds!
‘Rollercoaster’: An Acrostic poem by Brogan Loughlin Round and round, up and down it goes, Over the city and by the sea. Looping and looping, swinging you everywhere, Leaving you dizzy and drained. Each of us running to try it again. Restricted height! I might not get in! Colourful and attractive, it draws you close. Our hearts beat fast as we move up the queue, All of us waiting for the same thing. Some of us scared, everyone excited as The screams from above make us jump. Everything about it gives an adrenaline rush. Round and round we go all over again!
by Corrie Murray The Ballad of Cheryl Cole by Breeda Hardy, Nadine Friel, Donal McCrystal & Eoin McGonigle Cheryl Tweedy was once like you and me. She just wanted to be famous, don’t you see? Then she auditioned for a show, didn’t you know?
‘Hippo’: An Acrostic Poem by Ciara Rafferty Humungous teeth In a massive mouth Plunging into the water, Pushing through the jungle crowd with his Oversized belly!
She blew the judges away And won that beautiful day To join ‘Girls Aloud’ And sing for a very large crowd. She’s just a small town girl, Living in a famous world.
Gaelic Football Haiku by Christopher Dempsey Running down the pitch Trying to score lots of points I shoot and I score
Glam and gorgeous was Miss Tweedy When she fell in love with Ashley Cole. She became a footballer’s wife because, of course, A pretty young thing was Cole’s only goal!
Holiday Haiku by Clarissa McAtamney Beautiful weather The sun beaming down on me. Don’t want to go home!
Then she started to sing solo, With two hits at the top: ‘Fight for this Love’ and ‘3 Words’, She’s never gonna stop!
Winter Haiku by Katie O’Kane Freezing cold weather Big snowmen in the garden The winter is here! Friend Haiku by Amy Bateson She is my best friend, I would trust her with my life: Amazing person
Just a small town girl, Living in a famous world. Like a princess she drove into town in a black coloured car. As people filled the streets, Ready to listen to the beat, “The girl with the X-Factor’s been around!” Winning two years in a row With Alexandra and now Joe. Olly Murs and JLS were the rivals Beaten in both ‘X-Factor’ finals.
Lovely Limericks There once was a hippo that lived in a zoo He wanted to go somewhere new. He ran away That very same day And no one knows where he went to.
Just a small town girl Living in a famous world.
by Nadine Friel
Ashley and Cheryl have since departed, His cheating leaving her broken hearted. She’s in LA, he’s at home, Little Ashley is all alone!
There once was a wee man from Clare Who acted like he was a bear He thought he was cool But he was a fool And then he lost all his hair
Just a small town girl, Living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train Going anywhere!
by Breeda Hardy 26
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Another Successful Book Fair In October the English Department presented the 18th Annual Book Fair, held in both the St Mary Building and the main site. The Book Fair is an annual tradition and is designed to provide KS3 children of all abilities with the opportunity to browse through, sample and purchase a range of quality literature, fiction and non-fiction specially selected for their age group. This year’s Book Fair continued the remarkable success of previous fairs, with pupils purchasing nearly £2000 worth of books between both sites. Book tokens were also offered as prizes in all Key Stage 3 classes as part of a special competition. Pupils were asked, in ten words or less, to continue the sentence ‘Reading is fun because…’ One prize winner, Kay McAlary (10Cd), claimed that, “Reading is fun because it’s not broccoli. There are many flavours to enjoy!” Have you discovered your favourite flavour yet? As you can see from the photos, this year’s Book Fair was enjoyed by all. Until next year, enjoy all the flavours reading has to offer!
CCEA Learner of the Year Awards Two of our last year’s Year 12 students were awarded CCEA Learner of the Year Awards for Occupational Studies. They are Shauna McFall who received the award for Care and Sé McGuigan who received his award for Construction and the Built Environment. Shauna received her award at the awards ceremony in CCEA, Belfast on Wednesday 28th April. She was presented with a glass trophy and a certificate. Unfortunately
Sé was unable to attend the ceremony. These awards are very prestigious and recognise that they are the best students in their subject areas in Northern Ireland. Congratulations to both award winners.
Pictured are: Mr David McKee from the NRC, Shauna McFall and Mrs Mussen (Vice Principal)
Mrs Anne Scott alongside Sé McGuigan who received the CCEA Occupational Studies Learner of the Year Award 27
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AS Beach Study 2009 In September 2009, 30 AS Level pupils experienced a wind swept but enjoyable day at Benone Beach. The purpose of the trip was to collect data on sand dune succession for AS paper 1. Pupils measured a transect of the sand dune and studied how plant coverage, height and variety and soil moisture content changed with increasing distance from the shoreline.
Peatlands Trip 2009 In September and October 2009, all year 10 pupils embarked on a Connected Learning trip to Peatlands Park in Dungannon. The purpose of this trip was not only to study the Peatland ecosystem but also Connect Learning between Science, Geography and ICT. Pupils study the theory of ecosystems in both Science and Geography while the ICT department were drafted in to help graphically analyse and present the findings of the day. Pupils had the opportunity to study a bog that had been worked by humans and one that had remained untouched by humans and made comparisons between the two. They also had the opportunity to identify plants and animals native to this ecosystem and study the impact human activity has on this fragile environment.
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Art - GCSE
Shauneen Henry
Erin Cunningham
Claire Mc Creanor 29
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‘AN BORD SNIP’ AGUS MNÁ TITHE SA GHAELTACHT OOOHHH, Maidin Mhaith!!!!! Tá mé chomh tuirseach sin ar maidin – bhí mé i mo luí go mall aréir i ndiaidh cóisir i dTeach Jack aréir. Bhuail na mná tithe uilig le chéile ansin lenár gcuid gruaige a ligint síos – anois nuair atá na scoláirí uilig imithe.
ach cúig bliana déag d’aois tá Fear Manach ar an taobh eile den domhain. Nach maith an rud é go bhfásann siad go gcaithfidh siad bheith aibí agus teacht i gcumhacht a mothucháin. SNIP beag agus beidh deireadh leis. (i dtreo na moltóirí)
Bhí sé ar dóigh bheith ábalta luí isteach ar maidin – gan a bheith orm éirí go luath agus bricfeasta a dhéanamh réidh do na buachaillí racanaí sin. Níl fonn orm smaoineamh faoi na seomraí leapa a ghlanadh - fiú.
An aithním tusa, an raibh tusa sa Ghaeltacht? Bhí cinnte. Is léir, tá sé le feiceáil i do shúile. Déarfainn go bhfuil scrabhadh go fóill ar do ghlúine i ndiaidh léimniú amach as na fuinneoga. Nach maith an Ghaeilge atá agat anois!!!!!! Tusa i do shuí ag déanamh moltóireacht orm.
Awk, ní raibh siad chomh olc sin. Thaitin an craic liom agus choinnigh siad chomh gnóthach le lúidín píobaire mé. Déarfáinn go gcrothnódh na mná tithe eile a gcuid daltaí chomh maith – cé nach maith leo sin a rá. Tá an teach chomh ciúin anois!! Agus na bóithre chomh maith. Samhlaigh gurb é sin an gnáthchuma ar an áit – Dawn of the Dead i gceantracha Gaeltachta.
Is iomaí gasúr a tháinig fríd mo theach. Le gliondar i mo chroí d’éist mé leo, scaifte acu ag pilleadh agus Gaeilge bhinn ag teacht i mbláth. Sin an fath gur shocraigh mé bheith i mo bhean an tí, chan ar mhaithe le mo chuid éadaigh a thabhairt do bhuachaillí fá choinne céilí bréagach.
Ní bheadh déagóirí le feiceáil ag siúl thart lámh le lámh – ná ceannairí ag rith thart ina ndiaidh ag scairteadh amach – “bogaigí isteach” “beirteanna”.
Má ghearrann an rialtas siar an scéim a thugann deis don taos óg teanga na tíre a fhoghlaim ní bheidh rud ar bith fágtha. Mná tithe, SNIP, bia agus leaba áitiúla, SNIP, siopaí áitiúla, SNIP, ceirdeanna tí, SNIP. Is fiú Seasca milliúin Euro in aghaidh na bliana do na ceantracha Gaeltachta ar fud fad na hÉireann í.
Ní raibh orm dul i scuaine sa siopa beag maidin inné ach an oiread. Bhí an siopadóir, Ciara ag insint dom go ndéanann siad níos mó airgid nuair a bhíonn na scoláirí anseo ná a dhéanann siad an cuid eile den bhliain.
Ní earraí iad Teanga agus Cultúr s’againn. Níl sé ar ár n-achmhainn á gcailleadh!!! Bhí orainn troid lenár dteanga a choinneáil, tríd an fóireigeán, ocras, plandáil, imirce agus seicteachas.An bhfuil muid réidh na maidí a ligint le sruth?
Má chuirtear gearrúcháin an Bord SNIP i bhfeidhm beidh bánú eile i dTír Chonaill. Go deimhin gan an t-airgead a dhéanann siad ó na scoláirí sa samhradh bheadh orthu an siopa a dhruidim. Bíonn an caifelann ag brath ar na scoláirí chomh maith. Níl a fhios agam cad é a dhéanfaimis dá ndruidfeadh siad.
Úsáid do ghuth ar son na Gaeilge nó SNIP – beidh sí imithe!!!!
Bheadh orm na mílte a thiomáint leis an chéad siopa eile a bhaint amach.
Le Éadoain Nic Oscair
Tá mé an-uaigneach ar fad ó bhfuair m’fhear chéile bás – bhí sé deas na scoláirí a bheith sa teach liom don chuideachta. Ní raibh fonn orthu dul abhaile ach an oiread. Is cuimhin liom na buachaillí ag ligint orthu nach raibh cumha orthu nuair a tháinig siad ar dtús ach chuala mé iad ag caoineadh síos a ngutháin dona maithreacha. Níorbh fhada gur athraigh sin agus fuair siad mná nua. Gach lá ag an tábla don dinnéar bhí siad ag spochadh duine eigin faoina chailín nua. Bhí a gcroíthe briste nuair a bhí orthu a gcailíní a fhagáil ina ndiaidh – nuair nach bhfuil tú 30
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Abair Public Speaking Competitors S McGuigan, É Nic Oscair, T Mac Bhloscaidh pictured along with Mr O’Donnell
Eadaoin Nic Oscair Winner of An Carn Public Speaking competition
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Welcome Europe
Year 10 Pupils who completed The Welcome Europe course pictured along with Dolores Stinston from European Studies and their teacher Mrs A.M. Murray
Irish Medium Pupils 2010
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Year 9 Chalk Compositions
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Language Assistants Lucas Leister - German Language Assistant
Wer bist du? Ich heiße Lucas Leister und ich war euer Fremdsprachenassistent für die letzten 10 Monate in St. Patrick’s. Ich bin ursprünglich aus einer Stadt namens Pforzheim im äußersten Süden Deutschlands. Pforzheim liegt im Schwarzwald, wo die Frauen komische Hüte tragen und man die Schwarzwälderkirschtorte bekommt (lecker!) Was hältst du von Nordirland? Am Anfang war ich sehr geschockt um ehrlich zu sein weil es hier sehr anders ist als in meiner Heimat und es wirklich fast jeden Tag regnet. Aber als ich das Land besser kennergelernt hatte habe ich begriffen, dass es ein großartiges Land ist und ich habe viele gute Freunde hier gefunden, was es sogar noch schwerer macht wieder heim zu gehen.
Who are you? My name is Lucas Leister and I have been your German assistant for the past 10 months at St. Patrick’s. I am originally from a town called Pforzheim in the very South of Germany. Pforzheim is in the Black Forest where the women wear silly red hats and you can get the famous Black Forest pie (yummie!)
Was hältst du von St. Patrick’s? Dieses Jahr war das erste mal, dass ich meine eigene Sprache als Fremdsprache gelehrt habe und ich war erschreckt wie schwierig Deutsch ist! Ich war wirklich beeindruckt von dem Enthusiasmus mit dem die Schüler an dieser Schule diese schwierige Fach verfolgen. Ich hoffe ich konnte ihnen ein bisschen mehr von meiner Kultur zeigen und hoffe sie überzeugt zu haben, dass nicht jeder Deutsch automatisch Fußball mögen muss.
What did you think of Northern Ireland? At the start I was very shocked to be very honest because it is really different here compared to my home country and it truly rains almost every day. But once I got to know the country better, I realised that this is an amazing place and I have found many close friends over here, which makes it even harder to go back home. What did you think of St Patrick’s? This year was the first time that I was faced to teach German as a foreign language and I was incredibly astounded at how difficult my own language actually is! I was really impressed by the enthusiasm with which the pupils at this school pursue such a difficult subject. I hoped I could show them a wee bit more of what my culture is like and that not every single German has to be necessarily into football.
Was war dein bestes Erlebnis hier? Eines der besten Dinge (von denen es zu viele gibt um sie alle zu nennen!!!) war einen meiner zahllosen Wochenende in Belfast was so eine tolle, aufregende und lebhafte Stadt ist! Einmal war ich da auf einem MIKA-Konzert mit Sonia, der Spanischassistentin und Sebastian, dem Französischassistenten. Dort hatte ich auch meinen ersten „richtigen“ St. Patrick’s Tag und ich habe dort David Coulhard an der City Hall getroffen. Was war das Schlechteste? Das war definitiv November wenn um halb vier die Sonne unterging und es wirklich 24 Stunden am tag geregnet hat. Aber man lernt noch sehr früh als Ausländer das der einzige Weg damit klarzukommen ist einen Schirm zu nehmen, den regen zu ignorieren und trotzdem rauszugehen
What was the best thing that you’ve experienced over here? One of the best things (because there are too many to name them all) was one of my numerous weekends in Belfast which is such an amazing, vibrant and exciting city! Once I went there for a MIKA concert to the Waterfront with Sonia the Spanish assistant and Sebastian the French assistant. I also had there my first “proper” Irish St. Patrick’s Day plus I met David Coulthard at the Belfast City Hall.
Was sind deine Pläne für die Zukunft? Also zuerst ziehe ich nach Belfast um den Sommer dort mit meinen Freunden zu verbringen und ab Oktober bin ich zurück an der Uni Tübingen. Aber ich werde sicher wiederkommen und vielleicht sogar nach meinem Abschluss noch ein Jahr hier bleiben.
What was the worst thing? That was definitely November when we had sunset at half 3ish and it was raining literally 24 hours a day. But you learn very early as a foreigner that the only way to get over it is to grab an umbrella, ignore the rain and still go out! 34
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What are your plans for the future? Well, first I’ll move to Belfast soon to spend my summer there with my friends and from October on I’ll be back at University of Tübingen in Germany. But I’ll be definitely coming back and might be spending another year here after my graduation!!
Hast du noch einige letzte Worte? Ich möchte allen Kollegen an St. Patrick’s für ihre Unterstützung und die nette Gesellschaft in den Pausen danken (insbesondere Mura, Cathy, Andrew und den anderen Männer aus der netten Runde ;) ), was es für mich in allem ein sehr angenehmes Jahr gemacht hat. Ich möchte Naomi danken, dass sie als einzige Deutsch als Abiturfach belegt hat und hoffe sie erinnert. Des Weiteren möchte ich meiner European Awareness Klasse danken, die es für mich immer einen sehr erlebnisreichen Start in den Tag gemacht hat und ich hoffe ich konnte ihr Interesse an Politik wecken. Ich möchte auch Tabby danke sagen, dafür dass sie immer eine sc schön warme Tasse Tee im kalten nordirischen Winter gemacht hat und mich warm zu halten und für ihre Gesellschaft im Lehrerzimmer mit all den netten Gesprächen.
Are there any last words you would like to say? I’d like to thank all the staff members at St Patrick’s for their kind support and company at break time (esp. Mura, Cathy, Andrew and the other men in the round circle ;) , which made it a very pleasant and eventful year for me after all. I’d like to thank Naomi for doing German as an A-Level subject and I hope she will remember it as her accent was dead on and I wish her all the best for her future studies at Uni. Furthermore I’d like to say thank-you to my European Awareness class who made it an exciting start to the day and I hope I made them aware of how interesting politics can sometimes be. I’d also like to thank Tilly for always making such a lovely cup of scold that kept me warm in the cold Norn Irish winter and for her company in the staff-room with all the nice chats.
Beste Grüße Euer Lucas
All the best, Lucas
Sonia - Spanish Language Assistant Well, here I go again! This is my second year as a Spanish language assistant at St. Patrick’s College Maghera, and I must say I’m delighted to be back again. Being away from home is not always easy, but sharing Paco with my students and seeing them laughing at him brightens my day! (they know what I’m talking about…). Having Paco in the classroom is not easy, and he takes out (literally) much energy from me… For those of you who haven’t got the pleasure of meeting Paco, he’s the most wonderful Spanish alien ever (if such a thing could be possible). This year I’m quite happy to have students I couldn’t spend time with last year. And my new year 8s seem to be quite delighted to have met Paco as well. By the way, I’d like to “thank” Mr. Harrison for being so fond of my powerpoint presentations. I’m also happy to have my new (and old) Alevel students Fearghal Collins, Carla O’Kane and Laura Coyle, with which I share my language, experiences, laughs (according to Fearghal I laugh a lot) and sunflower seeds!
This year I’ve realised the Irish hate olives and sunflower seeds with a passion. I knew you were not quite fond of seafood either, but sunflower seeds… That’s too much! This year’s being a way lot different to me. First of all, it’s been weird not having had Miss Zeoli around. I miss her, but I know she deserves having time for herself. Secondly, apart from being a language assistant, I’m also a Spanish tutor for three primary schools. There I’ve seen a lot: from teddy mice wearing pyjamas, a teddy bear hospital, Spiderman having a picnic with teddy bears… to my Curro donkey being the father of a wee baby Curro! I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw this… Teaching occupies a lot of my weekly time. It’s an activity I enjoy a lot, but I’m also a professional translator and work regularly for the University of Granada through distance. Internet’s the greatest thing since sliced bread… I spent three years of my life in Granada, and this is a way of keeping in touch. Thanks a lot for letting me be part of your school project this year again. Thanks also to the Spanish Department, especially to Mr Cunningham, for their support, and special thanks to Tilly as usual. I’ll see you all again next year for more craic!
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Yolaine - French Language Assistant Bonjour, I’m Yolaine. This is my third year working here in St Patrick’s as a French assistant. You will have guessed if I stayed that long it must be because I enjoy it! Working as a language assistant is a great opportunity. We get to teach small groups of students through fun activities without having to worry about paperwork or other duties: a teacher’s dream! And it’s a great feeling to see students grow in confidence and actually enjoy speaking a foreign language, especially if it’s your own. I’m also there to share my culture with them and answer any of the questions they might have about France and the French. On occasions I also correct some misconceptions…
- We don’t usually go around carrying garlic around our neck. In fact I find that people in Northern Ireland eat more garlic than we do. I had never heard of garlic bread and garlic mayonnaise until I came here! - Some of you might find this disappointing, but children don’t get to drink red wine with their dinner either. Some parents might think it a good idea to have their children acquire a taste for it; but that would be in very small quantities. I don’t recall my mum ever handing me a glass of wine as a child; in fact she still finds it hard to do now! - And finally, if you’re in France and see someone wearing a stripy jumper and a beret, it’s probably a tourist! This might have cleared things up a little. But please students, feel free to ask more questions! I enjoy answering them and learning about France’s reputation abroad. You might even teach me a few things about my country!
Here are a few facts you might be interested in: - No, we don’t eat frogs’ legs on a regular basis! They’re considered a delicacy and usually only available in expensive restaurants. Like many other people in France, I have never even tasted them!
Malachaí Ó hÁgáin - Irish Language Assistant Is mise Malachaí Ó hÁgáin agus tá mé i mo bhliain dheireanach de chéim sa Ghaeilge in Ollscoil Uladh, Cúil Raithin. Is é seo an dara bliain dom a bheith ag obair i gColáiste Naomh Pádraig mar chúntóir Gaeilge agus cosúil le mo chéad bhliain anseo bhain mé an-taitneamh as a bheith ag obair leis na daltaí agus múinteoirí i roinn na Gaeilge. Oibrím fosta mar cheannaire leis an óg-eagraíocht Ógras a chuireann an Ghaeilge chun cinn trí imeachtaí agus turaisí éagsúla a eagrú do dhéagóirí. I rith an tSamhraidh seo caite, d’eagraigh Ógras turas chun na Bulgáire do ghrúpa déagóirí ó gach cairn den tír agus bhí an faill agam dul leo mar cheannaire. Chuaigh triúr ón cheantar seo, Éilis Ní Chaiside, Gráinne Ní Chaithin agus Cairín Ní Bhraoin agus bhuail muid le déagóirí ó Thír Chonaill, Átha Chliath, Chill Dara, Chorcaigh agus na hOileáin Árainn. Chaith muid seachtain sa Bhulgáir agus bhuail muid le grúpa déagóirí ón cheantar, Vidin, ina raibh muid ag stopadh. Ba déis iontach é do na déagóirí ón dá thír rudaí a fhoghlaim faoina chéile maidir le sochaí agus saol a chéile. An rud ba shuimiúla, bfhéidir, gur foghlaimíodh go raibh níos mó cosúlachtaí idir an dá ghrúpa ná mar a bhí difríochtaí. Gné eile den turas ná gur déis iontach a bhí ann, grúpa déagóirí ó Éirinn a bheith ag pléigh tábhacht an chultúir agus an teanga le daoine ó thír eile agus fiú an Ghaeilge a theagasc do dhaoine ón Bhulgáir. Dúradh gur méadaíodh bród agus grá don teanga dá thairbhe agus bhí sé go breá a bheith i measc déagóirí eile le tuigmheáil dearfach i dtaca leis an Ghaeilge. 36
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Feis Charn Tóchair Award winning posters in the Comórtas Ealaíona of Feis Charn Tóchair. The theme of the competition was An Cultúr Gaelach.
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Pictured are the participants and the prize winners in the Comórtas Ealaíona of Feis Charn Tóchair. The theme of the competition was An Cultúr Gaelach.
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Magical History Tour St Patrick’s College, played host to ‘The Magical History Tour’ in November 2009. The ‘History Tour’ gives pupils the opportunity to take part in an archaeological dig, try on medieval clothing and armour, participate in medieval arts and crafts activities and witness a stunning display of medieval archery. This year the College was privileged to also have the expertise of Mr Tom Cully, an Archery specialist, and member of the Archaeological Society.
St Patrick’s College has long recognised the value of ‘hands on’ interactive learning in the classroom and these workshops link particularly well to the Northern Ireland Curriculum. The event organised by Miss M Mc Reynolds was thoroughly enjoyed by all Year 8 pupils.
Trip to Stormont On Tuesday 26th January 2010 two Year 12 students, Eadaoin Nic Oscair and Niall Quinn, travelled along with Miss Mc Reynolds to Stormont for the launch proposals of a
Youth Assembly. The speakers asked for volunteers to form a Youth Panel which would help build a new Northern Ireland Youth Assembly.
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American Dream As part of the Year 8 Connected Learning Theme ‘ The American Dream’, pupils travelled to the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh
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St Brigid St Brigid is one of the patron saints of Ireland. She was born in Faughart near Dundalk in the year 451 and died in 524. Her feast day is February 1st. Brigid is believed to have been an Irish nun and founder of several convents. Brigid was noted for her generosity to the poor. The best known story about her is her visit to a dying pagan chieftain. While she prayed, she made rushes into a cross. It is still customary to make St Brigid’s Crosses on February 1st. It is hoped that they will protect a household from sickness in the year ahead. The cross is hung in many Irish homes. We learned how to make a St Brigid’s cross in our Religion Class. Fr. Baker came into school and blessed our crosses before we took them home.
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Junior Choir - Young Voices On the 15th December, this year, all the schools sang with some of the most talented artists in the music industry including, V V Brown, R&B star, and All Angels, who inspired us with their new take on classical music.
We warmed up with the help of the conductor David Lawrence. The rehearsals started at 2.30 p.m. and things took off for real at 7 p.m. The atmosphere was indescribable as no one knew what to expect when the lights dimmed. Other lights began rolling, we all grew tense and then up came the celebs. It was truly a night that no one would ever forget. We would also like to take this opportunity to show our appreciation to Mr Terrington who mentored us through the weeks up to it and also to Miss Conway and Mrs McKenna who came along and supported us on the day.
Young Voices was the perfect introduction to live music for us and we got to perform live in a choir of over 2000 voices in front of a large crowd, as well getting a chance to rehearse and perform with famous recording artists. It was our last year as 2nd years in the Junior Choir and was made a night to remember as, with Young Voices 2008, the Urban Strides were there to entertain us and many others.
by Mairead Molloy and Eimear Cassidy, Year 9
Senior Choir - St Patrick’s Maghera compete in Ballymena Festival Congratulations to the Senior Choir from St Patrick’s College Maghera and their conductor Miss Jolene Conway, who achieved second place in the Ballymena Festival. The school choir performed two contrasting pieces, Wonderful Tonight
and Rhythm of Life. This was the first time the choir entered the competition and they were competing against a number of choirs from the Belfast and Ballymena areas.
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Schools Stars In Yer Eyes
Emma Taggart winner of Stars in Yer Eyes
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As School Pupils
As School Stars 44
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Art - Year 10 Collage
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My Political Journey - By Connor Morgan When the word ‘politics’ is mentioned, most people either become so bored they fall asleep or start calling every politician a crook. When I first told my parents I wanted to get a job in politics, the first thing they said was, “Ohh great: that’s another 20 years of you taking our money!” When I was in 5th year debating what subjects to take on for A.S., I still hadn’t decided on taking Politics but after talking to an Upper Sixth pupil who was studying it, who told me it was a very enjoyable and interesting subject, my mind was made up. At first I found it difficult to get my head round some of the theory, but after a while it just came naturally to me. I loved all aspects of the subject, especially when Mr McGregor handed out one of his famous essays. Oh, the joy of essays! In the A.S. part of the course, I studied Northern Ireland and the British political process. I enjoyed and was interested in both modules and I was confident going into the exam that I would do well. When August came I was really happy to achieve my ‘B’ grade, my highest scoring result! After starting back into the A2 part of the course, I was ready for some more politics and that takes us up to the present day: sitting in the Sixth Form Centre, trying to think of things to put in this article, only a couple of months away from my exams and confident to do well again. Way back in November we got the chance to visit Stormont. We left on a cold, wet morning for the bus ride down. The talk on the bus ranged from what someone was wearing out, how many skittles I could fit in my mouth at once and, of course, politics crept in somewhere along the way. God bless Iris Robinson! When we arrived we were given a quick tour, and then taken to one of the press briefing rooms in the basement. Throughout the day we had various MLAs come down to meet us and we grilled them on multiple areas: educational reform, the future of the 11+, the economy, policing and justice and even plans to reintroduce the death penalty. Let’s just say that a certain UUP MLA doesn’t like me that much after I caught him out a few times!
This trip really helped me decide that I was definitely going into politics. It increased my awareness of what it was like to work in Stormont and taught me how to work out a crook from a real politician. In my Lower Sixth, we were offered the chance to go on work experience. For mine I decided to go to my local Sinn Féin office in Gulladuff. At first I was nervous about not knowing anyone or doing something wrong but as soon as I met everyone I felt at ease. On my first day I went down to Stormont and, being my first time there, I was in awe of my surroundings. I met my local MLA Francie Molloy, who took me down to the canteen for some breakfast. Like I always say, anyone who buys me food is a great friend of mine! After that I went up to the chamber to watch democracy in action: while one party representative was talking, their opposites would be playing on their phones or, I’m guessing, filling out their travelling expenses! It was actually quite funny to watch a DUP MLA talking about plastic bags, while an SDLP MLA was playing ‘Snake’ on his phone. It’s a slippery old world in politics! The next day I was back in Stormont where I spent the day writing letters and typing out questions to be submitted. It was tedious work but for some reason I seemed to enjoy it. The rest of the week was spent in the office in Gulladuff. I really enjoyed the experience and would have done it again. Then a few weeks later, out of the blue, I got a phone call to see if I could help out with the upcoming elections. I nearly fell off the bed, not out of excitement but because I’d spilt a cup of tea over my arm! So that’s why I got the idea into my head of some day becoming a politician. Have you seen the salaries these guys make? If you did, you’d share my enthusiasm! Next year I’ll be off to Liverpool to study politics. Hopefully this goes well for me and, you never know, in a few years my name could be up on posters on the lampposts. I’ve already started early and made my own campaign poster, so don’t forget to VOTE MORGAN! I’ll leave you with a quote from one of the smartest men of our time, George W. Bush: “I believe that man and fish can co-exist in society.” Legend!
When it was almost time to leave, we were told we were going to meet Martin McGuinness. When we first met him he took time to go round the group and shake everyones hand. He asked us if we had enjoyed ourselves and when he asked us if we had any questions, I posed him one last tough one: “Can I have a photo?” Without giving him time to respond, I jumped in and got the camera ready. As you can see for yourselves, he seemed to like the joke. Perhaps I can be his new Chuckle Brother? Chuckle Brothers
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The Pope John Paul II Award 2010 33 students from St Patrick’s College, Maghera received 18 Gold, 11 Silver and 3 Bronze Awards at the recent Pope John Paul II Award Ceremony in the Millennium Forum in Derry. The Very Reverend Edmund Power OSB, Abbot of St Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome, presented the Awards with Bishop Hegarty. The President of Ireland Mary McAleese sent congratulatory greetings to the young people.
The Award started in the year after the death of Pope John Paul II and it was dedicated to him. He was a man who had constant and unwavering confidence and belief in young people. In Galway in 1979 he said: “I repeat what I have said so often as Archbishop of Krakow – I believe in youth. I believe in the youth of Ireland.”
The Pope John Paul II Award began in 2006. The reason for starting the award was two-fold. The first reason was to celebrate and acknowledge the many young people who are involved in their local parish, in their community and in so many other constructive and charitable ways. The second reason was to encourage more young people to get involved in their parish, in the community, in charitable work. The Award is for all young people in senior school or who are over sixteen. It is a great age to be involved in your parish and beyond and it is a great age to be recognised for your involvement. Often people will look at young people and say ‘you are the future of the Church’. But the truth is young people are the present of the Church. Their power, their gifts, their witness and their faith are needed in the Church today and vital for the life of the Church. The Award celebrates the fact that we have so many young people in our Church. The Award started as a small diocesan initiative in Derry. It is growing from strength to strength. Another six dioceses in Ireland have now started the Award. The Knights of Columbanus in Ireland have made it their national project for the next three years.
Nothing enables people to be empowered more than others’ confidence in them. Throughout the world Pope John Paul II was the greatest advocate for young people because his message was never negative or a put down. It was always honest, uplifting and empowering. The unique bond that he developed with young people was so obvious in his final illness and death when so many of them went to Rome to accompany him and be with him. He said very near the end of his life “I have looked for you. Now you have come to me. And I thank you.” At a time in the Church were there is so much negativity and where people are looking very hard to find leadership, the Pope John Paul II Award reveals an example of real leadership and Christian witness in the young people receiving the Awards.
A number of students from St Patrick’s College who received Pope John Paul II Awards, with Principal Mrs Scott, Vice Principal Mr Toner and Director of Religious Education Mrs Francine Walls
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L6 JOHN PAUL II GROUP
U6 JOHN PAUL II GROUP
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Art - GCSE
Eugene O’ Hagan
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Launch of the STEM Report and Module at Stormont Castle Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects are a top priority for education. In September, Saint Patrick’s pupils, Mairead Molloy, Cahir Mc Cann, Thomas Cavanagh and Hannah Lynn carried out forensic science presentations at the Stormont Assembly.
in the North and to make full use of the STEM Module’s interchangeable workspace and equipment.
They were participating in the launch of the STEM Report and STEM Module. The STEM Report represents the most significant review of STEM Education for a decade. The Module is a state of the art 58m2 Truck costing £1.2 million. The STEM Module is a highly interactive and equipped Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths vehicle and will tour schools throughout the North, allowing pupils to use equipment normally associated with Universities. Present at the launch were the school’s Principal Mrs Anne Scott, Caitriona Ruane, Education Minister, Sir Reg Empey, Minister for Employment and Learning and a host of other dignitaries.
Thomas Cavanagh and Mairead Molloy present the STEM Report to Caitriona Ruane, Dr Tim Harrison (Almac) and Sir Reg Empey
Chemistry teacher, Mr Dan Clarke co-ordinated the project within the school to create a scenario based around a murder in the local area. Pupils would be given profiles of suspects as well as details about the murder scene along with different pieces of evidence such as fibres from clothes, blood stains and even urine samples. This would be analysed using the sophisticated equipment in the Module and eventually the suspects would be narrowed down to one. Mr Clarke then took the project and worked closely with Mr Kyle Crooks, a Field Officer with NEELB on secondment from Carrickfergus High School. The unit of work was shaped around the STEM Module and adapted to be used for different age ranges and abilities.
The £1.2 million STEM Module
The pupils, with the help of their science teacher, Mr Mc Gale prepared a presentation on forensic science for the launch held in the Long Room at Stormont Castle.
Mr Clarke then launched the forensics Year 8 unit to pupils at St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon and Year 10 pupils at Dromore, High School. According to the pupils who took part it was a great success.
The pupils carried out a series of presentations and experiments ranging from fingerprinting, carrying out bloodstain analysis and DNA electrophoresis. After running the presentations in the Long Room, the pupils then joined other schools in the STEM Module for a series of workshops and presentations. Who committed the dastardly deed? After the successful launch at Stormont, Mr Mc Gale was asked if the Science Department at Saint Patrick’s College would develop a Forensics unit of work for the Module. This involved liaising with the Northern Ireland Forensic Science Department and Sean Maguire, the Science Advisor, at the NEELB. The unit was to be put together for use across schools
Hannah Lynn and Mairead Molloy hard at work in the Module
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‘It’s a knock-out’ at St Patrick’s Maghera Science Fair St Patrick’s Maghera hosted the College’s annual Science Fair which ran over two school days in May 2009. A range of different activities and practical workshops were organised for pupils of the College with a number of local primary and secondary school pupils taking part also. An ongoing part of the programme for Day One was a ‘Green Games’ festival organised by Mrs C.Scott of the College’s PE Department – pupils on the day taking part in a range of environmentally friendly play and competitive activities.
Day Two of the Science Fair moved to the main site of the College although the ‘It’s A Knock-out’ event was hosted by the College PE Department in the Maghera Leisure Centre. Again attended by College pupils and other local secondary schools the pupils were involved in a range of competitive events as small groups were set challenges and tasks to complete during each of the activity sessions.
Martin Stokes and James McDonnell were glad of some rest and refreshments at the St Patrick’s Maghera Green Games Festival
The St Patrick’s Maghera Science Fair had Draperstown pupils working hard to solve the Rolling Tower challenge in It’s a Knock-out
Team work was a key requirement in the Ski Taxi challenge at St Patrick’s Maghera’s It’s a Knock-out event
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BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010 Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane, and Peter Morris, BT, pictured with pupils and teacher, Mr Gerard Kelly at the reception in Parliament Buildings for entrants to the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010.
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St Patrick’s College Pilot E-Learning Through RTUNI, St Patrick’s College Maghera was given the opportunity to enrol Mr. J Henry, T&D teacher, for innovative training to help develop E-Learning within the school. The course, ‘Online Learning and Teaching for Educators’ (OLTE) aimed: • • •
To develop critical reflective practice in relation to learning platforms, elearning course design, development, implementation and evaluation. To experience designing, developing, implementing, tutoring, and evaluating online courses. To appreciate, develop and apply the critical aspects of effective online tutor skills.
Mr. J Henry successfully completed these aims with a pilot group of AS Product Design students to deliver in which he designed, developed, implemented and tutored a 10-week ELearning course tailored to their course specification. The online experience enabled the pupils to access lessons and a wide range of interactive resources, as well as creating collaborative learning experiences. Mr. J Henry designed his course with the following Intended Learning Outcomes for his students; • • • • •
“The discussion board was of great benefit as it allowed me to ask for help not only from the teacher, but from classmates as well.” The E-Learning experience was extremely successful in preparing these AS Product Design pupils for their 3rd level education and introduced them to an alternative way of teaching/learning. Mr. J Henry is now using the effective pupil feedback from this pilot course to develop future ELearning experiences for pupils within Technology and Design tailored to their individual needs and learning styles.
more personalised learning appropriate to individual needs; increased flexibility of access to resources and tutors; increased motivation; increased participation levels and ICT skill development. improved results
Throughout the ten weeks the pupils developed a range of new ICT skills and through collaborative tasks and activities they became more confident online and were able to freely express opinions and views, leading to effective learning and skill development. The E-Learning platform enhanced learning through online assessments with immediate feedback, gradebooks, use of video and weblinks to relevant resources, and a more interactive learning experience.
“The sky’s the limit with e-learning and there is nothing to stop the tidal wave of interactive networking. Pupils will no longer be restricted to only accessing subjects taught within their schools and may begin to extend their learning to outside of the constraints of the classroom and begin to see each other as valuable a resource of information as their teacher.” Mr. J Henry
These are some of the comments made by the pupils about their 10-week E-Learning experience:
“Over the ten weeks of the E-learning course my ICT skills have improved as I have done various activities like creating a Wiki, participating in online discussions and uploading videos etc” “From the VLE experience I gained a wide knowledge of how to work with others online and how to participate in this kind of working environment. Also I found the actual content of the learning activities to be very helpful and easy to understand.”
AS Product Design E-Learning group receiving their Certificates of Achievement, accompanied by their Online Tutor Mr. J Henry.
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2009 Toyota Technology Challenge CONGRATULATIONS TEAM INFERNO!!!!!!!!!! 3rd Place in the IRELAND and WALES Regional Final
They have been able to develop their T&D ICT skills and manufacturing skills and have proven they can work well as a part of a team.
The team members worked many hours after school and at dinnertime to develop their designs and manufacture their car. The picture below show the team researching, experimenting and developing their cars design.
Left to Right: D. Convery TD Technician, Emma Mc Grath Yr12, Anthony English Yr 12, John Quigg Yr 11, Vincent Feeney Yr 12, Mr. J. Henry TD Teacher.
Thinking Skills Years 8 - 10 are given many opportunities to develop and use skills which they will be able to use in the future to prepare for exams, research for coursework, deal with challenges and become better students at university and more employable when they come to look for a job. It is one thing to be taught about the importance of these skills, it is another to use them in a worthwhile way. In March this year 19 pupils were rewarded for successfully managing their skill development and showing not only that they were developing knowledge and skills but also that they were actively engaged in that process. Each Key Stage 3 pupil is asked to record each time they use a skill in a small skill booklet, showing their knowledge of self management, working with others, creative thinking, problem
solving and decision making, information management, using Maths, communication and the use of ICT. These people have already got evidence through their certificates that they have made significant efforts to develop their skills. Whatever choices they make, what subjects they study for GCSE, whether they go on to university or leave for tech, whatever job they do, these skills will be a central part to their success. When anyone goes for an interview, they do not talk just about what exams you have, they ask what skills you have developed. When you are looking through your skills booklet, remember this is essential whatever path you choose, whatever decisions you make.
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L.E.T. Programme The L.E.T. Programme took place over 3 days in Lusty Beg Island.
The pupils involved met new people from different cultures and took part in a wide range of activities.
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BR: L to R: Conor Mc Mullan, Mary Jo Mulholland, Conor Quinn, Danielle Murphy, Emmet Martin, Mr P O’ Connor. FR: L to R: Shauna Mc Glinchey, Conor Mc Gahon, Chloe Campbell.
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School Aid Romania It was an early start for the thirteen St Patrick’s College, Maghera students and their teachers for the trip to Romania. After quick goodbyes everyone boarded the bus, ready for the experience of a lifetime. On the way to Dublin Airport the bus collected the pupils chosen from Methodist College, Belfast and Ballyclare High School. As a cross community trip, it gave us the opportunity to meet new people, from different backgrounds to our own. We all made friends quickly and the long journey to Brasov in Transylvania gave us the chance to get to know each other. We arrived in the small hours of the 24th of January, and the three course meal served by the hotel was greatly appreciated! The next morning everyone emerged from their rooms feeling very tired, but excited for the day ahead. It was a Sunday morning, and as we were all Christians we had the opportunity to attend Church services, but as part of the cross-community experience we were encouraged to go to a different Church than our own. The Catholics in the group attended the Baptist service, and those from a Protestant background attended the Catholic service. This gave us all the opportunity to experience a different religion than our own, and it was good to see that as Christians there are many similarities that we share in faith.
us and we went into a communal room to meet the elderly residents. The people there spoke many different languages and were from different backgrounds, including Hungarian and German. They were very pleased to see us as most of the residents rarely got visitors, and although there was a language barrier we were able to communicate with them. We were allowed to leave the communal room to spend time with the elderly people who were unable to leave their rooms. A number of the elderly people were bed bound, and one old woman could not speak – the only way that she could communicate was by kissing our hands. Another old lady, called Mihaela, could speak English and she told us all about her life as a pianist in Berlin. She was full of advice for us all, and she told the girls to be independent and not to marry! We all left Sacele with fond memories and new friends. The next day we were split up into groups. The first group travelled to childrens’ homes called Rashnov and Zarnesti. The children there were energetic and enjoyed games and face painting! Afterwards the group travelled to Bran Castle, the home of Dracula, but it was closed so they visited a Haunted House instead…which some of them regretted later! I travelled with the larger group to a village called Timis where there were two separate institutions, Barsimica and St Anton, for people with mental disabilities. We were divided up again, and around 15 of us went to Barsimica. From the outside it looked like a gingerbread house, but when we went in, the first thing that we noticed was how bad it smelled. We were allowed to go into the rooms where the older residents
After the services we travelled the short distance to an old people’s home in Sacele. The staff at the home welcomed
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were, which groups in the past had not been allowed to do, which was a sign that conditions are improving. I don’t think any of us were prepared for how severely disabled some of the people were, and as they didn’t have much interaction or psychological care it is difficult to imagine ever being in that situation. Then we all went upstairs to the communal rooms where the younger residents were, although most of them were in their late teens or early twenties. Some of them did not speak or interact with us at all, but most of them were very lively and wanted our attention. They had very little to pass the time with and when we brought them simple things like colouring books and balloons they were delighted. Although it got quite rowdy and was frightening for many of us, it was still an amazing experience to see how an hour and a half of playing and communicating with the young people there could really help them.
where the children of the village get an education up until the age of 15. When we arrived the children sang and put on a short assembly for us, and one of the teachers sang a traditional Romanian song. As a group we sang a few songs for them, even though most of us were terrible singers. Many of the kids had grown up in the orphanage across the road, and they were pleased to get simple things like toothbrushes or soap. We spent a few hours with them, and then left to go to a girls orphanage in the nearby town of Rupea. Most of the girls were not much older than 8 or 9, and a few of them were only little toddlers. By the end of the day almost everyone had had their face painted and the play room in the orphanage was covered in toys and balloons. For some of us it was difficult to leave, knowing that we’d never see them again. The next morning we were split up again, with most of the group going to Kindergarten 34 were the children had hearing difficulties. In the past the charity had bought equipment so that the kids there could be provided with hearing aids, which greatly improved their quality of life. The rest of us got the opportunity to go to a Down’s Syndrome school. The pupils there ranged in age from 6 or 7 up to people in their 30s and 40s. We were able to take Polaroid pictures to give to them to keep and after a few hours of games we left with great memories. Later on 2 girls from each of the three schools got to go to a maternity hospital in Brasov, but the rest of us got to carry aid that Mr Clifford had bought into the hospital which has limited resources. The six who were chosen to go into the hospital were accompanied by Eileen, the nurse who goes on the trip with SAR every year. The girls were shocked at how
When we got back to the bus, those who had gone to St Anton told us of their experiences and how the residents there were adults with learning and mental difficulties. It was interesting to hear about the woodwork skills that some of the residents of St Anton had, yet it was sad to think that they would not be able to cope in the outside world. The experience at Timis will definitely stay with all of us who got the opportunity to go there. After lunch, we travelled to smaller children’s homes, were groups of 10 or 12 children stayed in houses with carers. The charity had worked with these houses down the years and it was great to see how children with relatively minor learning difficulties could be treated with care and love, away from places like Barsimica and St Anton. I got to go a house called Santa Maria where the children were lively to say the least We spent around 4 hours playing with them, and we left there feeling extremely tired although it was hard to leave the smaller children who were upset to see us go. On the Tuesday we travelled out into the Romanian countryside to a village called Dacia. We went to the local school there, 58
young some of the mothers were in the hospital. The rest of us went to houses where small groups of children stayed with carers. One of the houses had very little furniture and the charity was able to have new furniture delivered to them. It
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was these small little things that make a difference to the lives of children who would otherwise be living in terrible conditions in institutions. The following day would prove to be the most enjoyable for us, as we got to go on a food run in a remote village whre many of the people were living in destitution. Nina, the interpreter on the trip, came from this village and she knew many of the people who came to the small community hall where we organised the food which had been bought from a cash-andcarry. Many of the residents who came to collect food were elderly and we were to go in groups of two or three and carry the food back to their homes. Eileen McMaster and myself had to carry food up a hill for a elderly woman who had to stop every few minutes to catch her breath. The woman was in very poor health and when we got to her home she brought us inside, to a cold, damp, dirty house. There was very little furniture and it was in very bad condition, but she was very grateful for the help and she gave us two apples. The apples were beginning to rot and it showed us just how little this old lady had.
the elderly people who could not leave their rooms could be moved around easily. It felt like we were visiting friends, and we all had people that we wanted to see again. A lady of 77, called Tatiana, brought out the Polaroid that was taken of the two of us when we had been in Sacele the first time. The old people seemed even happier to see us than they had been on Sunday, and it was far harder to leave them for the second time. Later we went to a school and orphanage called Bradet, which was out in a remote area surrounded by mountains. Bradet was for children with learning difficulties and mental and physical disabilities. After a long, sometimes difficult week, most of us found Bradet to be the hardest part of the experience in Romania. That night Mr Clifford invited some of the people he had worked with in Romania over the years to come and talk to us. The pastor from the Baptist Church, the priest from the Catholic Church, a woman who runs a Tuberculosis Hospital and a number of people who had tried to change the conditions of the harshest institutions came and spoke about their experiences. We had not been able to go to the TB Hospital but it was encouraging to hear that with money from SAR that the hospital would be able to stay open for another year because the money it received from the Romanian Government had been cut. Later we had a talent show, which included a dance which the 12 boys on the trip performed, Caoimhe Moran’s impression of Mr Clifford with Danielle McLaughlin as Mrs Devlin, a human pyramid, an impression of the boys which was performed by the Ballyclare and Methody girls, and a tin whistle/ceilí dancing group! Eileen the Nurse performed a Susan Boyle song, Eileen McMaster was Shania Twain, and Mrs Rogers and Miss Hamilton from Ballyclare did their own comedy version of Hallelujah. The girls from Methody and Ballyclare won the Talent Show and afterwards there was an awards ceremony, which Miss Glenn from Methody presented. The next morning we were all packed and ready to leave, even though we all wished we could have stayed for another week. Before we left Romania we got to go on a tour of the dictator, Ceausescu’s Palace which is the second largest building in the world. It was important, because it showed us that while the people of Romania where living in destitution that their leader was spending millions building a Palace. After a few hours in a shopping centre we headed to Bucharest airport and said goodbye to Romania. Back in Dublin, we journeyed home and said sad goodbyes to all the friends we had made, with promises that we’d all meet up sometime soon. Before we left for Romania we were told that we would leave a part of us behind – it was true what they said.
Later, we got to return to the Children’s houses that we had visited on Monday, while nine of us were lucky enough to go to a Roma gypsy village. For the nine who got to go it proved to be the toughest part of the trip, as they had never witnessed such severe poverty before. The most difficult part was seeing a mother with nine children in a cold, one room cottage with basically no furniture. The clothes that the little baby in the house was wearing were too big for it, and when the child was lifted up the clothes would fall off, leaving it freezing – the temperature outside was usually around -5c or -10c, and during the night it was as low as -30c. The next day was our last full day in Romania, and we got the chance to return to Sacele. Mr Clifford was hoping to help out with the new lift that they were installing so that 59
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Comenius St. Patrick’s College, has for many years been involved in a variety of Comenius projects where pupils from the college have worked collaboratively with pupils from schools in other European countries. The Comenius Programme is named after Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670), often considered the father of modern education. Comenius is aimed at schools, colleges and local authorities across Europe and has two main objectives:
Preparing healthy Irish food
the European agencies of each of the participating countries. The title of the project for the next two years is ‘HEY’ ~ Healthy European Youth. The aim of the current project is to explore, discuss and to address the lifestyle issues that affect the health and well-being of 16-19 year olds within the participating countries. All the participating schools, at a planning meeting in Cottbus, Germany in October 2009, agreed the project details and activities for Year 1. The project website contains more information about the project and the participating schools. The link to the website is: www. heyok.org
Grainne saying farewell to her host Danish family
to develop knowledge and an understanding among young people and education staff of the diversity of European cultures and languages, and the value of this diversity; to help young people to acquire basic life skills and competences • for their personal development, for future employment d • for active European citizenship.
During the course of this year the students participated in online discussions with their European partners, completed surveys, completed and analysed food diaries and invited a number of speakers to the school to speak to them about a variety of lifestyle issues. In March, 9 pupils were selected to represent St. Patrick’s College at a Comenius activity week in
In addition to learning more about other cultures and gaining an insight into other teaching practices, staff and students have the opportunity to work together, to develop focused approaches to problem-solving, and to build pedagogical programmes. Staff and students also have the possibility of visiting their partner institutions through the funding available. The Comenius project is offered to all pupils in Year 13 as part of an extended curriculum provision and there are 16 students in the current project. We are currently working with four schools from four countries, Denmark, France, Germany, and Poland. Three of these schools were part of a very successful ‘Energy for Europe’ Comenius project that ended two years ago. The strong links that were forged then and the positive outcomes of that project were something that the participating schools were keen to maintain and to build upon. Consequently a new project application was submitted and we were all delighted when it was given the go ahead by 60
Its never easy to say goodbye
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Viborg, Denmark. This trip was thoroughly enjoyed by all and the students from St. Patrick’s were excellent ambassadors for their school and country. All participated fully in all the activities something that the teachers from the other participating schools remarked upon. Many new friends were made and more than a few tears were shed when it was time to say goodbye.
their chosen topic. Experiencing the different food traditions was interesting and very worthwhile. However, the Irish food was definitely the one that went down the best.
Below is a brief account of the Denmark trip by Grainne O’Kane and Elizabeth Corbett, two of the students who travelled to Denmark.
At night, we spent time with our families or we went out and met up with others from the group, in the town. The best night was when we went to the bowling alley and we ate in a place called ‘BaBa’, it was great. Then we partied. We visited an Irish traditional pub and discovered that we were the first Irish people that had been in it...lol !
A few of us were part of the drama group that showed the effects of alcohol and drugs on a young person’s body and how this is viewed by others.
Going to Denmark was a great experience. We met so many new people and learned so many new things. We each stayed with a separate exchange family. This was scary at first but turned out to be one of the many highlights of the trip as we got a true insight into Danish family life. Each day from early morning (8 am) until the end of the school day (6 pm) we worked in groups on the project. A representative from each country was placed in each group and assigned a task relating to a healthy lifestyle issue. Group activities involved cooking, researching, making PowerPoint presentations and videos with one group writing and performing a dramatisation for
On the last day we walked the beach 2 Danish kilometres. NB 1 Danish km = 3 Irish km (e) After the beach, despite being exhausted, we managed to find enough energy to go shopping for hours. This was also a highlight of our trip. Overall it was brilliant and we’d go back in the morning!
The students who worked on the healthy eating task
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Ski Trip 2010 Mr Mc Gale and Mrs Donnelly took charge of 20 students as we took a 4 hour flight to Milan in Italy. We then transferred on a two and a half hour coach trip to the Bucaneve Hotel in St Valentino. The hotel was VERYgood with excellent facilities. There was a ski resort nearby called La Polsa. This is where we travelled to some of our ski lessons – which we had every morning and afternoon. There were two groups. One for the better skiers and one for the beginner skiers. Even though it was my first time skiing I got moved to the more advanced group. After the skiing lessons we had dinner in the hotel every night and the evening activities included swimming (there was a indoor swimming pool with a baby pool), bum boarding, ice skating and a games room. There was a quiz and karaoke night it was good craic! This was the first time that most of us had skied in Italy and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The ski slopes were excellent and some boys displayed spectacular falls (you know who you are!) It was very cold some days with the temperature falling as low as -14 degrees. On our last day we had the best craic… We would like to thank Mr Mc Gale and Mrs Donnelly for all their hard work organising the trip and taking care of us all. Thank you for a great ski-trip. Danielle Duggan 10Ag and Damian Mc Peake 10Cd
BR: L to R: Pearse Mc Erlean, Micheal Donnelly, David Lowery, John Mc Guckin, Conor Diamond, Conan Glass. MR: L to R: Damian Mc Peake, Mary Kelly, Hannah Henry, Karen Kielt, Teresa Mc Elroy, Danielle Duggan, Emma Mc Grath, Dillon Devine. FR: L to R: Stefan Mc Nally, Cahal O’ Loan, James O Mullan, Jack Kielt, Sean Mc Ilvenny. 62
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My Spirit of Enniskillen Experience by Orla Liddy I first got involved with SOE in October 2008 when I took part in the Skills Day. I then was chosen to go on the Schools Residential. I really enjoyed the weekend and it was then that I decided to apply for the Explore Programme for which I got accepted. The Explore programme was run over a period of eight months, with two weeks of this overseas. Our destination was Germany, which we travelled to on the 21st of July – 2nd of August 2009. There were nine young people in my group and our two co-ordinators. We stayed in Oranienburg in Germany for the first week. We stayed in a Hostel a short distance from Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, which was build by the Jews from the Camp. The second week we moved into Berlin and stayed there for a week in another Hostel. The two weeks overseas involved a lot of hard work with a lot of fun. Over the two weeks we went to a lot of different places to look around, we went to see The Brandenburg Gate, The Reichstag, Check Point Charlie, The Royal Palace and The Irish Embassies. Each of these was very enjoyable. We also went to Berlin Zoo and Fez. Whilst away in Germany everyone had to be the Leader For A Day. Basically what this involved was being in charge for the day. It was up to the LFAD to tell everyone what was happening and where they had to be at whatever time. Also on the day you had to facilitate a workshop. Being Leader for a Day was not optional, everyone had to do it, but it was a challenge for us all. Some of the workshops that were done overseas were quite hard. All of them were beneficial but some were harder than others. Some of the workshops that were done were Euthanasia, Abortion, Disabilities, Orange Order and Global Warming. I have included photos of the group during the Euthanasia workshop. Overall my experience with Spirit of Enniskillen has been unbelievable. The amount of learning that I have gained and the amount of fun I have had has been amazing.
Spirit of Enniskillen - Cyprus ‘09 Hello, Bryan O’Kane here. I was lucky enough to be one of the 40 young people selected to participate in the 2009 Spirit of Enniskillen Explore programme, open every year to anyone in NI between the ages of 16-19. The ’09 participants were split into 4 groups of 10 and travelled with 2 facilitative coordinators to either; Cyprus (Nicosia), Germany (Berlin), America (New England) or Sweden (Gothenburg). Cyprus was my destination. Heading away to an impressive selection of foreign countries for 2 weeks of the summer holiday, meeting a group of 10 63
teenagers from across Northern Ireland, 5 Catholics /5 Protestants, and arguing with them about how they view one another and Northern Irish society in order to experience an opposite culture and alter opinions is very roughly what the Spirit of Enniskillen is about. Cyprus was our destination as it is a wartorn country with a situation similar to, but worse than in Northern Ireland. The war between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots ended in 2003. Since then the two communities have been divided by a “green line” through which they may only pass by showing
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a passport and receiving a VISA of the opposing side. This created an ideal learning environment for the NI group as it had a surrounding conflict which we could study and relate to. Although the Explore project contains a large and very serious aspect of learning, we also had time to enjoy Cypriot culture and socialised regularly with Cypriot youth. We visited the Temple of Apollo, Colossi Castle, the UN buffer zone and went camping in the Trodos Mountains for 2 nights. S.O.E. was set up as a result of the Enniskillen bomb on Remembrance Sunday 1987 in which 12 people were killed, including the daughter of Gordon Wilson, Marie. In following years after the killings which were the cause of a common hatred and anger in Northern Ireland, Gordon Wilson founded the charity under the principle that change was needed. Gordon Wilson believed that if change was to occur it would be through a positive influence in Northern Irish youth. The Spirit of Enniskillen Trust is a life changing organisation designed to alter the opinions and improve the interactive skills of its participants, with the hope that future leaders of Northern Ireland will be more socially aware and open to a second opinion. I have participated in the ’09 project and have benefited from it as it is a life experience from both a learning perspective and as a chance to meet so many other people.
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Spirit of Enniskillen Youth Conference: Ruairi O’Donnell, Feargal Collins, Brendan Laverty, Dillon Devine (Missing from photo: Catherine Harkin)
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Members of the Medjugorje group on sponsored walk to Priest’s Chair, Glenshane
Medjugorje group Open Air Mass Here are a few images of the open air Mass, which was held every day of the pilgrimage. There were people who were from all over the world, and who were of all ages. The Mass was in different languages, however, we used a radio which translated the Mass into English for us to understand. Every day there was a person who got up to tell us of their life experiences. The Mass was held in St James’ Church in the middle of the village. Every day at Mass we would join together singing songs, and there was also nuns who were dancing on the altar encouraging the crowd to dance with them.
Here were some of our dance moves. Here are the photos of the Statue of Our Lady, It is believed that the ‘10th Secret’ will appear near this statue, in order for Medjugorje to be recognised by the Catholic church. However, no one knows when this secret will be revealed and what it will be. 66
Statue of Our Lady
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Opening Parade This was the night when everyone who was on the pilgrimage walked around the entire village, and here’s how many of the group were dressed to represent the school.
The Refugee Camp Sister Josephine was raising money to build the refugees homes where they could live with their families. The day we went to visit them, was the day that they got their shopping. The refugees could only choose 7 items for each family, which had to last them a full week. It was really upsetting seeing people my own age with no material possessions. Sister Josephine was helping a lot of them get an education and some of them were even going to go on to university, and they said that if it wasn’t for Josephine they would be no one and have nothing. She was a wonderful person who had such a strong bond with God, her life story was actually unbelievable how amazing she really was.
The Holy Cross Here is a photo of the Holy cross, which was on a mountain that took us 2 hours to climb. The mountain was very steep, and this was the morning we had to get up at 5 a.m. in order to make it to the top before it got too warm. You could see the whole of Medjugorje from this point.
This was how the people lived in the refugee camps, they lived in little tin houses. The Risen Christ This photo was of the Risen Christ, water actually seeped through the leg of this statue, people were queuing up to rub their tissues and bits of cloth on the leg of the statue, as it is believed that the tissues rubbed on the leg can heal the sick. Hundreds of people had real faith in the statue and they would queue for as long hours. The Blue Cross The Blue Cross was where Mary appeared to an Italian man when we were there. It was quite the experience, thousands of people gathered to hear what the message was. It was amazing. On our first day here, the Sun also started to ‘Dance’ in the sky, the Sun had swollen up in the sky and all of a sudden shrunk again. It has been said that the sun ‘dances’ in the sky in Medjugorje and it was something you would never see again, and I was so happy to see it when I was there. Overall it was a great week, it really helped my faith and I would encourage everyone to go. It was the best experience of my life and I will always remember it.
A Visionary, who told us the story of how the Virgin Mary appeared to him.
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United Kingdom Maths Challenge 2010 A selection of pupils from Year 12 were again entered for the UK Intermediate Maths Challenge on 4th February 2010. This competition is aimed at the top one third of pupils in Year 12 in the United Kingdom. It involves answering 25 multiple choice questions in one hour and is taken under examination conditions. Gold, silver or bronze certificates are awarded to the highest achieving 40% of students nationally. Sixteen pupils achieved gold, silver or bronze certificates this year and these included Rachelle O’ Neill, Rachel Burke, John Quigg, Teresa O’ Kane, Orla Quinn, Dan O’ Kane, Conor Murphy, Pearse Mc Grath, Ryan Convery, Stephen O’ Hagan, Fionntan Larkin, John Mc Guckin, Nathan Brady, Emmett Kerlin, Fiona Mc Guckin and Oonagh Mc Laughlin. Best in the School award was given to Rachelle O’ Neill. Thanks to Mrs M Devlin and Mrs M Walsh for preparing the pupils for this challenge. UK Maths Winners
Here are a few of the questions from the challenge. Try these! Solutions are included below. 1. What is the value of 10 + 10 × 10 × (10 + 10)? A 21 000 B 20 100 C 2100 D 2010 E 210 2. Three of the interior angles of a given quadrilateral are each 80°. What is the fourth angle of this quadrilateral? A 120° B 110° C 100° D 90° E 80° 3. Exactly one of the following is a prime number. Which is it? A 2345 B 23 456 C 234 567 D 2 345 678 E 23 456 789 4. Albert Einstein is experimenting with two unusual clocks which both have 24-hour displays. One clock goes at twice the normal speed. The other clock goes backwards, but at the normal speed. Both clocks show the correct time at 13:00. What is the correct time when the displays on the clocks next agree? A 05:00 B 09:00 C 13:00 D 17:00 E 21:00 5. A new taxi firm needs a memorable phone number. They want a number which has a maximum of two different digits. Their phone number must start with the digit 3 and be six digits long. How many such numbers are possible? A 288 B 280 C 279 D 226 E 225 Solutions 1. D. 10 + 10 × 10 × (10 + 10) = 10 + 10 × 10 × 20 = 10 + 2000 = 2010. 2. A. The sum of the interior angles of a quadrilateral is 360°, so the fourth angle is (360 − 3 × 80) ° = 120° 3. E. 2345 has units digit 5 and so is a multiple of 5; 23 456 is even; the digit sum of 234 567 is 27 so it is a multiple of 9; 2 345 678 is even. So if exactly one of the numbers is prime then it must be 23 456 789. 4. E. After x hours, the first clock will have gone forward 2 x hours and the second clock will have gone back x hours. So the next time they agree is when 2x + x = 24, that is when x = 8. The correct time then is 21:00. 5. B. There is the possibility of using only 3s giving one possible number 333333. Let’s suppose a second digit is used, say x. After the initial digit 3, there are 5 positions into which we can put either 3 or x. So there are 2 choices in each of these 5 positions and so 25 = 32 possible choices − except that one such choice would be five 3s. So we get 31 choices. There are 9 possible values for x, namely 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. So this gives 9 × 31 = 279 numbers. Together with 333333, this gives 280 numbers
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Art - GCSE
Amy Bradley
Eugene O’ Hagan
Sharon Doherty
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‘Our Day Out’ From being undecided whether to audition or not for ‘Our Day Out’, I can safely say that it will be one of the best decisions I will make in St. Patrick’s. I have memories from it that I will never forget and its definitely going to be one of the highlights for me at school. From start to finish, from rehearsals to the shows, the craic was great!
or in Gerard Keenan’s case, down their trousers! That’s just one little part of why rehearsals were so good, apart from getting sandwiches and crisps on a Wednesday night!! Then it wasn’t long before the weeks of solid rehearsing were all over. All too soon we were doing the show. This time for real. I was nervous as it was the first time I was performing quite a big acting role, but also excited to show everyone what we had worked so hard for. Everyone was in high spirits, with the make-up applied, in costume and one of Miss O Kane’s, Mr Collins and Mr Terrington’s pep talks we were ready to go! Once I had said my first few lines the nerves left me and I started to enjoy entertaining the audience, after all that was what I was there to do! My scenes went like a flash and the shows just flew in!
I heard about the auditions and I had heard great comments from previous plays in the school including, ‘0ur Day Out’ and I knew it was a very funny show. So I went along to the auditions anyway. Miss O’ Kane and Mr Collins laughing at me (in a good way I hoped!) the whole way through I felt happy with my audition, although I didn’t know what the outcome would be. A few days later the cast list went up, and I was cast the role of the shopkeeper. I was rather unsure whether I could take on an acting role with any more than three lines, but Miss O’ Kane reassured me, “Sure you can do it Mary, it’s a very comical role and you’re just right for it!” Whatever she meant by that I don’t know, but I went along with it and it wasn’t long before the hard bit kicked in; the rehearsals! From being part of the cast in ‘Calamity Jane’, I knew a show doesn’t automatically come together, you have to give up a lot of your time, but I also knew from the musical it is worth it and to be honest, rehearsing is probably the best part, that’s when you meet new friends and have so many laughs. It was always great to see the play progressing from rehearsal to rehearsal. There was never a dull minute. If I wasn’t standing behind the counter doing my part, I was laughing at the boys on the back of the bus.
Then on the Saturday night; the second last show it decided to snow! This didn’t work well with one of our main cast members; Patrick who played the role of Colin was stuck in France and unable to make it home on time for the show. Well as you can imagine everyone started to panic, but as cheesy as it sounds Mr Terrington saved the show! He sometimes filled in for Patrick when he couldn’t be at rehearsals, but I’m sure he didn’t think he would be filling in for him on the night! And he did a mighty fine job of it might I say! Patrick was back for the matinee on Sunday with Kinder Buenos for everyone from France! I just loved the show; it was a brilliant feeling out there performing. The cast was really close and we got to know people we would never have talked to before. I made so many new friends and one of these was Shauna Shivers who we dedicated the play to. She was a much loved member of our cast and I am so glad I had the opportunity to get to know her and be partnered with her for the roles of the shop keepers. I absolutely loved the whole experience and had a ball of a time, rehearsing and performing and I would without a doubt do it all over again even though many teachers recited my lines when they met me on the corridors, especially, “Thievin’ little gits!” for weeks afterwards! Roll on the next school production! Mary Bradley
Then during rehearsals I was given another co–role of the Zookeeper along with Anna. Although this wasn’t a speaking role, trying to keep a straight face was a task on its own. Maybe this is what Miss O’ Kane meant about me being right for a comical role, once I start laughing it can be hard to get me stopped, even by Mr Collins! In this role I try to tell the teachers that the Progress Class have stolen the animals from the zoo. Firstly, they don’t believe us, but eventually the children produce animals from under their coats, up their tops 70
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Art - Year 10 Collage
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St Patrick’s Maghera host Year 8 Football Blitz St Patrick’s College Maghera held their annual Year 8 Gaelic Football Blitz on the College playing fields in June. With nine teams entered in the event the competition was organised across A and B grades and the three College pitches were in constant use throughout the day as games were played on a league basis before progressing to knock-out stages. St Patrick’s pupils were employed as referees on the day giving these College players an eye opening view from the other side of the whistle! St Columb’s Derry entered the B competition as reigning champions but were pipped in the B final by St Patrick’s Dungannon. In the senior event St Patrick’s Dungannon completed a double victory as they defeated Omagh CBS and collected the Year 8 A Shield from Mr. Sean Martin Lockhart. St Patrick’s would like to thank the many schools who travelled to take part in the competition and helped make the day such a success. Finally also thanks to those boys from the College GAA teams who acted as referees throughout the day and did an excellent job.
St Patrick’s Maghera A were beaten semi-finalists at the College’s Year 8 blitz
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Ulster Colleges D’Alton Cup Final 2009 Dominant St Patrick’s retain D’Alton Cup
St Patrick’s, Maghera (Holders) St Mary’s, Magherafelt
St Patrick’s came into the game as reigning champions having defeated St Patrick’s Dungannon in last year’s final – their captain Conor Convery had played in that final and it was his decision to make first use of a fresh breeze which helped his team establish their early dominance. St Patrick’s were good value for their victory and added to last year’s victory with this display to bring successive D’Alton Cups to St Patrick’s.
2-10 0-07
The Ulster Coleges D’Alton Cup final was played at St Malachy’s GFC, Castledawson in May and brought together neighbouring schools St Patrick’s Maghera and St Mary’s Magherafelt. St Patrick’s came into the game as reigning champions in this U13 age group and their performance on the day saw them comfortably retain their Ulster title despite a gallant challenge from St Mary’s. The real strength of the Maghera performance was in their defence against which the St Mary’s forwards struggled to make any real impression throughout the hour. In fact it was only in the closing minutes of the game that the Magherafelt boys were able to manage consecutive scores against the hardworking St Patrick’s sextet. This defensive platform was added to by a very mobile forward unit which picked off a number of excellent first half points before striking decisive goals just before half-time.
St Patrick’s, Maghera Ciaran Mc Cloy (Glen), Paul McNeill (Slaughtneil), Cormac O’Doherty (Slaughtneil), Oisin Hegarty(Glen), Conor Cassidy(Slaughtneil), Meehaul McGrath (Slaughtneil, 0-1), Cathal Mulholland(Glen), Ciaran Mullan (Drumsurn, 02), Paul McAtamney (Swatragh), Peter Hagan (Bannagher), Conor Convery(Glen, 0-3), Danny Tallon (Glen, 1-0), Ruairi McElwee (Bellaghy,0-2), Niall Mawhinney (Bellaghy, 1-0), Paul Gunning (Glen, 0-2) Subs: Odhran McGuckin (Cargin) for Paul Gunning Caolan McAleese (Kilrea) for Niall Mawhinney Sean Quinn (Swatragh), Conor McAuley (Ballinascreen), Patrick Gorman (Kilrea), Aodhan McKenna (Slaughtneil), Keelan Feeney (Slaughtneil), Niall McAtamney (Swatragh)
Ulster Colleges representative Martin McConnell presents the D’Alton Cup to Maghera captain Conor Convery
St Patrick’s College, Maghera retained the D’Alton Cup with a 7 point win over neighbours St Mary’s Magherafelt
Coach, Paul Hughes, Captain Conor Convery and College Principal Mrs Anne Scott with the D’Alton Cup
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Stephen Quinn Memorial Shield Lunch breaks over the last few weeks have seen the year 8 Gaelic footballers at St Patrick’s Maghera heavily involved in their annual Year 8 Gaelic Football class league. The competition is dedicated to the memory of the late Stephen Quinn who was a winning captain of the Year 8 class event in 2002. The enthusiasm and determination shown by this year’s participants were again fitting tributes to Stephen’s memory. The competition is played among the Year 8 classes at the St Mary Building, the junior wing of the College, with the pupils charged with selecting, managing and organising their class teams. Captaincy is another of the responsibilities decided upon for each team and then it’s down to the action.
the opening half and with the breeze on their backs they romped into a 10 point half time lead – Liam Cassidy, Conor Glass and Conor Mulholland winning good possession which James McCloskey and Marc McClenaghan duly converted. For 8Co their second half surge came just too late as Jason McCoy began to dominate the Ge forwards but scores were slow to come and it wasn’t until the closing minutes that a Shane McGuigan goal left only a point between the teams. Time though was up on their efforts and 8Ge were crowned champions. Director of PE and Sport in St Patrick’s, Mr Paul Hughes, paid tribute to Stephen Quinn’s memory and congratulated all those who took part in the event while competition referee Mr. William McAteer then presented the Shield to winning captain Conor Glass and his successful team 8Ge.
Lunch times became quite noisy affairs as the eight teams battled for supremacy in their respective groups – the lure of a top 2 finish bringing the reward of a semi-final spot for the fortunate four teams to qualify. The very vocal support of newly acquainted class mates helped create a real championship atmosphere on many occasions. Early round league games brought some very close fought games – 8Ar and 8Xe setting the standard in Group 1, Xe’s victory in this game giving them top spot ahead of their rivals while 8Co topped Group 2 ahead of 8Ge whom they had defeated by 4 points in their league game. Championship can always guarantee a shock result and 8Ge duly delivered a semi-final knock-out of Group 1 winners 8Xe while 8Co disposed of Group 1 runners-up 8Ar – a game which needed extra time to bring a result. The League Final brought a rematch of the earlier game between 8Co and 8Ge but this time it was Ge who dominated
Runners-up 8Co
Champions 8Ge
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Ulster Colleges’ Nannery Cup Final St Patrick’s suffer narrow final defeat
St Patrick’s Maghera Abbey CBS, Newry
St Patrick’s Maghera F.Averell,Glen, P.Grieve, Dungiven, D.Cassidy, Slaughtneil, C.Quinn , Swatragh, P.O’Kane, Foreglen, J. English, Ballinascreen, H.T. Nugent, Newbridge, O. Mullan, Castledawson, P.Cassidy, Slaughtneil, M.McAuley, Ballinascreen, C. Glass, Glen (0-2), J.O’Dwyer, Foreglen, (2-0), C.Taggart, Castledawson,(1-0), C.Webb, Glen, J.McGonigle, Dungiven, (2-0)
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St Patrick’s College Maghera suffered a narrow defeat in the Year 9 B football final at Derrytresk in Co. Tyrone in May when they lost out to Abbey CBS from Newry in a very entertaining game which was only decided in the last few exciting minutes of play. The teams had met previously in the league stages of the competition and had played out a draw on that occasion before securing semi-final victories – Maghera comfortable winners over St Patrick’s Armagh and Abbey squeezing past St Paul’s Bessbrook with just a point to spare. On this occasion though the Abbey boys were to prevail and despite St Patrick’s leading at half-time the Down school responded in the second half to emerge narrow winners.
Substitutes: P.McWilliams, Kilrea for J.O’Dwyer N.O’Neill, Dungiven for C.Taggart F.Brown, Bellaghy, P.McBride, Ballinascreen, MT McCoy, Moneyglass, R.Harkin, Slaughtneil, J.Toner, Ballinascreen, J.Young, Glen, G.Duggan, Lavey, Z. El-Alaoui, Ballinascreen, P.Flanagan, Glen, L.Marron, Moneyglass, S.Turner, Glen, S.Ward, Lavey, S.McNally, Lavey
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Ulster Colleges’ Corn na n-Óg Football Final St Patrick’s pipped at the post in pulsating final.
Maghera attempts to regain control. That control was however wrested back in a five minute spell from the 21st to the 26th minute when Peter Hagan (0-2), Paul McAtamney and Ciaran Mullan sent over unanswered points for an 0-8 to 0-3 lead. The Newry boys though were not prepared to give up their title hopes and after two excellent saves from Ciaran McCloy in the Maghera goals they closed the half –time gap to four points when Ryan Devlin pointed. St Colman’s began the second period with early points to cut the lead to two but Maghera were quick to respond with the very impressive Ruairi McElwee grabbing two points which were forerunners to an outstanding second half performance from the Bellaghy youngster – he would go on to score seven points in the second half and was a constant threat to the Newry defence. Two more of those seven were posted as the third quarter drew to a close ensuring that St Colman’s remained five points adrift although the play continued to swing at a tremendous pace from end to end. With the game entering the final quarter St Colman’s tagged on a Conor Magee point before Sean Tierney sped through the Maghera defence to blast to the net and give his team the belief that maybe they could win this game. Credit to St Patrick’s in their response as the marauding McElwee again restored the two point lead and when Johnny Brown was red-carded for a reckless challenge on Conor Convery the game seemed up for the challengers.
The fact that Saturday’s Corn na n-Óg final was such a spectacular advertisement for Ulster Colleges football will be little consolation to the U14.5 footballers of St Patrick’s as they reflect on a defeat which seemed unlikely during the course of the game. Both schools though deserve tremendous credit for producing such an outstanding final – one which brought back memories of many close fought battles between these old rivals. St Patrick’s will feel they were the better team but the new champions will point to the fact that they refused to accept defeat – even when reduced to 14 players with only eight minutes remaining and trailing by two points. Those final minutes would see the Newry boys outscore their opponents by five points to two – enough to send the Corn na n-Óg back to Newry. With the breeze in their favour St Patrick’s were quickly into their stride in the first half and four different scorers had the reigning champions ahead by four points to one in the first quarter. Perhaps the Maghera boys will reflect on a number of wides in this spell which may well have put them out of reach even at this early stage. St Colman’s revelled in the let-off and fired over two points in reply as they enjoyed a period of dominance – inspired by tremendous work-rate in their tackling all over the pitch which constantly frustrated
BR: Patrick Gorman, Odhran McGuckin, Paul McAtamney, Ciaran McCloy, Ciaran Mullan, Conor Cassidy, Paul Cassidy MR: Mr John Henry, Caolan McAleese, Ruairi McElwee, Cathal Mulholland, Fintan Averall, Odhran Mullan, Paul McNeil, Sean Quinn, Mr Colum Lavery FR: Oisin Hegarty, Meehaul McGrath, Cormac O’Doherty (Captain) Conor Convery, Danny Tallon, Paul Gunning 77
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With the freedom of a team with nothing left to lose though the Newry boys cut loose from the game plan and attacked at will in a desperate attempt to close the gap. Not only did they close the gap but three unanswered points McKiernan, McCrickard and O’Hagan had them in the lead with only five minutes remaining. St Patrick’s again responded to the challenge and when Danny Tallon was released on goal he was unceremoniously hauled down before he could shoot – a penalty? No, referee Walsh awarded a 13metre free which man of the moment McElwee fired over and when the same player put his side back in front Maghera were looking at retaining the Corn na n-Óg as the game entered the final minute of play.
St Patrick’s seemed content to defend that lead but Patrick O’Hagan fired over his second point in as many minutes and the excited crowd were anticipating 20 minutes of extra-time. St Colamn’s had other ideas as they pushed forward again and collected a poor clearance from defence for O’Hagan to grab a third point from play and secure his team the Corn na n-Óg after a truly memorable final which did credit to both sets of players and their schools. Mr Seamus Meehan, chairman of Ulster Colleges brought proceedings to an end after an excellent day’s entertainment when he presented the cup to winning captain Jack Haughey.
Rannafast Cup Campaign Captained magnificently by Conor Mc Atamney St. Patrick’s dominated their qualifying campaign before an unfortunate exit to Omagh CBS in the quarter final. It started of so well for the Rannafast with two comprehensive victories over St. Mary’s Magherafelt by 26 points and St. Louis, Ballymena by 25 points. A week later St. Patrick’s played St. Colman’s, Newry at the Mid Ulster Arena. St. Colman’s star Shea Mc Cartan was shackled by Brendan O’ Kane and with Conor Mc Atamney scoring 2.04 from midfield St. Pats won by 3.13 to 2.09. Our last group game was against a very fit St. Pat’s Armagh team who had defeated us in the
Corn na n-Óg semi final and Brock Cup group stages. Under atrocious conditions St. Pat’s Maghera prevailed in a windy Cookstown 1.06 to 0.06. This result left St. Patrick’s top of the group and with a quarter final against Omagh CBS. Due to the atrocious weather the game was played in Errigal Ciaran. On a very blustery day Omagh C.B.S won a hard fought game 0.15 to 0.11. Even though the Rannafast campaign ended in disappointment it did show the quality within the College. Omagh C.B.S eventually won the competition defeating St. Patrick’s Armagh in the final.
BR: L to R: Gerald Bradley, Pearse Mc Grath, Neill Mc Nicholl, Stephen O’ Hara, Conor Murphy, Gavin Tallon, James Kearney. MR: L to R: Mr M Quinn, Dominic Mc Faul, Michael Molloy, Padraig Cassidy, Sean Mc Nicholl, Brendan Rogers, Ryan Mc Donnell, Fionntan Larkin, Mr S Mc Allister. FR: L to R: Conor Carville, Cormac O’ Doherty, Martin Mc Closkey, Conor Mc Atamney, Brendan O’Kane, Stephen Coyle, Ciaran Mc Faul.
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MacRory Cup 2009-2010 ‘Maghera Exit at Quarter Final Stage’
St Mary’s Magherafelt was the next game and this was to prove very disappointing as Maghera ended up on the losing side by two points on a scoreline of 1-12 to 2.7. Playing with the wind in the first half the Maghera boys played some great football and scores from Patrick Draine and a goal form Sean Conway put Maghera in control. However the second half was very much controlled by Magherafelt and a late goal from Connlan Bradley was very much a consolation score.
St Patrick’s College, Maghera MacRory Cup team again faced the agony and disappointment of a quarter final exit to Omagh CBS. With ten minutes remaining only a point separated the teams but it was Omagh who finished strongly and reached the semi-final. Little ifs and buts will always remain but it wont change the result. So much work and effort and not to achieve success is hard to take. Players sacrificed a lot in order to compete at this level and this is the reason why defeat is so hard to take. This is our second year as a management of the MacRory Cup team and another quarter final defeat. There is no doubt that throughout the two years many lessons have been learned, new techniques have been tried but again the same end result. It is imperative that St Patrick’s achieve success at this level again very soon. It is important for both the school and the county as a whole. Under the management of Mr M McConnell and Mr S.M Lockhart trials were held in September and a panel of 30 players were chosen. A number of challenge games were played with St Michael’s Lurgan, St Colman’s Newry and University of Ulster Jordanstown. Theses games give the management a chance to assess the quality and strength of the squad assembled. MacRory Cup football is without doubt one of the highlights of any footballers dreams and we are lucky to be in a school which is steeped in success over the years in both the MacRory and Hogan Cups. It has been a number of years since the College achieved success in this field and there is no doubt that the work and preparation has been done not only during that particular campaign but right down the school in Dalton, Corn na nÓg, Brock and Rannafast competitions. The first game pitted us against the previous years winners, St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon. Played in very misty conditions in Ballinderry it was the Maghera boys who came out on top on a scoreline of 3.10 to 2.7. Without doubt it was a real morale boosting result and this was followed up with a win against St Patrick’s Cavan. The final scoreline was 2.10 to 1.7. A superb goal in each half by Sean Conway and Benny Quigg were the main highlights. Two wins out of two and both games had given the management a chance to see a number of players. Next up was St Michael’s College, Enniskillen who went into the game on the back of two defeats. It was a must win game for Enniskillen and this was very evident in their hardworking approach. The end result was a draw on a scoreline of 0-11 to 2.5 but it was clear to see that a lot of work had to be done. . 79
The final group game against St Macartan’s Monaghan ended up in a draw on a score line of 0-8 each. This was a game Maghera should have won and countless scoring opportunities were missed. The aim of qualification was achieved and the panel looked forward to the quarter final clash with Omagh CBS. It was a game which the management looked forward to. Very few were going to give us any chance of competing against one of the favourites for the competition. The boys set about the task with renewed vigour and a programme of training and matches was put in place. Connlan Bradley was appointed as captain of the team with Patrick Draine and Patrick Kelly as vicecaptains. All three were very deserved of such a honour and were always to the fore in each game played. Unfortunately the game did not go according to plan and Omagh progressed to the semi-final. There is no doubt the MacRory campaign created memories for each player involved. That’s what is so special when a group of people commit themselves so much to one idea. For some it may have been a match, a training session or the trip to Mayo. Whatever it is these memories will remain for a long time alongside the feeling at the final whistle of the Omagh game. The management of the MacRory team would like to pay a special thanks to the head of Sport in the College, Mr Paul Hughes. He again trusted us with such an honourable position and we are indebted to him, plus the countless pieces of advice given to us over the course of the campaign Sincere thanks to Mrs Scott for all the help during the year in relation to buses, meals and expenses. The teams sponsor this year was again H&A Mechanical Services and to them we owe our thanks for the finance they invested in us. Lastly, thank you to all the members of the panel and good luck to the students who will be leaving to go off to university. Hopefully being involved in St Patrick’s College, Maghera school teams over the years have been a positive experience and one which you will bring with you in your footballing career.
t Patrick’s College - Maghera St Patrick’s College - Maghera
BR: L to R; Christy Sheerin, Neil Mc Nicholl, Benny Quigg, Emmet Bradley, Denver Johnston, Joseph Bradley, Tiernan Rafferty, Micheal Warnock, Gary Keane, Orrie Mc Peake. MR: L to R: Mr S M Lockhart, Martin Burke, Sean Carey, Karl Mc Kaigue, Anthony Mc Gurk, James O’Mullan, Sean O’Neill, Daniel Mc Kinless, Jack Kielt, Conor Mc Atamney, Paddy Kelly, Mr M Mc Connell. FR: L to R: Brendan O’Kane, Sean Conway, Donagh Mc Keever, Sean Murray, Connlan Bradley (Captain), Patrick Draine, Martin Mc Closkey, Ciaran Young, Liam Murphy, Christopher Bradley
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MacRory Panel Connlan Bradley – Captain Connlan emerged from the group as the leader of the team. He is a versatile player who played midfield this year. A dedicated and skilful performer who showed tremendous commitment to the team. This all rounder has excellent vision, kicking ability not to mention his scoring potential.
Karl Mc Kaigue – Defender Fortunately Karl has another year left in MacRory football and was the epitome of Maghera sport. Mr ‘Versatile’ was always given the role of nullifying the opposition’s main threat and Karl relished this challenge. During the campaign the team were faced with adversity on many occasions and Karl showed tremendous perseverance during these periods. An excellent defender with a prosperous future.
Paddy Kelly – Vice Captain This unassuming player played the role of full back. Paddy led by example on the field of play through his reading of the game, tackling ability and never say die attitude. A dual player who became the rock of the Maghera defence.
Anthony Mc Gurk – Defender This was Anthony’s last year at MacRory football and as such he worked tremendously hard to secure the position of left half back. Anthony is very athletic and his fitness levels were suited to the role of the modern day half back. He experienced one year of MacRory football but the experience itself can be valuable for his future development.
Patrick Draine – Vice Captain Patrick joined the school in lower sixth and only played one year of MacRory cup football. A very composed player who demonstrated tremendous passing and scoring ability. Patrick quickly adapted to the demands of MacRory football and justified his position on the team and as vice captain. Daniel Mc Kinless - Goalkeeper Daniel was our goalkeeper and larger than life character. From this position he commanded a great presence behind the defence. In possession, Daniel was very confident and assured on the ball. An ambitious player who always strived for improvement in his performance. Donagh Mc Keever – Defender Donagh is a very tenacious player who showed great control in possession. He played corner back on the team and had the ability to attack from defence creating scoring opportunities for the team. This was Donagh’s 2nd year playing MacRory Cup football and he showed a dedication and resilience throughout the year.
Jack Kielt – Midfield Jack has the potential to be a good MacRory footballer. His catching ability, kick passing and scoring threat earned him a place at midfield on this team. The experiences acquired last year will hopefully develop Jack for the forthcoming MacRory campaign. Denver Johnson – Forward Denver was another new pupil into the school and quickly adapted to the demands of MacRory football. He has tremendous athleticism and scoring potential. Whilst at half right forward, he often played the role of the third midfielder efficiently. Denver has gained a valuable experience and one we hope will serve him well next year. Brendan Quigg – Forward Brendan was a new comer to the school in Year 13 who became a key player in the forward line. He comfortably played at full forward and centre half forward with ease. Physically strong and technically very adept, Brendan became a major concern for the opposition as the year progressed.
Martin Mc Closkey – Defender Martin was the only Year 12 boy on the team due to his man marking ability. He read the game very well and executed tremendous tackling skills in defence. As a corner back, he showed a maturity beyond his years and one player who we can look to for the forthcoming year.
Orrie Mc Peake This was Orrie’s second year in MacRory football and became part of the engine room in the team. His remarkable fitness levels allowed him to cover the ground and he could comfortably play at either half back or half forward. A very dedicated player who showed a serious commitment in his final year.
Tiarnan Rafferty – Defender Tiarnan was one of several newcomers to the school in Year 13. He quickly adapted to the demands of MacRory football and cemented his place at right half back. Tiarnan is a very composed player who can make the transition from defence to attack efficiently. This was evident during the league campaign when he was scoring on a regular basis. Tiarnan has acquired an invaluable experience and one that we hope will serve him in the forthcoming season.
Gary Keane – Forward This was Gary’s first MacRory campaign and he worked hard to secure a place in the forward line. He is a very intelligent player who has the ability to create space for himself and also great vision in his passing skills. Gary was a MacRory ‘rookie’ but really adapted to the demands of MacRory football.
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Sean Murray – Forward This was Sean’s final year in MacRory football. He played the role of playmaker in the team and performed this very well. Sean was very adept at breaking ball and showed great vision in his passing skills. A versatile performer who could comfortably play in any position.
Michael Warnock – Forward/Defender Michael was used as a versatile player during the campaign. His athleticism and mobility were important factors in the league games in the early part of the season. He is a very committed player who is always willing to listen and enhance his performance. James O’Mullan – Goalkeeper James was another new player to the school in Year 13 and quickly adapted to the demands of MacRory football. He provided stern opposition to Daniel for the position of Goalkeeper and both of them learned from each other. A very assured keeper who will hopefully be successful in securing the No.1 jersey in the forthcoming year.
Christy Sheerin – Midfield Christy was a very dedicated performer who always strived to improve his performance. A very honest character and who tried hard in every game. Ciarán Young – Defender Ciarán is a very tenacious player who has shown tremendous dedication throughout the campaign. He is an honest performer with a serious attitude to the game. Although Ciarán did not feature in the quarter final, he will be determined to secure a place in the forthcoming campaign.
Martin Burke – Forward Martin showed a tremendous dedication to the MacRory this year. His passing ability and vision were two obvious traits of his performance. He has another year at MacRory level and hopefully he can make an impact in the forthcoming season.
Sean O’Neill – Forward This was Sean’s final year at MacRory and was competing for a place in a very talented forward line. He demonstrated tremendous strength and ball winning ability throughout the campaign. A committed player who showed dedication throughout the year.
Sean Carey – Defender Sean is a very dedicated player who showed great strength in his performances last year. A very serious competitor who relishes challenges and strives to improve his performance. Sean has been a good servant to St Patrick’s Maghera.
Emmett Bradley – Forward Emmett was a versatile player used in midfield or half forward. He possesses great kicking ability and could score on a regular basis. A dedicated player who will hopefully be a major player in the forthcoming campaign.
Liam Murphy - Forward Liam was a very committed player who was fighting for a place on a very competitive forward line. He possesses good awareness on the field and is competent in front of the posts. Liam has another year at MacRory and hopefully can secure a regular place on the team.
Christopher Bradley – Forward Christopher was a very skilful and intelligent player who showed great awareness on the field although he was competing for a place in a very talented forward line. A very dedicated performer who always trained to a high level.
Sean Conway – Forward Sean played an integral role for the team in the early part of the campaign but unfortunately through injury, he was unable to compete in several matches including the quarter final. Sean is a very dedicated player who showed tremendous courage in his performances. He always persevered and worked hard for the good of the team. A very honest character.
Brendan O’Kane – Defender Brendan was the second Year 12 on the panel and really developed as the year progressed. A tenacious performer who was very comfortable whether in attack or defence.
Neil Mc Nicholl – Forward Neil was the only Year 11 on the panel and this was testament to his ability on the pitch. Neil is a very talented player who did not look out of place with the present group of players. His athleticism, kicking ability and attitude provided him with the opportunity to challenge for a place on the team. Fortunately, he has 3 years left at MacRory level.
Conor Mc Atamney – Forward Conor showed an exceptional attitude during the campaign. His role as impact substitute was valuable to our performances during the campaign. Conor relished challenges and as a Year 12 demonstrated a tremendous dedication during the MacRory season. Joseph Bradley – Midfield Joseph showed a serious appetite for MacRory football this year and was a key player in the early stages of the campaign. His physical presence in the middle of the field was the building block for many successful attacks.
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My Sporting career at St Patrick’s, Maghera- Connlan Bradley During my time at St Patrick’s, football has been very important to me as I have been a part of each team in each year group. I have also had the pleasure of playing the year group above me the whole way up through the school and I played three years of MacRory Cup football which was a great experience in itself. At my time at St Patrick’s I did not receive any winner’s medals but I came vey close in some cases. What I took out of football at St Patrick’s was some great friendships with many different pupils and coaches and also a big improvement in myself as a footballer.
comfortably for the quarter finals. In a bitterly disappointing encounter we were defeated in extra time by St Colman’s Newry. The boys were distraught after the game because we didn’t play to our real potential. In my final year at the school I was given the great honour of being named MacRory team captain. Our league campaign was good and we qualified for the finals of the competition. We were set to face a very strong Omagh side in the quarter finals but this did not put the boys off one bit. We worked hard over the Christmas period and during the lead up to the game but we were defeated by a very strong Omagh side who made it to the final of the competition.
From my early years in primary school I knew that there was only one school for me and that was St Patrick’s. With me being from Maghera was not the only reason I decided to go to St Patrick’s it was also all the success stories I had heard about the many different teams that have won countless trophies over the years in the school which attracted me to it.
Looking back at my time as a footballer in St Patrick’s I have many sad and also many happy memories. My best memories for football at the school had to be the two trips to Breaffy House Hotel with the MacRory teams in lower and upper 6th where many silly things happened and also many friends were made. These memories I will have for a long time. My biggest regrets at the College are not having any winner’s medals in my back pocket. I don’t think this is right leaving the school because of the amount of talented teams I was a part of, but that’s life I suppose.
In my first year at the school I was a member of the Dalton team who reached the semi-final but were narrowly beaten by Dungannon. With the same team we reached the Corn-na-nÓg and Brock finals but were also narrowly beat by the same team who defeated us in the semi-final of the Dalton - Dungannon. Being defeated by the same team two years in a row by such small margins really did hurt the boys but we never gave up as a team. In my third year at the school I was named vice captain of the Corn-na-nÓg team. This was a great honour to me being a leader of the team. We worked very hard during that year and became a very tight knit bunch. We qualified easily enough for the quarter final of the competition but were defeated by a big, physical Monaghan team by only 3 points. My 4th year at the school wasn’t very successful as we didn’t qualify for either the Brock or Rannafast Cup finals. In 5th year I was named captain of the Rannafast team but we were unsuccessful again when we failed to make it through the group stages of the competition.
Finally I would like to thank all the coaches and pupils who were a part of all the teams I played on throughout my time at St Patrick’s. All of your helpful support and guidance have excelled me as a footballer and as a person and I feel this will aid me in my future sporting career and life itself.
After the disappointment of not being successful during my 4th and 5th years at the school I was called up to the MacRory team which was a great privilege. From a very young age I always dreamed of being a part of the MacRory set up in the school so I really was delighted making the panel. MacRory Cup football was really a big step up for me. I had never trained as hard in my life. Those days on the front pitch, back pitch, the forest and the beach really showed me the commitment you needed to be a part of such a big team. That year we made the quarter final and were beaten in a replay by eventual finalists St Michael’s Enniskillen. I was not on the team that year but the experience of being a part of the panel really helped me to improve as a player. In my lower sixth year at the school the MacRory team had two new managers, Mr McConnell and Mr Lockhart. That year we had a very good league campaign and qualified 83
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Year 8 Hurling at St Patrick’s Maghera The Year 8 hurlers at St Patrick’s College Maghera recently played a 7-a-side hurling class league with a number of Year 8 boys organised into teams for a Railway Cup competition. Games were played off on a league basis before moving into the semi-final stages and there was an excellent standard of play throughout the league games. Semi-finals saw the Ulster team easily defeat the Connaught team while the Leinster v Connaught game was much closer with Leinster, captained by Paul Hughes, edging through by just a couple of points. In the final, however, Ulster team captain, Paul McNeill, was in excellent form as he fired in 4 goals to point his team on the
way to a deserved ten point victory. Ulster captain Paul McNeill was presented with the Nigel Quigley Memorial Shield as the Ulster team were crowned Year 8 Hurling champions. Ulster team BR:: Declan Convery, Liam O’Hara, Pauric McMullan, Seamas Gribbon FR:: Shane Brolly, Paul McNeill, (capt), John Walsh
Year 8 Hurling Champions - 2009
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Year 8 Hurling Class League - Nigel Quigley Shield The annual Year 8 class hurling league for the Nigel Quigley Shield took place in St Mary Building over the past few weeks. Organised by Mr Ronan O’Donnell the competition this year reflected a high level of interest and ability among the year 8 boys with the event attracting sufficient numbers to allow six different teams to compete. All games were played off over lunch times with the extra teams taking the names of London and New York to run alongside the traditional Railway Cup format for the competition – the four provinces providing the other team names. Team panels were selected by Mr O’Donnell and with a number of year 8 boys having been part of the Year 9 MacNamee Cup panel which had reached the Ulster final the standard of play was very impressive. After the group games had been played, and the snow storm negotiated, the teams returned to school after Easter for the Ulster and London teams to contest the Nigel Quigley Shield Final. In keeping with the entire competition both teams gave an excellent display of hurling with respective captains, Shane McGuigan, (Ulster) and Brian Cassidy, (London) keeping the scores tight at half time – 2-02 to 1-04 in favour of Ulster. Ulster though would repeat their scoring in the second half to only three points from London to complete a run of three successive victories for the Ulster team in the competition. Mr Ronan O’Donnell presented the Nigel Quigley Shield to Ulster captain, Shane McGuigan.
Mr Ronan O’Donnell presents the Nigel Quigley Shield to Ulster captain Shane McGuigan
The winning Ulster team was: Shane McGuigan, Connor Kelly, Ruairi McCartney, Peadar Coyle, Daniel Grant, Dara Higgins, Conan Hunter, Marc McClenaghan, Shane Donaghy and Brandon Mullan The London team was: Brian Cassidy, Shea Downey, Malachy Toner, Ciaran Rice, Conor Mulholland, Eoghan McCloskey, John Convery, Fearghal McGillian, Shea McNally and Jack McErlean With a very successful class league completed the Year 8 hurlers will now look forward to their own Ulster Colleges Blitz competition in June when the Year 8 team will compete against the other traditionally strong schools in Ulster hurling. Perhaps some of the boys might even have a chance to avenge that MacNamee Cup final defeat to Ballycastle in October.
The Year 8 Hurling champions 2010 were the Ulster team pictured with the Nigel Quigley Shield and organiser Mr Ronan O’Donnell
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BT MacNamee Cup Final(Year 9 Hurling) Gallant St Patrick’s fall to talented Ballycastle team Casement Park, Belfast on Friday night past was a splendid, brightly floodlit arena charged with the further promotion of Ulster Colleges GAA games. Hosted on the night was the Colleges Year 9 MacNamee Cup and senior boys Mageean Cup finals. The occasion was certainly memorable and a tremendous advertisement for the work of the Ulster Colleges in the promotion of Gaelic games. First up on the Friday night spectacular were the junior boys in the MacNamee Final where St Patrick’s Maghera had the unenviable task of facing up to a Cross and Passion Ballycastle group which had steamrollered its way through the tournament racking up some huge scoring totals en route. St Patrick’s had produced an outstanding semi-final performance to oust St Mary’s Belfast by eight points and had lost only to Ballycastle in the pre-knockout league stages. The traditional Maghera spirit was evident in abundance throughout the second half, typified by the consistent performances of Brian Cassidy, Cathal McCartney and Eoin Smyth, but the Ballycastle group had just too many options to allow St Patrick’s the opportunity to close an ever widening gap. St Patrick’s though did battle through to the final whistle and will take heart from some excellent performances throughout the competition – Friday night having been a step too far for the boys at this stage of their Colleges hurling careers.
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St Patrick’s, Maghera Eoin Smyth (Dungiven), Cathal McCartney(Dungiven), Aodhan McGrellis (Bannagher), Brian Cassidy (Slaughtneill), Liam O’Hara(Dungiven), Emmet Martin(Dunloy), Niall McAtamney (Swatragh), Ciaran Steele(Dungiven), Fiontán McGilligan(Dungiven), Shane McGuigan(Slaughtneill), Gabriel Farren (Bannagher), Seán Ó Caiside (Slaughtneill), Seán Brunton(Ballinascreen), Paul McNeill (2-3, Slaughtneill), Conor Kelly (Dungiven) Subs used: Shane Brolly (Dungiven) for Conor Kelly, Conor McAllister (Slaughtneill) for Shane Brolly, Conor McCrystal (Lavey) for Eoin Smyth(inj) Ciaran Lagan (Swatragh) Conor Granleese (Dungiven) Mark Cassidy (Swatragh) Eoin McGonigle (Dungiven) Daragh Cartin (Bannagher) Jamie O’Kane (Lavey)
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Forester’s Cup Hurling (Year 12 Boys) The Forester’s Cup hurlers drew something of a short straw in this year’s competition when they found themselves paired with St. Mary’s Belfast and Cross and Passion Ballycastle – three of the top schools in Ulster Colleges Hurling all brought together in one group with only two teams to progress. St Patrick’s, Keady elected to withdraw from the group leaving only four teams to contest the two semi-final places on offer - St Patrick’s Downpatrick being the fourth team in the group. The Year 12 and 11 boys involved were well aware of the challenge of the group with St Mary’s having scored a big win in a challenge game in the early part of the year, Ballycastle had won a very tight Gallagher semi-final by one score two years earlier and Downpatrick had edged a Gallagher semifinal win over the present Year 11 boys.
became more influential and Cormac O’Doherty was able to help himself to three goals as the team ran out comfortable winners. Keady’s withdrawal and St Mary’s Belfast’s elusiveness in relation to arranging that fixture saw the group up against Ballycastle in what was in effect a quarter-final game. The opening half had St Patrick’s and Ballycastle well matched but as the half wore on it became the time when St Patrick’s cost themselves the match – a number of scoring chances just refusing to go between the posts as a Ciaran O’Kane and Gerald Bradley inspired Maghera team began to dominate. Unfortunately this period of unrewarded play allowed Ballycastle the space to reorganise and a ‘blanket defence’ approach in the second half prevented St Patrick’s winning as much first time possession in the middle third. The Antrim boys were more clinical with scoring chances also and although a Martin Mulgrew goal closed the gap to only four points in the closing stages Ballycastle had done enough to edge into the semi-finals.
Tiarnan Mac Bhloscaidh and Pearse McGrath were chosen as captain and vice captain respectively and training had a slightly different approach with Derry development officer Kevin Hinphey supplying the expertise in after school training and the tarmac – yes the tarmac playground bringing lunch time stick work with tennis balls and occasional use of the sliothars!! Games were difficult to pin down but competitive fixtures eventually began with a tricky match against St Patrick’s Downpatrick, an early goal for the Down school creating some early panic, but the assuredness of players like Jimmy McMeel, Brendan Rogers, John McGuckin, Conan Glass, Declan Breen and Niall Farren soon had the team back on course. Stephen McGuigan, Ciaran O’Kane and Tiarnan Mac Bhloscaidh then
Both games offered encouragement for the future with this group of players and with attention to the key points regarding regular practice given by Kevin Hinphey then many of these boys will quickly progress to Mageean Cup hurling. The group had a good mix of Year 12, 11 and Year 10 pupils with some of the younger players acquitting themselves very impressively and complementing the skill, effort and enthusiasm of the older boys in the group. A disappointing end to Foresters but sufficient evidence to suggest that this group of players are well able to compete at Ulster Colleges level.
BR: Stephen McGuigan, Declan Breen, John McGuckin, Conor O’Kane, Gerard Keenan, Gerard Bradley, Jimmy McMeel MR: Mr Paul Hughes, Martin Mulgrew, Niall Farren, Martin McCloskey, Caolan McGurk, Brendan Rogers, Ciaran O’Kane, Ryan Hegarty FR: Oran McFlynn, Cormac O’Doherty, Pearse McGrath, Tiarnan MacBhloscaidh, Eoghan McGrellis, Conan Glass
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Mageean Cup Hurling The Mageean Cup team came under new management this school year with Mr. Hughes taking up the role of manager with assistance from Derry Development Officer Kevin Hinphey at training sessions. Conal Halferty continued his alliance with the team as he took on the role of bag man/medic/reporter and stats man for the group. Early signs in the opening game against St Mary’s Belfast were promising as the team lead by captain Paddy Kelly put in an excellent first day display against the old city rivals. St. Patrick’s actually led the game towards the end of the third quarter but as scoring chances were wasted so the chance of a first victory waned. Still the performance suggested that the team were well capable of competing in the competition – the boys further buoyed by the fact that a number of experienced players were missing on the day. James O’Mullan debuted impressively in goals while Karl McKaigue and Oran Quinn gave accomplished performances in defence. Paddy Kelly fired over three points from midfield while Michael Warnock and Patrick Rogers grabbed three pointer apiece in the forward line. Unfortunately players missing was a recurring theme for the group as the subsequent three games were all played with understrength teams for a variety of reasons – injury, other commitments, absence from school all limited the chances of putting a first choice fifteen on the pitch. Credit though to those players who came into the team as they battled very hard and showed some tremendous effort in the games played.
guaranteed a third place finish and a semi-final pairing with St Mary’s Belfast. Plans may well have been laid for this game as the deciding game for the group but the performance didn’t match the plans – a seven point defeat signalling the end of the road for the Mageean Cup team. This was an especially disappointing defeat as Knock had not been overly impressive in their early games but brought much more appetite to the game while they also showed more consistency with their first touch when winning possession and were sharper and more clinical in their use of possession – evidenced by their scoring of four goals in the game. From a position of playing for a possible semi-final place St Patrick’s were instead shown the exit door as Knock progressed to the Mageean Cup semifinals.
The Belfast game would be team captain Paddy Kelly’s only game of the competition as injury and club commitments restricted his involvement and playing the Cross and Passion group with a seriously understrength team was always a damage limitation exercise. This though was an exercise which went wrong as the score reflects an almost total capitulation against a team who in fairness were untouchable in their remaining games – right through to the successful defence of their O’Keefe Cup. Despite such a heavy loss the group remained determined to rediscover the early form shown against Belfast and the St Louis Ballymena game was just the challenge needed. Karl McKaigue – very impressive in the Ballycastle debacle – became captain in Paddy Kelly’s absence and again he lead the team excellently to an impressive eight point victory to restore the Mageean ship to something more of an even keel. Brothers Paerse and Christy Sheerin also stood out in the game – Pearse in goals and Christy a commanding performer at centre half back. Mark Kelly, Chrissy Convery and Malachy Duffin had excellent games also while the returning Sean Murray grabbed ten points in the game with Michael James Groogan (2-1), Michael Warnock (1-1) and Turlough Hendry (1-0) grabbing the major scores for a 4.15 to 2.13 victory.
Mageean Cup Results: St. Patrick’s Maghera St. Mary’s Belfast
The disappointment of this exit was compounded later in the term when All-Star trials came around and St Patrick’s lost their proud record of being the only school to have been represented on every All–star Hurling team since the inception of the scheme in the late 1970’s. Joint Captain of the Mageean team Karl McKaigue performed excellently in the trials and managed to hold Ballycastle starlet Ciaran Clarke scoreless – quite a furore surrounded Clarke’s noninclusion and further underlined McKaigue’s misfortune in not making the representative team.
Having regained some pride, and some previously missing players, St Patrick’s were now where early plans had suggested the squad might be – facing a make or break game against Our Lady’s and St Patrick’s Knock. Winners here would be 88
2-05 2-11
St. Patrick’s Maghera 1-01 CPC, Ballycastle 12-24 St. Patrick’s Maghera St. Louis, Ballymena
4-15 2-13
St. Patrick’s Maghera OLSP, Knock
2-10 4-11
Mageean Cup Panel 2010 Joint Captains: Paddy Kelly, Karl Mc Kaigue Michael-James Groogan, Ciaran Mc Grellis, Ciaran Farren, Turlough Hendry, Sean Murray, Cormac Gaston, James O’Mullan, Oran Quinn, Joseph Smyth, Liam Murphy, Michael O’Neill, Christopher Henry, Liam Og Magill, Cahal O’Loan, Pearse Sherrin, Malachy Duffin, Christy Sheerin, Mark A Kelly, Patrick Mc Kenna, Oisin O’Doherty, Patrick Rogers, Piaras McGrath, Christopher Convery, Oran Mc Flynn, Michael Quigg, Michael Warnock, Steven Dillon, Stephen McGuigan, Tiarnan MacBhloscaidh
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BR: Stephen McGuigan, Joe Smyth, Liam Og Magill, Patrick Rogers, Ciaran Farren, Christopher Henry, Tiarnan MacBhloscaidh MR: Conall Halferty, M J Groogan, Turlough Hendry, Ciaran McGrellis, Oisin O’Doherty, Michael Quigg, Mr Paul Hughes FR: Liam Murphy, Cathal O’Loan, Karl McKaigue, Paddy Kelly (C), Oran Quinn, Oran McFlynn
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Year 8 Ulster Camogie Final June 2009 St Patrick’s College, Maghera v Cross & Passion, Ballycastle Caitlin Kelly was captain of the successful Year 8 Camogie team who were convincing champions after defeating Cross and Passion Ballycastle in the Ulster final in June.
Senior Camogie Squad
The senior camogie squad pictured with Galway star Joe Canning 90
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St Patrick’s College Maghera retain Ulster Under 16 7-A-Side Camogie Title The 2009 Ulster Under 16 Camogie Sevens Competition took place on Wednesday 16 September at St Genevieve’s Belfast It turned out to be a fantastic event and ideal conditions with over 120 Camogie players participating from all over the province.
Managers Mrs Catriona Scott and Mrs Anne Quinn were delighted with the performances of their team all day and stated ‘these girls must be given great credit for the manner in which they set about their task of retaining the Ulster title. They only had one thing in mind and that was getting back to the All Ireland Series in October’. Unfortunately for St Patrick’s the elusive All-Ireland title remains just out of reach.
St Patrick’s College Maghera were crowned proud winners of the ‘A Section’ after an exciting final against St Patrick’s Keady. St Patrick’s have made this competition their own in recent years, holding the title now for the last 3 years.
BR: L to R: Mrs C Scott, S Kearney, A Duffy, R Ferguson, S O’ Kane, E Friel, Mrs A Quinn FR: L to R: C McCloskey, N McKenna, E Agnew, A Ní Chaiside, M Quinn
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Ulster Colleges ‘A’ Camogie Final - Corn Eimhear (U16) Back to back victories give St Patrick’s, Maghera Ulster Camogie ‘double’!
St Patrick’s College, Maghera 4-14 St Mary’s Magherafelt 1-05 The Corn Eimhear may not be the most familiar sounding name for an Ulster Colleges trophy but the Cups appearance in St Patrick’s Maghera has become a very familiar event in the past two years. The A grade Ulster Colleges U16 title will remain in the South Derry school for a second year after the St Patrick’s team steamrollered their way to successive victories in the competition at Casement Park Belfast. St Patrick’s had won last year’s final when defeating Cross and Passion Ballycastle with an excellent display of camogie and few would have expected the College girls to reproduce such a display in Saturday’s game. Neighbours St Mary’s Magherafelt brought a derby atmosphere to the final with the rival fans helping create an excellent atmosphere for the game on a crisp, but dry, winter morning. This was a victory founded on tremendous work rate and ability all over the field with many of the girls on the St Patrick’s team giving quite excellent individual displays but the most commanding aspect of the teams play was their ability to support and cover for each other all over the pitch. Players attacked the ball with confidence knowing they had a colleague in support whether in defence or among the forwards while St Mary’s, when in possession, rarely found the time to escape the attentions of a St Patrick’s jersey. An excellent all round team performance from the defending champions brought a very well earned second Ulster Junior title with Colleges chairperson, Sister Mairead presenting the Corn Eimhear to St Patrick’s captain Noeleen McKenna to cap a week when the Maghera girls had also collected the Ulster Senior Camogie title – a remarkable double for the College camógs!! This victory followed St Patrick’s winning of the Ulster Senior title on Tuesday against Cross and Passion Ballycastle and a number of Saturday’s players were claiming their second Ulster medal in a week - and for some also their second Ulster Junior medal having featured in last years final also. St Patrick’s have also claimed the Ulster 7-a-side trophy during this school year and will look forward to the new year when the Junior and Senior teams will advance to the All-Ireland stage of their respective competitions. Those games will no doubt fill many hours for the coaching teams as they continue the quest for All-Ireland success - and given the age profile of this Junior winning team it may not be long after that before the girls begin to turn their thoughts to seeking three Ulster Junior titles in a row. 92
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St Patrick’s Maghera Eimear Friel (Ballinascreen), Bronagh Laverty (Creggan), Maeve Quinn (Swatragh), Holly Scullion (Bellaghy), Noeleen McKenna (Capt., Swatragh, 0-5), Aoife Ní Chaisíde (Slaughtneil), Nuala Convery (Glen), Shauna Quinn (Dungiven, 0-2), Catherine McCloskey (Dungiven, 0-1), Mairead McNicholl (Swatragh, 0-1), Anecia Duffy (Dungiven, 1-0), Saoirse McPeake (Lavey), Catherine McKeefrey (Swatragh), Shannon Kearney (Slaughtneil, 2-4), Clare Burns (Slaughtneil, 1-1) Subs: Cara Boyle (Lavey), Emma Agnew (Bellaghy), Niamh O’Kane (Swatragh), Aoife Coyle (Swatragh), Megan Craig (Dungiven), Cara Dillon (Swatragh), Hannah Ferguson (Glen), Anne Hasson (Dungiven), Claire Hasson (Dungiven), Caoilshionn Martin (Dunloy), Aoibheann McCloskey (Dungiven), Mary McGuckin (Slaughtneil), Rebecca McKeefrey (Swatragh), Lisa McKenna (Slaughtneil), Dervlagh O’Kane ( Swatragh), Sharifa O’Kane (Rasharkin), Sarah Warnock (Glen)
BR: L to R: Anne Hassan, Holly Scullion, Nuala Convery, Catherine Mc Closkey, Megan Craig, Aoife Ni Chaiside, Mary Mc Guckin, Hannah Ferguson, Clare Burns, Sarah Warnock, Dervla O’Kane. MR: L to R: Miss B Quigg, Shariffa O’Kane, Clare Hassan, Niamh O’Kane, Caoilfhionn Martin, Maeve Quinn, Eimear Friel, Rebecca Mc Keefry, Lisa Mc Kenna, Cara Dillon, Aoibheann Mc Closkey, Cahterine Mc Keefry, Mrs G Mc Kenna. FR: L to R: Cara Boyle, Saoirse Mc Peake, Shannon Kearney, Shauna Quinn (Vice Captain) Noeleen Mc Kenna (Captain) Emma Agnew (Vice Captain), Bronagh Laverty, Mairead Mc Nicholl, Aoife Coyle
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Emma Agnew This year was a very special year for me in the Junior Camogie Squad as I had been chosen to be Vice-Captain of the team. Unfortunately things did not go as smoothly as I had hoped; I broke my knuckle in the Ulster Senior Final and was unable to play for six weeks. This caused me to lose out on playing in the Ulster Junior Final and All-Ireland Senior Semi-Final. It was only then, from having to watch from the sideline, that I realised what a spirited and skilful team the Juniors were and the potential they possessed. All who attended the Ulster Final in Casement Park saw how determined this team were and how we were capable to go one better than the previous year and win the All-Ireland.
set off on our long journey to Kilkenny. The following day, nerves began to creep in as the thought of playing in the famous pitch ‘Nowlan Park’ put the girls slightly off focus, but we knew what we were here to do and played in style. We were extremely unlucky not to win the game as every player played their hearts out and gave everything they had to give. However, Loreto Kilkenny lived up to the favourites tag and made it to another All-Ireland Final. It has to be said that this was a very enjoyable year for all involved and credit must go to Mrs McKenna and Miss Quigg for all their hard work and dedication throughout the year, because without them none of this would be possible.
The 27th February quickly came around and fortunately I was allowed to play again. So CDs and pillows intact, we
Noeleen McKenna (Captain) The Junior Camogie team began training in September 2009, with all the girls eager to fight for their position on the squad. We trained regularly with one objective to retain the Ulster title; everyone had a great attitude and a great team spirit developed.
Both teams were fighting furiously; keen to reach an AllIreland Final. As Loreto Kilkenny took the lead, St Patrick’s had to play a tight defensive game and everyone gave it one hundred percent. However, on the day the best team won. The final score was 3:6 – 2:7.
Our league campaign began with an easy victory against St Pius X. Our first three matches were played before Halloween and we already had topped the group at this stage. Our last league game was against St Patrick’s Keady. We had home advantage but since they had such a long journey we met them at Mid Ulster Sports Arena in Cookstown. The final score was 5:17 – 2:00. St Patrick’s Junior Team had won. Therefore we earned our place in the Ulster Semi-Final against Cross and Passion, Ballycastle. It proved to be a very tough match with both sides battling hard for a place in the Ulster Final, but St Patrick’s did enough to deserve their place in the Ulster Final. St Patrick’s College and St Mary’s Magherafelt met to play their Ulster Final at Casement Park on the 12th December 2009. It was a cold wintery morning but both teams played to the best of their ability. The fifteen girls playing were continuously supported from all around the pitch by the subs on the side-line. The passion was evident and St Patrick’s won the game with a score of 4:13 – 1:5.
On behalf of the entire panel I would just like to extend our thanks to all who helped make this a very special time: •
To our managers Miss Quigg and Mrs McKenna for their time and dedication. Without them our camogie campaign would not have been possible.
The girls now faced the challenge of playing Loreto Kilkenny in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. St Patrick’s had the disadvantage as they had to travel a long journey to Nowlan Park, Kilkenny. St Patrick’s didn’t take long to register a score with Shannon Kearney playing full-forward.
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Mrs Scott our Principal for her support.
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For our teachers and classmates.
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The supporters who travelled to the matches.
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Parents, families and friends for their support.
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Siobhan McKaigue - Senior Captain Being named captain of this year’s senior Camogie team was a great honour. With this role also came great responsibility and I knew I had the job of leading the rest of the girls in the right direction of winning an Ulster title. I have played school Camogie for the past 7 years of my school career, and within these experiences I learnt how to respect others in my team, how a collective team effort goes a long way and not to mention all the close friends I have gained from the past years through Camogie. From 1st year to Upper Sixth I have not gained all the winning medals I would have aspired to, but I definitely gained the most important one this year. There were high hopes for the St Patrick’s Senior Camogie team this year as such talent and potential was among the girls.
Playing within this particular bunch of girls has been fantastic, there has never been a dull moment, and there is such talent and passion amongst them. On behalf of the team and myself, I would again also like to take this opportunity to thank our managers Mrs Scott, Mrs Quinn and Mrs Kelly for the hard work and commitment they have put in. Without their efforts we would not be as victorious as we are this year. I would also personally like to thank all the teachers who have encouraged and supported me throughout my sporting career in St Patrick’s. During my time at school my sport has brought me to highs, from the trips away with junior and senior camogie teams and to the lows of losing in certain matches. The advice I would give to pupils is to get involved in all aspects of sport within the school. It is a real privilege to play for and represent your College, it is also brilliant craic and you will meet friends for life.
Our journey this year was very challenging, we played St Mary’s Convent in the Ulster Semi Final and our true colours shined through in this match as we illustrated a never say die effort, winning by 3-12 to 4 points. The final hurdle was against a very strong and determined team, Cross and Passion, Ballycastle. Throughout my years of playing camogie in St Patrick’s, Ballycastle were always an opposing team and you knew everything had to be given on the field. We stepped out on the day of the Ulster final in December feeling nervous and anxious but confident that we could win. Every single team member, on and off the field gave one hundred percent to their performance and the end result of this game proved that. Finally, after 4 years with no Senior Ulster Colleges title in sight, it is finally back where it belongs in St Patrick’s Maghera. After winning Ulster, the All-Ireland title was the next aim to succeed in. We played Loreto Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final at my home grounds, Robert Emmett’s, Slaughtneil. We suffered from a narrow 1 point defeat, but still the girls kept their heads high and proud of the St Patrick’s jersey they were wearing.
Ulster Senior Champions The Corn Uan Uladh, Ulster Colleges’ Senior ‘A’ Camogie title is safely back in St Patrick’s College Maghera after a five year absence but they had to really fight all the way to see off the challenge of Cross & Passion Ballycastle. Although Cross and Passion carried the favourites tag as this was their Junior All Ireland winning team from two years ago and they had narrowly beaten Maghera in the league stages by two points, scoring a goal in the last minute of the game, St Patrick’s were quietly confident.
The early part of the game was extremely intense with both teams hoping for a score. Ballycastle settled themselves with a well taken point from Emma Connolly but St Patricks’ Karen Kielt fought back to level the score line. Shortly after this Karen gained possession again and rattled the back of the net from an extremely tight angle to give Maghera their first goal of the match. Maghera took the lead at this early stage and never relinquished it, even though they were put under severe pressure.
The game took place in Creggan. Although the weather was not favourable for the game of camogie great credit must be paid to the Creggan Club whose pitch was in superb condition and allowed spectators to witness one of most skilful Ulster Finals to date.
Ballycastles’ Samantha McKillen converted a 45, along with Rebecca Walshs’ first point from play reducing the scoreline to the minimum margin before Shannon Kearney netted for Maghera’s second goal. Ballycastle, once again, responded with a fine taken goal by Aisling McFadden in the 22nd minute and the Maghera girls knew they had a battle on their hands. 95
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The game continued fast and furious with teams exchanging points from Rebecca Walsh and Grainne McNicholl to leave the half time score 2-2 to 1-4 in favour of the Derry girls. The second half started with the same enthusiasm and effort from both teams and it took 10 minutes for the first score of the second half - another Maghera goal this time from a hand pass from Mary Kelly. Ballycastle edged closer with two points from Nicole Dobbin and Aisling McFadden narrowing the score to two points once again. This margin remained for the next 10 minutes creating a tense and exciting climax towards the final stage of the game. A controversial decision on whether to allow a goal for Maghera proved to be the turning point of the game. With this decision going against them Maghera’s determination enabled them to step up a gear. A goal 10 minutes from time from Grainne McNicholl gave her side the confidence to sprint for the line, a second goal from Shannon Kearney confirming Maghera’s 12th crown. This all bides well for the future of Maghera Camogie as only 3 of the starting team leave this squad next year. It was an all round team performance with Jolene Bradley having the game of her life in between the posts. She was well marshalled by
a young enthusiastic full back line of Year 12 girls, Shaunine O’Kane, Noleen McKenna and Rebecca Ferguson. Siobhan McKaigue played a real captains role in centre half back ably assisted by her two wing half back’s Grainne Ní Chathain and Mary B McGilligan. Sisters Eilis and Aoife Ní Chaiside combined well in midfield dominating their opponents with constant supply to the forward line. The forwards were always making decisive runs creating numerous scoring opportunities and although some were missed they converted some of the best scores of the game. Mary Kelly, Shannon Kearney and Grainne McNicholl were constant thorns in the Ballycastle defence, reaking havoc everytime they got the ball. These girls were supported well by the experienced Karen Kielt and busy Caoimhe Moran. Shauna Quinn, the youngest player on the pitch, along with Emma Agnew showed great composure and maturity throughout the game. The management team of Mrs Catriona Scott, Mrs Anne Quinn and Mrs Claire Kelly must take great credit for the way the girls conducted themselves both on and off the field of play. This was a fantastic and highly skilful team performance from a group of dedicated girls who have brought a positive feeling back to the College after the tragic circumstances in the lead up to this game.
BR: O McGillian, N McKenna, N McQuillan, M B McGilligan, S O’Kane, N Convery, E Agnew, M Quinn, Mrs A Quinn MR: M Kelly, S Kearney, T McElroy, K Kielt, J Bradley, F Ward, M Taggart, G Ní Chathain, R Ferguson FR: D Quinn, G McNicholl, A Ni Chaiside, S McKaigue, E Ni Chaiside, S Quinn, C McCloskey Absent: C Quinn A Duffy
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Camogie All Stars
Grainne McGoldrick & Jolene Bradley
Grainne McGoldrick & Eilis NĂ Chaiside
Grainne McGoldrick & Karen Kielt
Grainne McGoldrick & Siobhan McKaigue
Grainne McGoldrick & Grainne McNicholl
Siobhan McKaigue and her proud parents
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2010 Camogie All-Stars
The five Maghera All Stars with Teachers and Principal L-R : Mrs Anne Quinn (coach), Grainne McNicholl, Jolene Bradley, Eilis Ní Chaiside, Siobhan McKaigue and Karen Kielt, Mrs Catriona Scott (coach) and Mrs Anne Scott (Principal)
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St Patrick’s Maghera host Primary Schools’ Footballers St Patrick’s Maghera hosted their annual Feeder Primary Schools’ Football competition on Friday 5th June and the College again made use of the Glen, Watty Graham’s, GAA complex for the festival of Gaelic Football – a tremendous array of colour, excitement and enthusiasm bringing the seven small sized pitches to life as 32 different teams competed against each other in three different competitions. In the Junior Shield Crossroads PS and St Canice’s Feeny were in rampant goal scoring form as they emerged victorious over St Patrick’s Loup B and St Mary’s Greenlough teams respectively at the semi-final stage. It was the Kilrea school’s eye for goal which saw them crowned champions with a last minute three pointer helping them collect the first silverware of the day when they won the Junior Shield Final. The Football Shield had 2 very closely fought semi-finals with St Patrick’s and St Josephs, Glenullin edging narrowly past St Patrick’s Glen after extra time in the first of the semi-finals but this was to be their last victory on the day as St Columba’s Kilrea B, having beaten St Patrick’s Loup by two points at the semi stage, grabbed a crucial late goal to send the second trophy of the day back to Kilrea. The St Patrick’s College Football Shield was presented to the victorious St Columba’s team by Head of Girl’s PE in the College Mrs C. Scott.
Ulster Bank Cup champions at the St Patrick’s Maghera Blitz were St Brigid’s Tirkane
The Ulster Bank Cup was a very competitive event with the opening twelve group fixtures bringing reigning champions of the last four years St Mary’s Glenview, St Brigid’s Tirkane and St John’s Swatragh to the semi-final stage while St Brigid’s Mayogall completed the last four line-up with a play-off win over a very impressive St Canice’s Dungiven. St Brigid’s made good use of that semi-final opportunity as they had a point to spare over a talented St John’s Swatragh side. In the second semi-final St Mary’s Glenview, who were seeking a remarkable fifth successive triumph, had their dreams shattered by a last minute St Brigid’s Tirkane goal, bringing an all St Brigid’s Ulster Bank Cup Final. The cup this year was to travel to Tirkane as their second half display saw them have five points to spare over a gallant Mayogall side who just couldn’t get the vital second half scores needed. Mr. Dermot McNicholl, Head of Boys PE in St Patrick’s, handed over the Ulster Bank Cup to a delighted St Brigid’s Tirkane team.
St Brigid’s Mayogall were runners-up in the Ulster Bank Cup at the St Patrick’s Maghera Blitz
Football and Hurling ‘double’ champions at the St Patrick’s Maghera blitzes were St Brigid’s Tirkane. Mr. Thomas Cox presents the Headmaster’s Cup for Hurling
St Columba’s Kilrea were Football Shield winners at the St Patrick’s Maghera Blitz
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St Patrick’s Maghera host Primary Schools’ Camogie and Hurling Blitz St Patrick’s College Maghera hosted the local primary schools again in June 2009 when blitz type competitions were held for the Camogie and Hurling teams from the local schools. Almost thirty teams competed across four different events with the St Patrick’s PE and Sport staff having competitions at A and B level in both Camogie and Hurling and again great enthusiasm and effort was shown by the large number of teams participating. In the Camogie event four groups of teams took part in the B section with league games eventually producing a semi-final line up which saw New Row PS, Castledawson scoring a narrow victory over St John’s Swatragh B while St Canice’s Feeny had too much scoring power for St John Bosco Ballynease. The north Derry school continued their good form in the final as they held the New Row girls scoreless to become the Camogie Cup champions. The senior competition brought many competitive games as three groups of teams challenged for the major honours. Again a series of league games brought deserved semi-final places for St Mary’s, Glenview, St Mary’s Draperstown, Anahorish PS and St John’s Swatragh. It was though to be a day for the two St Mary’s schools as they progressed to the senior camogie Shield final. And what a final of real effort, ability and excitement they served up for the many spectators present. The only disappointment was the need for a losing team and the Draperstown girls were the team to grab the crucial scores to become worthy senior champions.
Headmaster’s Cup winners at St Patrick’s Maghera were St Brigid’s Tirkane who also won the football event at St Patrick’s
Running alongside the Camogie on the College pitches were two groups of hurling teams in the Headmaster’s Cup and Headmaster’s Shield competitions which brought eight different teams of young hurlers to compete. As with the camogie this was also a very busy and competitive event with an excellent standard of play. In the Headmaster’s Shield competition semi-final games brought wins for St Canice’s Feeny and St Mary’s Draperstown over St Patrick’s Glen and St John’s Swatragh B respectively. Draperstown though carried a greater goal threat and they collected the Headmaster’s Shield with a three goal victory.
Headmaster’s Shield winners at the St Patrick’s Maghera Blitz were St Mary’s Draperstown
The senior competition saw St Brigid’s Mayogall defeat St Canice’s Dungiven while St Brigid’s Tirkane defeated St John’s Swatragh at the semi-final stages of the Headmaster’s Cup. Unfortunately for St Brigid’s they were to be again cast in the role of runner-up despite a spirited and enthusiastic performance. The Headmaster’s Cup, after a very exciting day of competition, was to remain in the possession of St Brigid’s Tirkane as they added to the Ulster Bank Cup won previously at the St Patrick’s Gaelic football blitz. St Mary’s Draperstown were Camogie Shield winners at the St Patrick’s Maghera blitz
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Sports Hall Athletics 2010 County Derry Championships
Medal Winners
On Thursday 21st January pupils from the College joined a host of local second level school pupils at the splendid Meadowbank Sports Arena in Magherafelt for the Co. Derry Sports Hall Athletics Championships. The indoor championships have been extremely well attended by local schools for over a decade and the multi-purpose indoor arena in Magherafelt is an ideal setting for the event. As might be expected with so many local schools in attendance the competition was fierce as the quest for medals continued throughout a very busy day. Alongside the fierce competition there was also a very high standard of performance on the day with some excellent jumping and throwing performances while the team relay events brought a noisy and excitement filled atmosphere to the Magherafelt Arena. The pupils on the St Patrick’s team, drawn from Years 8, 9 and 10 were among the top performers present on the day. In fact the 28 strong team came away with a total of 31 medals from the event – 10 Gold, 18 Silver and 3 Bronze – with these shared among the boys and girls who travelled. Outstanding performances for the College, in a very competitive team, came from Orla Higgins and Sinead Mellon, (U13 Girls), Dominic Bradley and Michael Mullan, (U13 Boys) and Shannon McGilligan and Sinead Mc Donald, (U15 Girls).
Under 13 Girls Sinead Mellon 2G, 2S, 1B Orla Higgins 2G, 1S, 1B Adrienne Gorman 1G 2S Caterine McKenna 1S Cora Glass 1S Rosin McCabe 1S Under 13 Boys Dominic Bradley 2G, 1S, 1B Michael Mullan 2G, 2S Conor McGahon 1S U15 Girls Shannon McGilligan 2S Sinead McDonald 2S Charlotte Burke 1S Hannah Ferguson 1S
Ulster Championships Due to their success at the County Championships Sinead Mellon, Catherine McKenna, Michael Mullan, Adrienne Gorman, Charlotte Burke and Domnic Bradley were selected to represent Derry. Unfortunately due to injury Domnic was unable to take up his place on the team. As part of the County team these pupils took part in the West of Ulster Championships in Enniskillen on the 11th March earning many valuable points which helped Co. Derry qualify for the Ulster Final. Meadowbank Sports Arena hosted the Final which involved strong teams from Counties Donegal and Fermanagh. During the day many of our athletes impressed the team management. Ciaran Mullan and Sinead Mellon had a particularly good competition coming away with highly sought after Ulster Medals, in their first Athletics event at this level. Ciaran jumped a very impressive 1.44m to come Second place in the Under 13 Boys High Jump, followed very shortly by a great team effort in the 2 lap relay to earn Bronze. Sinead Mellon also had a fabulous run in the Girls 2 lap relay winning Silver. Michael Mullan, Sinead Mellon Ulster Medalist ar the Sportshall Athleticcs 2010
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Year 8 Athletics Groups
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Cross Country 2010 Seventeen Key Stage 3 pupils took part in the NEBSSA Cross Country Championships which were held on a firm but tough course at University of Ulster Playing Fields, Coleraine. The undulating nature of the course and distances involved challenged the participants but all seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience. The Year 8 girls got the afternoon off to a fantastic start with Sinead Mellon and Orla Higgins pushing each other throughout the 1600m course to finish in 4th and 5th place respectively. Even the advanced electronic system in place on the day could not split the girls awarding each with the same time down to a tenth of a second. These two impressive placings where backed up by strong runs from Cora Glass (10th place), Deirbhle McNicholl, Catherine McKenna and Roisin McCabe. Each girl remained competitive to the finish line passing as many competitors as possible. Their determination was duly rewarded as they achieved an impressive second place in the Under 13 Girls’ team competition.
Tiernan Flanagan 1st Place NEBSAA Cross Country 2010
Tiarnan Flanagan who came second last year in the Under 13 competition used the experienced gained to win a Gold medal this year as an Under 14. Tiarnan ran a very strong race taking the lead early on and holding it throughout. The Year 9 team also had solid performances from Conor McGahon, Kevin Toner and Michael Creamer which helped them gain a respectable 5th place in the team competition. Other strong performances during the afternoon came from Pearse Flanagan and Ryan Harkin who finished 7th and 8th in the Under 15 category, with the fastest times of anyone from the College. Like Sinead and Orla in the first race of the day they pushed each other fiercely throughout the length of the course and again could not be split in terms of time.
Second team in the Year 8 girls NEBSSA Championship 2010
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Year 8 8GE Mrs A M Mc Elhinney
BR: L to R: Conor Mulholland, Liam Cassidy, Rachel Mc Elkenny, Conor Glass, Amy Scullion, Marc Mc Clenaghan, Cora Glass, Kevin Toner, Ciaran Mc Cusker. MR: L to R: Oran Mc Guckin, James Mc Closkey, Daniel Quigg, Seamus Kelly, Emer Cassidy, Peter Madden, Sarah Molloy, Richard Mc Erlean, Karl Mullan, Joseph Grant, Thomas O Neill FR: L to R: Rachel Glasgow, Daniel Grant, Aisling Totten, Aimee Glasgow, Niamh Mc Elwee, Brona Mc Guigan, Luke Mc Coy, Rachel Turner.
8BR Mr J O Kane
BR: L to R: Shane Talbot, Clare Mc Groggan, Aoibheann Mullan, Ciara Mc Atamney, Catriona Mc Peake, Ciaran Mc Guigan. MR: L to R: Nicole Woods, Christopher Ward, Shannon Convery, Niamh Coyle, Sean Turner, Mairead Cassidy Migliara. FR: L to R: Lynette Devlin, Aodhan Mc Nally, Mairead O Kane, Sean Dillon, Chloe O Donnell.
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8AR Mrs K Mc Ateer
BR: L to R: Malachy Toner, Laura Mc Sorley, Therese McLaverty, Oran Rafferty, James Mc Crory, Ryan Mc Erlean, Patrick Turner, Nicole Mc Williams, Sean Brunton MR: L to R: Aidan Toner, Danny Shaw, Jack Mc Erlean, Anna Doherty, Nicole Mc Keever, Roisin Mc Cabe, Dara Mc Peake, Conor Baker, Laura Mc Kenna FR: L to R: Jamie Doran, Caoimhe Mc Gonigle, Darren O Kane, Deirbhle Mc Nicholl, Sean O Kane, Danita O Hagan, Ruairi Mc Cartney.
8MN Mrs C Kelly
BR: L to R: Clodagh Simpson, Caitlin Mc Gillion, Ciara Mulholland, Sinead Armour, Cahir Lagan, Clare Mc Cormack, Clodagh Mc Kay, Annie Mc Closkey. MR: L to R: Caoimhe Lagan, Sean Hughes, Ryan Mc Gillion, Matthew Ferguson, John Convery, Dermot O’ Doherty, Ray Devlin, Niamh Caskey FR: L to R: James Diamond, Conor Mc Cann, Orla Higgins, Charley Dewane, Eoghan Young, Claire O Kane, Ailish Kerlin, Fearghal Mc Gillian, Conor Mullan.
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8RN Mr P Hughes
BR: L to R: Sorcha Mc Gilligan, Rian Mc Peake, Caolan Mc Guigan, Jerome Mc Guigan, Brian Cassidy, Shea Mc Lernon, Maria Mc Gill FR: L to R: Paul Mc Gahon, Conal Mc Erlean, Eimear O Kane, Roderik Csermak, Nicole Tallon, Darren Maguire, Shea Mc Nally
8CR Miss M Mc Reynolds
BR: L to R: Eli Convery, Jolene Kelly, Brandon Mullan, Emma Kelly, John Cassidy, Nuala Mac Oscar, Niamh Mullan. MR: L to R: Corey Loughlin, Eilis Mulholland, Kara Mc Guckin, Katie Strathern, Rachel Mc Creanor, Marie Louise Mc Eldowney, Bronagh O’ Hara. Claudine O Hara, James Mc Kenna, Dylan Moore. FR: L to R: Eoighan Mc Closkey, Padraigh Fullerton, Peter Stuart, Caoimhe Craig, Nadine O Boyle, Lauren Elliott, Ryan Mc Elwee, Jack Bradley, Shane Donaghy.
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8XE Mrs T Mc Cullagh
BR: L to R: Eoghan Harkin, Conan Hunter, Sean O Caiside, Sinead Diamond, Geariod Mc Laughlin, Grainne Convery, Conor Kelly, Conor Mc Allister, Paul Tohill MR: L to R: Jade Deery, Trudy Farren, Orla Mc Neill, Hannah Mc Cusker, Aimee Mc Goldrick, Eimear Corrigan, Megan McGrellis, Michelle Cassidy, Cliona Mulholland. FR: L to R: Hugh Mc Gurk, Jake Kelly, Shea Downey, Caoimhe Mulholland, Diarmaid Bryson, James Bradley, Dara Higgins
8CO Miss K Gilloway
BR: Sean O’Doherty, Eoghan O’Kane, Declan Turner, Cormac McPeake, Patrick Kearney, Marc Hutchinson, John McCormack, Eoghan Gallagher, James McGilligan. MR: Jason McCoy, Francis Kearney, Alana McLaughlin, Emer Madden, Aine Carlin, Caoimhe Madden, Shane McGuigan, Fintan O’Kane, Pauric McNicholl, Adam Johnson. FR: Shane Johnston, Darragh Cartin, Conall Darragh, Raymond Duggan, Meghan Martin, Cormac O’Kane, Ciaran Rice, Peadar Coyle, Conor Chambers.
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10BA
Dillon McLarnon, Bronagh Martin, Nathan McGuigan
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Year 12 12C
Niall Collins, Sorcha McBride, Declan O’Doherty
12F
BR: Caolan Birt, James Grant, Michael Carmichael, Ross Gribbon, Cormac Davidson, Conor O’Kane, Thomas Larkin, Martin McCloskey, Brendan Rogers, Caolan McGurk MR: Mary Bradley, Gemma McMeel, Shannon O’Doherty, Rhiannon Hegarty, Anna Hegarty, Maeve McCormick, Aisling McMullan, Sarah Hughes FR: Sinead McGuigan, Caoilfhionn Ward, Sharon Doherty, Erin Cunningham, Fiona Downey, Catriona Doherty, Sarah Louise McPeake, Anne Bradley, Nicole Farren Absent: Odhran Hassan
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12H
BR: Sean McNicholl, Ryan Bateson, DJ O’Brien, Conor Murphy, Stephen Cassidy, Cathal O’Kane, Kevin McCormick, Fiontan Mac Giolla Bhrighde, Eamon Scullion, Ciaran McPeake MR: Ryan Hegerty, Stephen O’Hagan, Shauneen Henry, Teresa O’Kane, Orla Quinn, Shane McGill, Anthony Totten, Nathan Brady, Ryan Convery FR: Rachelle O’Neill, Aine Craig, Riona Millar, Michaela McNicholl, Rachel Burke, Chloe Gormley, Adele Heaney, Eadaoin Nic Oscair, Joanne McAlary
12K
BR: Siobhan Gribben, Maria McMullan, Pearse Turley, Kathryn Shaw. FR: Sean Campbell, Declan Quinn
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12N
BR: Fintan Larkin, Tiarnan MacBhloschaidh, Pearse McGrath, Daniel O’Kane, Ronan McGuckin, Michael Molloy MR: Maeve Moran, Declan Breen, John Quigg, Conan Glass, David O’Loughlin, Eugene O’Hagan, Dervla Birt FR: Fiona McGuckin, Oonagh McLaughlin, Louise McMullan, Orla Hegarty, Una Dowdall, Finvola McLaughlin, Shauneen O’Kane, Caitlin O’Kane Absent: Rebecca Ferguson, Gerard Keenan, Ryan O’Donnell, John McGuckin, Anne Marie Bradley
12O
BR: Eunan O’Neill, Conor McAtamney, Mark O’Kane, Thomas McErlean,Oisin McErlean MR: Ciaran McFaul, Gavin Tallon, Brian Og Corbett, Aidan McCoy, Kevin McErlean, FR: Theresa Moran, Ashley Johnston, Leanne Doyle, Jodie Chambers, Chantelle Shaw Absent: Cathair O’Hara, Patricia Convery, Meghan Irwin
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12P
BR: Philip Maguire, Donagh McGuigan, Michael Henry, Lewis Bell, Ryan Dougan MR: Noeleen McKenna, Bronagh Laverty, Megan O’Kane, Aimee Bradley, Clodagh Shaw, Megan McNicholl, Clare McAleese FR: Ciaran Baker, Clare Molloy, Clare McCreanor, Niamh McPeake, Ciaran McCann Absent: Grace Montague, Bridin Cassidy, Maria McCloskey, Eugene Brennan
12S
BR: Darren Quigg, Peter McAlary, Caolan Murphy, Thomas O’Hagan, Dylan Heavern MR: Bebhinn McCann, Ciaran McFlynn, Patrick O’Kane, David McGuigan, Orin Hampson, Cathal Faulkner, Brendan O’Kane, Kerrie McNicholl FR: Shannon Clarke, Zoe O’Kane, Eimear McGlinchey, Emma Jane Toner, Joanne Eppleston, Sarah Quigg Absent: Ciaran McWilliams
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12U
BR: Niall Carey, Eugene McDonnell, Padraig O’Hara, Eoghan McGrellis, Ruairi Glavin, James McKegney, Jude Mullan, Ciaran O’Kane MR: Clodagh O’Loughlin, Kate Mullan, Niamh McFerran, Eimear Friel, Una Hendry, Kirstie McGirr, Nuala Convery, Shannon Kearney, Caoimhe Convery FR: Niamh Convery, Nicole Farren, Jemma Conway, Marceline Glomb, Kellie Glass, Lisa McKenna, Megan McSorley, Emma Mackle, Emma Agnew
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Year 14 14A
BR: Patrick Campbell; Enda Bradley; Sean Carey; Ryan Convery; Joseph Bradley; Dominic Carville; Conor O’Boyle MR: Justine Cassidy; Dean Convery; John Beattie; Michael Thomas Carey; Dean Bradley; Connlan Bradley; Christopher Bradley; Emer Conway FR: Emma Cassidy; Marianne Carey; Lauren Agnew; Elaine Convery; Siobhan Barry; Anne Bradley; Cara Cassidy; Eimear Birt
14B
BR: Steven Dillon, Nathan Deery; Patrick Draine; Malachy Duffin, Aaron Flanagan; Gavin Downey; Paudie Devlin MR: Laura Coyle; Sarah Glass; Ronan Dooey; Sean Dillon; Ciaran Farren; Sean Conway; Michael Diamond; Oonagh Devlin; Orla Glass FR: Eimear Glass; Lorna Crowe; Emma Dillon; Amy Darragh; Orla Gallagher; Mairin Crozier; Nicole Fullerton
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14C
BR: Michael Hughes; Colm Hegarty; Paddy Kelly; Christopher Henry; Mark B Kelly; Brian Og Kearney; Ciaran Kearney MR: Kevin Hardy; Mark A Kelly; Gerard Kearney, Turlough Hendry; Michael James Groogan; Paul Kelly; Fergal Kelly; Stephen Hughes FR: Orlaith Kelly; Emma Gribbin; Niamh Hegarty; Seainin Heaney; Rachel Gribbon; Fiona Harte
14D
BR: Ronan Lowry; Francis Lagan; Liam Og Magill MR: Lisa McCloskey; Matthew Knocker; Paul Larkin; Cathaoir McClenaghan; Mary Teresa McCloskey FR: Moya Leonard; Sheena Logue; Bronagh Maguire; Nicola McAlary Missing: Bronagh McCoy; Bronagh Mackle; Ann Marie Logue
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14E
BR: Anthony McGurk; Dermot McGuckin; Stephen McGuckin; Ciaran McGrellis; Declan Og McFlynn; Ronan McErlean MR: Bronagh McErlean; Claire McGuigan; Niamh McErlane; Roisin McGarry; Maeve McGill; Carla McFall; Orla McGillian; Mary B McGilligan FR: Maria McGuigan; Clare McDonald; Niamh McGrady; Christina McGregor; Emma McDonald; Catherine Green
14F
BR: Patrick McNeill; Orrie McPeake; Donagh McKeever; Niall McReynolds; Ciaran McReynolds MR: Ryan McKenna; Patrick McKenna; Anna McMullan; Nicole McKee; Shauna Moohan; Camille McNicholl; Nuala Moohan; Seamus McLaughlin; Daniel McKinless FR: Lisa McOsker; Rachael McCloskey; Una McGill; Kathryn McKegney; Rachel McMullan; Kelly McKeague; Maeve McKeown
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14G
BR: Dermot O’Boyle; Daniel Morgan; Conor Morgan; Sean Murray MR: Nicole Mullan; Bryan O’Kane; Oisin O’Doherty; Eoghan Mulholland; Patrick Mullan; Aine Murphy FR: Ashlene O’Kane; Eilis Mulholland; Caroline O’Connor; Eilis Ni Chaiside; Catherine Morgan Missing: Hugh Mulholland
14H
BR: Ciaran O’Neill; Michael Scott; Patrick Rogers; Sean O’Neill; Christopher Sheerin MR: Jemma O’Kane; Sinead O’Kane; Oran Quinn; Sean Tohill; Joseph Smyth; Cahal O’Loan; Ciara Quinn; Noeleen O’Neill FR: Christina Ramos; Emma Rafferty; Jenna Rice; Rosemary O’Kane; Carla O’Kane; Tracy Talbot
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Year 14 Pen Pics
Yeargroup Photos (Page 1) Yeargroup Photos (Page 1)
Lauren AGNEW 14A Lauren AGNEW Good times, haven’t14A grown
Eimear BIRT 14A Eimear Can’t wait BIRT to get 14A back to
Connlan BRADLEY 14A Connlan up BRADLEY 14A What’s gangsters…..
Jessica ANDERSON 14A Jessica ANDERSON 14A To be continued in Belfast.
Conor BOYLE 14A Conor BOYLE 14A
Dean BRADLEY 14A Dean BRADLEY 14A You think they would have
much. Good times, haven’t grown much.
“Hardly”! To be continued in Belfast. “Hardly”!
Siobhan BARRY 14A Siobhan BARRY 14A
John BEATTIE 14A John BEATTIE 14A
China. R?back to Can’t wait to get China. R?
Achievement Unlocked: Complete School Achievement Unlocked: Complete School
Anne BRADLEY 14A Anne BRADLEY 14A
photo-shopped that spot of You think they would have my face photo-shopped that spot of my face
Enda BRADLEY 14A Enda BRADLEY 14Abig How haven’t I hit the
time yet? How haven’t I hit the big time yet?
Christopher BRADLEY 14A Christopher BRADLEY 14A 7 years and still nobody
my still real nobody name 7 knows years and knows my real name
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
chicksupingangsters….. da house? What’s chicks in da house?
118 Scope: Year group is Year 14 Scope: Year group is Year 14
Joseph BRADLEY 14A Joseph BRADLEY 14A
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 2)
Patrick CAMPBELL 14A
Dominic CARVILLE 14A
Dean CONVERY 14A
In the words of J.L.C – “Good Times”
Good times!
PACK UP!
Marianne CAREY 14A
Cara CASSIDY 14A
Elaine CONVERY 14A
Good times, but can’t wait to leave
Michael CAREY 14A
2 years well spent.
Sean CAREY 14A
So much time acting the candyman. Time well spent. Senior choir was great.
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Good times, bad workload
Emma CASSIDY 14A
I’ll write something better next year….
Ryan CONVERY 14A
Justine CASSIDY 14A
Emer CONWAY 14A
Wana Party?
Made some great friends, i.e Jessica (Happy now, Jessica?) Scope: Year group is Year 14 119
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 3)
Sean CONWAY 14B
Good Times Boy
Laura COYLE 14B
Kerry-Ann CUNNINGHAM 14B
Padraig DEVLIN 14B
I have been known to free Ireland in the Wolfe Tone. Dawson for C!
AH BANKS! Sitting in the sixth form planning the weekends…. D D D Dormans!
Amy DARRAGH 14B
Michael DIAMOND 14B
Lorna CROWE 14B
Nathan DEERY 14B
Emma DILLON 14B
7 years filled with unforgettable faces, memories and friendships.
Good friends, good memories, good times
Mairin CROZIER 14B
Oonagh DEVLIN 14B
Two years too long, but some life long friends -
Ah BANKS Ddd dormans!
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Scope: Year group is Year 14 120
Sean DILLON 14B
Time of my life < 3 xoxo
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 4)
Steven DILLON 14B
Malachy DUFFIN 14B
Orla GALLAGHER 14B
Well it’s as I like to say…..
Good Times
7 great years & friends. Good memories. Nuala for Head Girl!
Ciaran FARREN 14B
Eimear GLASS 14B
NOT SURE
Good Times??
Ronan DOOEY 14B
The work was shattering.
Better ones to come!!
Gavin DOWNEY 14B
Aaron FLANAGAN 14B
Orla GLASS 14B
Belfast has got a lot to live up to.
Better have been worth it
Ah BANKS Ddd dormans!
Patrick DRAINE 14B
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Nicole FULLERTON 14B
Two great years, made friends for life
Scope: Year group is Year 14 121
Sarah GLASS 14B
No more perms!
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 5)
Catherine GREEN 14E
Conall HALFERTY 14C
Conall Halferty “likes” your status
Colm HEGARTY 14C
Two years too long
Emma GRIBBIN 14C
Kevin HARDY 14C
Niamh HEGARTY 14C
Definitely going this time…
JOOEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEE!!!
A person who is only educated at school is an uneducated person
Rachel GRIBBON 14C
Had such a good time. Got to Romania, Head Girl and Formal. Couldn’t beat it.
Michael-James GROOGAN 14C
Top class 7 years. So many great memories.
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Fiona HART 14C
Had a great time, pity about being late in the mornings!!
Turlough HENDRY 14C
No. 10 Team of the week… they do call me the playmaker
Seainin HEANEY 14C
Christopher HENRY 14C
BTEC -
Greatest memory of sixth form…Bowies decided to open on Mondays.
Scope: Year group is Year 14 122
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 6)
Michael HUGHES 14C
Gerard KEARNEY 14C
Mark B KELLY 14C
Goodbye Forever!! -
Aim for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land among the stars
Naw, I’m Mark B, he’s Mark A
Steven HUGHES 14C
Fergal KELLY 14C
Orlaith KELLY 14C
Wat about ye?
See you next year
Brian Og KEARNEY 14C
Paul KELLY 14C
Paddy KELLY 14C
I’ll think of something later
I’m Mark
I acted like I hated football but really I despised it!! And what does REM mean?
Ciaran KEARNEY 14C
Mark A KELLY 14C
For all your beard growth needs
Bruzie is a million head!
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Scope: Year group is Year 14 123
Matthew KNOCKER 14D
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 7)
Martyna KONKOL 14A
Ann Marie LOGUE 14D
Liam Og MAGILL 14D
From Poland with Love!
Had some good times
Not so bad!!
Frankie LAGAN 14D
Sheena LOGUE 14D
I Loved St Patricks
Health Classes
Had a really good 7 years at St Pat’s
Paul LARKIN 14D
Ronan LOWRY 14D
Nicola MC ALARY 14D
I like this place too much, might stay a while longer! BTEC ABU
If you’re not first, you’re last!! (HEAD BOY)
Had some good times around St Pats
Bronagh MAGUIRE 14D
Bronagh MACKLE 14D Moya LEONARD 14D
Cathaoir MC CLENAGHAN 14D
I have enjoyed my time here at St Pat’s
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
St. Pats… Aye…. Steve Lad
Scope: Year group is Year 14 124
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 8)
Lisa MC CLOSKEY 14D
Thank God for the Weekends!!
Mary Teresa MC CLOSKEY 14D
I am nobody, nobody is perfect, therefore I must be perfect.
Claire MC DONALD 14E
Health Class Parties = Good Times!!
Emma MC DONNELL 14E
Carla MC FALL 14E
Will think of something better to say next year!
Not a bad 7 years
Niamh MC ERLANE 14E Rachael MC CLOSKEY 14F
Bronagh MC COY 14D
Kerryann fell “UP” the stairs LOL Bon Voyage -
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Ronan MC ERLEAN 14E
Declan Og MC FLYNN 14E
“while bitta banter”
Bronagh MC ERLEAN 14E
Scope: Year group is Year 14 125
Roisin MC GARRY 14E
Some unforgettable times.
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 9)
Maeve MC GILL 14E
Going to miss everyone
Una MC GILL 14F
Loved every minute!
Orla MC GILLIAN 14E
“Wile bita banter” Roll on the Cloisters baybeeee…..
Gabrielle MC GIRR 14E
Will miss the craic
Niamh MC GLINCHEY 14F
I used to have an open mind, but my brains kept falling out! Bring on Uni!!!
Niamh MC GRADY 14E
Lovely Photo.
Mary B MC GILLIGAN 14E
Christina MC GREGOR 14E
Should of stayed in Dungiven…. Naw, great 2 years!
Good Times
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Ciaran MC GRELLIS 14E
Scope: Year group is Year 14 126
Briege MC GUCKIN 14E
Some great memories, but I’m glad to be moving on Razzle Dazzle ?
Danielle MC GUCKIN 14E
Good Times!! 10 Disasters…ekkk
Dermot MC GUCKIN 14E
Bout ya Talk to you in Belfast!
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 10)
Stephen MC GUCKIN 14E Ye Well! Gud owl banter
Claire MC GUIGAN 14E
Maria MC GUIGAN 14E
Anthony MC GURK 14E
Really enjoyed my time here. Miss all the girls.
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Siobhan MC KAIGUE 14E I thoroughly enjoyed my 3hours homework every night, especially during my Key Stage 3’s alongside Orlabob.
Kelly MC KEAGUE 14F
Kathryn MC KEGNEY 14F
Well might miss here a wee bit -
I love Nicole… and all the other friends I’ve made here. Roll on Queens!
Patrick MC KENNA 14F
Nicole MC KEE 14F
Ryan MC KENNA 14F
WINDMILL ???
Bruzie is a million head!
Donagh MC KEEVER 14F
2 years of my life I won’t get back
Scope: Year group is Year 14 127
Maeve MC KEOWN 14F
Health Class Parties -
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 11)
Daniel MC KINLESS 14F
Patrick MC NEILL 14F
Ciaran MC REYNOLDS 14F
For once…. I’ve nothing to say LOL!
3 in a row is good to GO!!!
Experience was decent
Camille MC NICHOLL 14F
Niall MC REYNOLDS 14F
Seamus MC LAUGHLIN 14F
Good Times
Enjoyable experience
Anna MC MULLAN 14F
Lisa MC OSKER 14F
Health Class was the best.
Rachel MC MULLAN 14F
Met lots of great friends. Had great time.
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Orrie MC PEAKE 14F
Nuala MOOHAN 14F
I still maintain I should of got Head Girl. Moohan you’re late – Quote of 7 years
Shauna MOOHAN 14F
Good while it lasted, will miss the brazilian
Scope: Year group is Year 14 128
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 12)
Catherine MORGAN 14G
Eoghan MULHOLLAND 14G
Good Times Roll on Belfast……
Life’s your oboe; play it!
Aine MURPHY 14G
Hugh MULHOLLAND 14G
Sean MURRAY 14G
Connor MORGAN 14G
Good to go….
Vote Morgan
Daniel MORGAN 14G
Eilis MULHOLLAND 14G
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
30th of June
Nicole MULLAN 14G
Patrick MULLAN 14G
Scope: Year group is Year 14 129
Eilis NI CHAISIDE 14G
Dermot O BOYLE 14G
Had a great two years here, I’ll miss the craic.
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 13)
Cahal O LOAN 14H Caroline O CONNOR 14G
Carla O KANE 14H
7 years. Finally time to go.
I’m finally going to do something useful with my time.. Bye BANKS!!
Oisin O DOHERTY 14G
Jemma O KANE 14H
Great 7 years in the Derek Zoolander school for kids who can’t read good and want to know how to do other stuff good too.
Ciaran O NEILL 14H
Carlsberg don’t do school unfortunately – 7 years good craic though.
Ashlene O KANE 14G
Rosemary O KANE 14H
Noeleen O NEILL 14H
Health Class -
-
Phew…. Glad that’s over!
Sinead O KANE 14H
Sean O NEILL 14H
Alot changes in a year, I don’t look like this any longer!!
“The one to watch M8”
Bryan O KANE 14G
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Scope: Year group is Year 14 130
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Yeargroup Photos (Page 14)
Ciara QUINN 14H
Jenna RICE 14H
Bring on summer 2K10 Ladd!!!!
Really don’t know what to write, other than I really wish they hadn’t used L6th pictures.
Oran QUINN 14H
I didn’t have an attitude problem, you all just had a perception problem!!
Emma RAFFERTY 14H
Patrick ROGERS 14H
The Principal, Teachers, Pupils – They all look up to me.
Michael SCOTT 14H
Seven years at St Pat’s, my best memories… can’t beat an 18th at Ban Joes!
Christina RAMOS 14H
Honestly, never laughed as much!
April 30, 2010 10:23:53 AM
Joseph SMYTH 14H
Tracy TALBOT 14H
Awh Not Again -
Sean TOHILL 14H
So much to say, so little space….. Good times.
Christy SHEERIN 14H
…… -
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