Congratulations to our Leaving Cert. students who graduated from Coláiste an
Spioraid Naoimh on Tuesday, 23rd May.
The Graduation Ceremony began with Darragh O’Sullivan and James Byrne reading
out the names of the Leaving Cert students as they processed up through the hall
with their ‘success in exams’ candles. Timmy O’Riordan and Brian Donnelly played
‘Walk in the light’ for this part of the ceremony. Darragh and James welcomed
everyone and underlined the context of the ceremony.
Ms Moriarty thanked the students, staff and special guests; Mr Séan Culhane
(Chairperson of the Board of Management), Br. Martin Kenneally (Member of
Leadership Team of the Presentation Brothers) and Mr Eoin Byrne (Past Pupil).
She thanked the students for their contribution to the ‘spirit’ of the school and said
this was acknowledged to some extent at the recent Senior Awards Ceremony, but
they were involved in so many other events for which there are no accolades.
Br Simon led the next part of the ceremony as he invited Naoise Whelan to share a
reading from the Prophet Jeremiah and this was followed by an extraordinary and
inspiring response delivered by Br Martin.
Six students offered their prayers of intercession on behalf of their year group. C.J
Macalindong and Timmy O’Riordan, accompanied by Oscar O’Corráin on violin,
shared a powerful reflection called, A Creed to Live by’.
Br Simon offered a prayer of blessing then to the Leaving Certs students, their parents/families, staff and friends.
At the next part of the ceremony Tim Callanan spoke on behalf of his Leaving Cert
group. He emphasised the importance of their ‘working/learning together as
something particularly significant for this group as they had faced unprecedented
challenges in their earlier years due to the pandemic. It was clear from Tim’s speech
that they did not allow that challenge to define them as a group.
To conclude the ceremony, Eoin Byrne (Past Pupil) shared his experience of being a
student in Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh. Eoin has such an interesting story to tell as
he was involved in every aspect of school life here and he returns every year to
share his experience with T.Y students. However, he captured the attention of
students and parents yesterday when he told them about the career paths he has
pursued. He made very significant changes along the careers route. His message
resonated so much with students who are still unsure about the direction in which
they are going.
Ms Moriarty invited everyone to share in refreshments served by T.Y students. Students, parents, families, grandparents, staff and guests were delighted with this opportunity to get together and enjoy such a joyous event with over 400 people present.
