'First time since 1989 a school from Tipperary has won the competition'

It was a really special Monday morning on January 16 in Tipperary Town as the community came out in force to welcome home the heroes of the BT Young Scientist competition.

It was a memorable Friday 13th for Shane O’Connor and Liam Carew, aged 18 and in Sixth Year in The Abbey School, as they were announced winners of the 59th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE). Shane and Liam won with their project which was titled: “Assessing the impact of second-level education on key aspects of adolescents’ life and development”.

The cold frosty morning on Monday didn’t deter people from coming out onto the streets to see Shane and Liam being paraded through the town in an open top car. It has been a long time since there were such scenes of happiness and joy in the town as national media took centre stage with a “good news story” and a really important boost for the town.

A major national award for Tipperary Town made for a very special weekend for the boys and for the community of Tipperary and it was a really special event as the boys made their way in an open top car and with a garda escort for the occasion. As they made their way through the Market Yard the excitement was palpable and it was quite a sight to see the Abbey students form a Guard of Honour all the way from the Kickham statue down Kickham Place and to the school grounds.

The homecoming heroes were cheered all the way through the school grounds and into the school hall where they were met by a rapturous welcome from the huge crowd.

Abbey students, teachers and staff, past pupils and past teachers, Board of Management reps, primary school pupils and teachers and members of the wider community had packed into the school hall to hear principal John Kiely welcome the vast crowd and the guests of honour and to hear that this was a “significant victory for Tipperary Town”.

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