St Louis, Monaghan Annual Awards Ceremony
The Annual Awards Ceremony at St Louis Secondary School, Monaghan took place in Halla San
Lughaidh on Tuesday, 12th May. Miss Vera O’Brien, Principal, opened the ceremony by extending a
warm welcome to staff, students, members of the Board of Management and representatives of the
Parents’ Association. She emphasised the importance of recognising and acknowledging the
outstanding achievements and contributions to school life of so many students in the school, and
she expressed the wish that others would be inspired to follow their example.
The ceremony commenced with a beautiful rendition of “California Dream” by Transition Year
students, accompanied on piano by Miss Caroline Duffy. The first award went to Laura McPhillips ,
who came second in the National Career Skills Competition in May 2014. She received her award
from Mrs Hughes who commended her on being successful in the competition for the second year in
a row.
ACADEMIC ATTAINMENTS
Miss O’Brien, Principal, introduced the awards for academic attainments by congratulating the
Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate classes of 2014 on their excellent results. She congratulated
Aislinn McPhillips on achieving the highest points in the exam, and on being presented with an
Entrance Exhibition Prize at Trinity College, Dublin. Aislinn’s sister, Laura, accepted the award on her
behalf. Three students from the Junior Certificate classes-Evanne McCaffrey, Amy Caulfield, Lauren
Murphy- were acknowledged for their excellent results and were presented with their awards by
Miss O’Brien.
SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS
Six awards were presented to students who achieved outstanding success in a variety of sports. The
first award went to sisters Alex and Amy Mulligan, who were selected to play on the North East
Basketball Team, and having played some of the best teams in Ireland were later selected from a
panel of 120 for the U/15 Irish Basketball Panel. They received their award from Mrs Lappin. The
next award, also presented by Mrs Lappin, went to another very talented basketball player, Verity
Gunn O’Connor, who has been selected to play on the All-Ireland U/18 Basketball Team. The next
award went to the First Year Basketball Team who reached the All-Ireland Schools’ Final(A League)
and can be justifiably proud of their runner-up medals. They received their award from their coach,
Mrs Lappin, who expressed her gratitude to Mrs Delma Mulligan, Blackwater Steelers Basketball
Club, for her invaluable assistance in coaching the team.
Awards for success in swimming were presented by Miss O’Leary to two talented swimmers-Niamh
Collins and Alannah Leonard-who have represented the school at Provincial and National level and
have achieved outstanding success. Athletes from St Louis took part in the first Interschools’
Triathlon Event held in March of this year, and recorded many successes on the day. Pride of place
went to Caoimhe Cudden, a second year student, who was the overall winner in the Junior Girls’
Individual Section. To acknowledge her success, she was presented with an award by Miss O’Leary.
The next award went to 11 athletes who were successful in the Ulster Schools’ District D Track and
Field Event on Thursday, 7th May, and also qualified for the next stage of the competition. Miss
O’Leary presented the award to Caoimhe O’Hanlon, Amy Monahan, Caoimhe Cudden, Hannah Finn,
Edel Holland, Isobel Doyle, Cathy Fox, Verity Gunn O’Connor, Lucy McDonnell, Sinéad McGuirk and
Leagh Barry.
SCIENCE and MATHS
Success in Science and Maths, which has been synonymous with St Louis, continued in the academic
year 2014/15. Three Leaving Certificate students-Roberta Ceginskaite, Harriet Gunn O’Connor, Agota
Simkute-participated in the Regional Science Quiz Final, performed exceptionally well to take first
place in the event, and went on to the National Finals which were held in Trinity College, Dublin.
They received their award from Miss Finnerty. The next award went to Emma Neeson who
participated in the online problem-solving challenge in the Irish Bebras Computing Contest, and was
awarded a Gold Certificate. To acknowledge her achievement, Emma was presented with an award
by Miss McNulty. The next award went to Caoimhe Fitzgerald for her success in the Maths Eyes
Competition. Caoimhe was shortlisted for her poster entitled “Nature’s Perfect Symmetry”, and was
presented with a prize by Minister Jan O’Sullivan at the Department of Education and Skills. To
acknowledge her success, Caoimhe was presented with an award by Mrs Myers.
At this point in the ceremony, Ellen McAteer, a second year student, entertained all present with her
beautiful singing.
ART and ENTERPRISE
Rachel McKenna, Transition Year, was presented with an award for her success in the Chapter Finals
of the Credit Union Art Competition, and for winning a Special Merit Award in Category A of the
Texaco Art Competition. Rachel received her award from Miss McNulty, Year Head of Transition
Year. The next award went to two Transition Year students-Hannah Kelly and Ellen Myers-for their
success in the County Finals of the Student Enterprise Awards. Their mini-company, “Luscious Lips”,
won the prize for the best display on the day. They received their award from their Business teacher,
Miss McGuirk, who coached and mentored them to success.
DEBATING and POETRY
The award for success in the Junior MACE Debating Competition was introduced by Mr Fitzgerald
who complimented the students on reaching the National Finals of this prestigious competition. He
also congratulated Áine McElwaine on winning the “best First Year speaker” award at the Ulster
MACE Debating Final. To recognise their achievements, Miss Claire Duffy presented awards to
Rebecca Boyce, Isabel Doyle, Hannah Finn, Caoimhe Fitzgerald, Laura Hughes, Emma Hurson, Ellen
McAteer, Ella McKenny and Áine McElwaine. The next award went to Megan Nar, a First Year
student, who is this year’s Junior and Overall winner of the Poetry Aloud competition. Megan was
presented with the Seamus Heaney Poetry Aloud Trophy by poet, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, and later
featured on the RTE1 programme “The Works” where she recited Eavan Boland’s poignant poem
“Quarantine”. To recognise her outstanding success, Megan was presented with an award by Mr
Fitzgerald, and later enthralled staff, students and guests with her recitation of her prize-winning
poem.
LEADERSHIP
Leadership skills are recognised in St Louis as key skills which enable students to contribute to the
betterment of society, and are encouraged at every level. Students are facilitated in achieving the
President’s Award( Gaisce), and are actively encouraged to reach the highest level possible. Róisín
Dick, a Sixth Year student, received an award from Mrs Hughes to acknowledge her success in
achieving the Silver Award. Seventeen students who have been successful in achieving the Bronze
Award were also presented with an award by Mrs Hughes.
For the third successive year, a student from St Louis was selected in the top 20 youth volunteers to
receive a Pramerica Spirit of Community Award which honours and celebrates youth volunteerism.
Róisín Dick was selected from hundreds of volunteers across the island of Ireland to receive an
award in recognition of the exemplary work she carries out in her local community and further
afield. To celebrate her success, Róisín was presented with an award by Miss O’Brien. In recognition
of their valuable leadership role within the school, the Honorary Coiste and Coiste(School Council),
Head Girl, Kathleen Connolly and Deputy Head Girl, Leagh Barry were presented with awards by
their mentor, Mrs Graham, who worked tirelessly with the girls to help them realise their potential.
PERPETUAL AWARDS
The final part of the ceremony involved the presentation of Perpetual Shields. The Meánscoil
Lughaidh Shield, sponsored by the Parents’ Association, was presented to the MACE Debating Team
for their success in reaching the All-Ireland Final of the competition. The presentation was made by
Mr Fabian Murphy on behalf of the Parents’ Association. The Award for Excellence, sponsored by the
Board of Management, was presented to the cast and crew of “All Shook Up”, the Transition Year
musical, and to their musical director, Miss Caroline Duffy. The award was presented by Mrs
Margaret Oliphant on behalf of the Board of Management. The Fiona Kieran Memorial Shield is
presented annually in memory of Fiona Kieran, a multi-talented student who excelled in many areas
of school life. This year’s recipient, Róisín Dick, also excelled in many areas, and was presented with
the Shield by Mrs Watson, her Year Head, who spoke of Róisín as an inspiration to all students. The
Pauline Devlin Memorial Shield was presented for the first time in memory of Pauline Devlin, a much
loved teacher at St Louis who died just over a year ago. The Shield was presented to the First Year
Basketball Team and their coach, Mrs Lappin, by Mr Noel Woods, brother-in-law of Pauline. The
Outstanding Achievement Award, sponsored by staff at St Louis, was presented to Megan Nar who
recorded a truly outstanding achievement in winning the Junior and Overall categories of Poetry
Aloud. Mrs Conlon, Deputy Principal, made the presentation on behalf of the staff.
The ceremony concluded with traditional music from the very talented Trad Group.