6
kilkennyobserver.ie
The Kilkenny Observer Friday 21 January 2022
News
Terrific Goffs Thyestes Chase renewal date set THE first three horses home in the race last year might well renew rivalry in the latest Goffs Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park on Thursday, January 27. Coko Beach, Run Wild Fred and Class Conti are among 38 entries for the race which
has the Henry de Bromheadtrained Chris’s Dream as its early top-weight. Bidding for a third Goffs Thyestes Chase success, Gordon Elliott has last year’s winner and runner-up on his early team of 10, the most of any trainer. Smoking Gun and Escaria
Bonus Bank Holiday date remembers all our Covid dead CABINET has given the goahead for an extra Bank Holiday in March and a national commemorative event. The public holiday will be marked as a day of remembrance and recognition for those who died and worked throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The new holiday will be held on the day after St. Patrick’s Day this year but will be at the beginning of February from 2023 onwards. Ministers have also approved a once off, tax free €1,000 bonus for frontline healthcare work-
Ten could also represent the Cullentra trainer who won the race in 2018 with Monbeg Notorious. No one has a better record in the race than Willie Mullins and he has a team of six going forward. The champion trainer has won the race on
eight previous occasions and in addition to Class Conti, third last year, Mullins could call upon Brahma Bull, Franco De Port, Munster National winner Ontheropes, Agusta Gold and Stones And Roses. Joseph O’Brien has put four in the race, Scarlett And
Dove, a Grade 2 and a Grade 3 winner, Top Moon, the fiveyear-old Busselton and his fellow novice Global Equity. Gowran Park Manager Eddie Scally, said, “We are delighted to see such a strong entry for our Goffs Thyestes Chase, and I have no doubt
that this season’s renewal will be as exciting as ever. It is wonderful that we can welcome spectators back after last year’s behind closed doors event. Even with a limited capacity we are certain it will be a great day for all in attendance.”
Castlecomer pupils go bananas for fitness
ers who were in Covid exposed clinical settings. Frontline healthcare workers in nursing homes, porters and cleaners in healthcare settings, hospice workers, student nurses and members of the Defence Forces seconded to healthcare roles will all be eligible. However, workers in private hospitals are not eligible. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the additional holiday this year would “recognise and say thank you” to volunteers, the Irish people, and to all workers who helped in the fight against Covid-19. Fit Squad: Hoding water bottles received as part of a ‘fruit-‘n-fitness’ reward presented to them by organisers Fyffes, masked pupils from Firoda National School, Castlecomer salute their success in being recognised for their ‘involvement and inventiveness’ in a competition to find Ireland’s fittest school.
PUPILS at Firoda National School, Castlecomer have had their interest in fitness recognised in a nationwide competition to find Ireland’s fittest school launched recently by Irish Olympians, athletes Phil Healy and David Gillick. The event, which runs until April next and in which over 500 schools are participating, is the latest phase in a ‘Fit Squad’ schools fitness programme organised by banana distributors Fyffes – initially through a series of school visits and, post-Covid, through a programme of exercises and keep-fit tips
presented online by athletes Healy and Gillick. 26-year-old sprinter Phil Healy comes from Ballineen in Cork and is Ireland’s fastest woman, holding the 100m Irish Record. She competed in the 2020 Olympic Games in the 200m, 400m and mixed relay. It was the first time an Irish Olympic track and field athlete had ever competed in three events. David Gillick is one of Ireland’s most successful sprinters ever. He won Ireland’s first sprint gold medal in 76 years when winning the European Indoor 400m champion-
ships in 2005. David went on to retain his title in 2009 and became an Olympian in 2008. David is still the fastest man in Ireland over 400m, as he holds both the indoor and outdoor records. In recognition of their ‘involvement and inventiveness’ in responding to guidelines set out under the programme, pupils at Firoda NS received ‘fruit‘n-fitness’ rewards along with bonus points in a league-style competition from which the eventual winners will emerge. Created in 2018, Fyffes Fit Squad is a multi award-
winning programme that gets kids active through easy-to-learn and fun-todo exercises. Before Covid-19, over 20,000 children across the island of Ireland took part in their face-to-face schools programme, and now they are bringing a brand-new campaign to schools all over Ireland. To be announced in May, the overall successful school will receive sports equipment valued at €5,000, plus a visit from Fit Squad ambassadors, Healy and Gillick. Further details can be viewed online at www.fyffesfitsquad.ie
Kilkenny schools bag trio of prizes at BT Young Scientist 2022 TWO schools from Kilkenny have taken home three prizes from the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) 2022. St Kieran’s College teacher, David Hennessey took the Stripe Educator of Excellence Award. And there was double success for TY student Surabhi Gunjur Satish who led the Loreto Secondary project ‘Trash in the Skies: Towards the Prediction of Space Debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO)’. Her project looked at using mathematical modeling methods
to predict the debris environment in LEO. Assessing if mitigation methods have an effect on debris distribution over time. Surabhi was awarded a special prize by the Institute of Physics as well as being named as Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Intermediate Individual 1st place. Speaking to students at the BTYSTE awards ceremony, Minister for Education Norma Foley TD said, “It is both encouraging and heartening to witness the level of creativity and innovation of
this year’s entrants as demonstrated through their meticulously researched and ingenious projects. Each one of you is a credit to yourself, your family, your school and you should be proud of your accomplishments. “The calibre of entries is a testament to the tenacity and talent of the students behind them, and it is this constant high standard that makes BT Young Scientist one of the longest running, and most successful STEM events in Europe. “I especially wish to ac-
knowledge your teachers and mentors who also give so generously of their time and expertise to support you on your journey. Thank you all too to your parents and families for their unwavering support.” Shay Walsh, Managing Director, BT Ireland said, “Congratulations to students across the island of Ireland and to all of our winners who took part in the Exhibition this week and thank you for brightening up a cold January, particularly with Covid-19 continuing to cast a very long shadow.”
