Congratulations to Abbey School principal John Kiely who has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate

Abbey School Principal and Limerick hurling manager John Kiely who was conferred with an honorary doctorate with his wife Louise and daughters Aoife and Ruth at the University of Limerick

placeholder image — Abbey School Principal and Limerick hurling manager John Kiely who was conferred with an honorary doctorate with his wife Louise and daughters Aoife and Ruth at the University of Limerick

Well done!

Congratulations to Abbey School principal John Kiely who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from University of Limerick.

At the ceremony John was described as "one of the great sporting leaders of our time" by UL president Kerstin Mey. This is a wonderful honour for John and we are all very proud of him.

In his speech, John said that he was very honoured and grateful to be joining previous recipients "from all walks of life, many of whom I have admired throughout my life".

Present at the ceremony was a host of his famous charges including Limerick captain Declan Hannon and teammate Cian Lynch, GAA president Larry McCarthy, and JP McManus, sponsor of the Limerick hurling team.

During the ceremony, there was a moment's applause in memory of UL alumna, former staff member, and honorary doctorate recipient Vicky Phelan who had passed away the previous day.

Everyone in the Abbey School would like to congratulate our former Deputy Principal Tom O'Donoghue on being awarded a Laochra Gael GAA award from Tipperary GAA.

The awards are presented to honour people who have given significant service to the GAA in whatever capacity. His contribution to GAA in our school has been a corner stone to many of our successes.

Tom has held many positions in the Arravale Rovers GAA club as a player, senior and juvenile chairman, coach and referee.

Tom also wrote a history of the club and continues to be a great help to both his club and to the school.

The award to Tom is richly deserved.