May 28, 2018
Congratulations to all our students
for their academic successes!
2015 – 2016
Comhghairdeas le Buaiteoirí na Chéad Bhliana
a Ghlac Páirt i gComórtas le haghaidh
Lá Eorpach na dTeangacha.
2015
Guide a Key… read more
2014
Essay Competition : “I Should Have Listened”
Write a short story which includes the words ‘I should have listened’.
English Essay by Siún Ní Cheallaigh
Hooves collided with frozen snow to create rhythmic thudding sounds as a troop of armoured men rode north through snow-capped mountains. The resonant pounding of the horses’ hooves reverberated through the mountain range as the sound bounced from one icy tower to the next. In the end it was difficult to tell what direction it came from if the group was out of your sight.
Brilliant reds and royal blues billowed behind the mounted men as their cloaks rippled and flapped in the wind. Their faces were relatively expressionless and their eyes narrowed, in the hopes of keeping the cold air from affecting their vision or causing their eyes to water. If they had had much of a say in the matter, they wouldn’t have ventured out this far into the frigid unknown of this mountainous wasteland. But as explorers or adventurers of the realm, they had been ordered to journey further south and report any findings. People were still wary of the unknown, but growing a lot more curious. They wanted to know whether the legends of monstrous mountain beasts, told by the elderly, were true or not.
“Madley! You’re lagging behind!” boomed one of the leading riders, Commander Emure. His voice was loud, and even though he needed to be loud to be heard over the pounding of horses, his voice was probably bordering too loud. Too loud for a mountainous area anyway, especially with the avalanche risks.
“You shouldn’t be so loud sir— the legends say that giant beasts sleep inside these mountains,” warned the commander’s squire as his horse caught up again to side with his master’s.
“Never mind your bedtime stories. There isn’t anything dangerous here other than this weather. Now, do you see any passage through the spires up ahead?”
Raising a copper-coloured telescope and peering through, the boy tightly clutched his horse’s reins with his free hand. “No sir, it’s all blocked up ahead. We’ll need to turn back and find a different route,” he responded while dropping the telescope again to grab his reins with both hands, not yet that confident on his horse.
With a curt nod, the commander yelled another order, perhaps slightly louder than the previous time, if possible, and the group curved a sharp u-turn as they turned back the way they came. Eventually the accumulation of thunderous sounds, both of the horses and yelling men, was enough.
The frozen ground began to shudder and with a rumble the earth cracked, crevices splitting through the ice like veins. Alarmed neighs filled the air as numerous horses skidded to a halt, some stopping in time while others weren’t so lucky. Riders were thrown off as their mounts either tripped or bucked them out of their saddles out of fear. Commander Emure managed to veer away from the largest of the crevices, and only had a second to presume he was out of harm’s way, before the ground then started to rise as if a new mountain was being born.
Snow and ice rained down on riders, and those unlucky enough to not have time to get out of the way were pummelled to the ground. When the commander next had the chance to look up, presuming to see some sort of rock formation, he paled at the sight of a giant Wyrm; a winged serpent-like creature believed only to exist in tales. And that had only been its head that broke up from the ice-covered ground. The rest of its massive body was breaking free from the surrounding masses of snow, along with a tail that instantly knocked more riders cold with one swish.
Now it was only the dragon and the commander that remained, reptilian eyes focusing upon him while his horse kicked and reared. ‘Oh gods— I should have listened,’ was his only thought as he was faced with impending death, one hand lowering to pull a longsword from its sheathe. He might as well go down fighting, even if there wasn’t as much as a sliver of a chance for him.
1st and 2nd Year Awards 2014
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3rd and 5th Year Awards 2014
Desmond College TYs meet Ryan at Junior Achievement Awards!
Students Kiara Carroll, Julie Cantillon, Eoin O’Keeffe, James O’Connor and Bryan Hennessy were delighted to meet RTÉs Ryan Tubridy at the Junior Achievement Awards. The Transition Year students who had great success at the Competition were thrilled to get so much attention and chat from the RTE celebrity.
2013
IMTA JUNIOR MATHS COMPETITION
Congratulations to Emily Duffy, a first year student who got through to the regional final of the IMTA Maths Competition in Castletroy College, on 26th of April 2013.
She is pictured here with her Maths teacher, Ms. A. Hernon.
Leaving Certificate students meet Minister Frances Fitzgerald
Jennifer McGuinness, Michelle Murphy, Billy Lyons, Robert Toomey and Andrew Barrett
outside Government Buildings with their Certificates.
On Monday 12th May, five Leaving Certificate students accompanied by their Principal, were invited to a Schools’ Business Partnership Presentation Ceremony following participation in a two year Mentoring Programme.
This programme which paired Desmond College with local business Britvic Ballygowan was a huge success. Students from the school were paired with employees from Ballygowan who mentored them and guided them. They worked on areas such as CVs, organisational skills, interview techniques, etc.
Both mentors and students found the experience of the programme extremely worthwhile. At the Ceremony which took place in Government Buildings Marlborough Street, Michelle Murphy who was chosen as the student voice to represent the students from the ten schools involved, spoke about how the programme had helped her to remain focused and committed to her studies and helped her to set achievable goals for herself by working closely with her mentor Trish.
Thanks must go the Donal Enright who co ordinates the programme in Desmond College, to Eileen Fitzgerald from SBP, to the Mentors from Ballygowan but especially Jimmy Lee without whose support this invaluable link between school and Business would not happen.
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2012 – 2013
Transition year students at Desmond College travelled to Dail Eireann on Wednesday 24th of April to highlight their campaign to the government that free cardiac screening should be mandatory for all young people in Ireland.
The students briefed the Ministers, the Health Committee and also had a private meeting with An Taoiseach Enda Kenny on why they would like to see a situation in Ireland, where cardiac screening is the norm for all people under the age of 35.
They also spoke about all the hard work they have done to date to create awareness about this issue and strengthen their campaign. The Taoiseach was very positive and commended the students on all the work that they have done. The students are doing this project as part of Young Social Innovators where their ultimate goal is to have free screening available to all people in Ireland under the age of thirty-five.
This project was motivated by the loss of two young people both of whom were very special and important in the lives of this Transition Year class and Desmond College- Niamh Herlihy and Darra O’Donovan. This is a huge achievement for the school and one which the class are very proud of. It’s not often that you get a private meeting with the Taoiseach of the country!
This was further reinforced on Friday when the students of Desmond College received a personal letter from An Taoiseach congratulating them on their efforts to date and assuring them that he is behind this project 100 percent. It’s comforting to know that students in Desmond College understand the value of protecting young people from heart defects in this country and are willing to work hard to make it happen.
This TY project has successfully reached the Final of the Young Social Innovator Competition being held in Dublin on 8th May. A second TY project called Beat The Blues, aimed at raising awareness of mental health issues, has also got a place in the Final.
Transition Year students from Desmond College took part in the prestigious Young Social Innovator Competition which was held in City West Hotel Dublin on May 8th. This competition, founded by Sr. Stanislause Kennedy, encourages young students to take part in a social activity, to believe in it, act on it and change the world for good.
The TY class from Desmond College succeeded in getting two projects into the competition. The Beat the Blues project aimed at raising awareness of mental health issues and the Cardiac Screening Campaign focused on mandatory screening of young people for SADS.
As part of this campaign the TY Class, along with their teacher Ms Ciara Broderick, met the Health Committee and An Taoiseach Enda Kenny for a private meeting, to discuss the implementation of mandatory screening. It was with great joy and delighted that the TY class won a Young Social Innovator Award for their campaign.
However they all agreed that while they were delighted with their prestigious Award, their ultimate goal is to have free screening available to all people in Ireland under the age of thirty-five. This project was motivated by the loss of two young people, both of whom were very special and important in the lives of this Desmond College Transition Year Class and it is a project goal that all are determined to achieve.
Young Social Innovators believes young people are a powerful force in a community and one which can bring about change for good. This TY class certainly live up to this description of young people and are worthy winners of the Award.
_ Bank of Ireland Awards 2013
Bank of Ireland Student of the Year 2012
A Junior Certificate student who won the Bank of Ireland Student of the Year Award for outstanding results achieved in his examinations.
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Bank of Ireland Awards for Top Students
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Two students from Desmond College received a special award from Bank of Ireland after receiving the results of their Junior and Leaving Certificate Examinations this year. Both students received their awards for achieving exceptional results in their state exams.
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2012
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Congratulations to all our students for their academic successes!
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2011
National Student Awards 2011
Congratulations to James Keenan receiving a National Award for his Leaving Certificate Construction Studies.
Josephine Baker Research Published
Desmond College Leaving Certificate History student, Joanne Dowling, pictured with History teacher Ms. White, had her new research on “Josephine Baker” published by www.blackpast.org.
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2010 – 2011
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2012-2013 Leaving Certificate Results
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2012-2013 Awards
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2012 Junior Certificate
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2011 Junior Certificate
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Newly appointed Deputy Principal, Ms. Elizabeth Cregan congratulating students who received their Junior Cert results on Wednesday, 14th September 2011.Ms. Cregan said it was wonderful to see students’ hard work being rewarded.
2011 Bank of Ireland Top Students
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Two students from Desmond College received a special award from Bank of Ireland after receiving the results of their Junior and Leaving Certificate Examinations this year.
Both students received their awards for achieving exceptional results in their state exams.