Kildare students recognised at event hosted by RTE presenter

ABOVE:  RTE Newsreader Ray Kennedy, Chief Executive of KWETB Deirdre Keyes, runner up in the national ETB bursary for Media & Communications, Corey Talbot from St Farnan’s Post Primary School and bursary sponsor Judy Hopkins of Hopkins Communications.

Learners – past and present – from Kildare & Wicklow ETB were recognised for their excellence at a special event in Thomond Park on Thursday, run by Education and Training Boards Ireland, as part of its national ‘ETB Week’ celebrations.

Hosted by RTÉ newsreader and former ETB student, Ray Kennedy, a variety of awards were presented on the day. These included the ETB Alumni awards, which were presented to 17 former ETB learners who have achieved excellence in their chosen field or made an outstanding contribution to their local community.

Also awarded on the day were four ETB Bursaries. These were presented to exceptional current ETB learners to support their future study, entrepreneurship or community activism in the areas of Technology & AI, Green Innovation, Media & Communications and the Irish Language. Each bursary was valued at €5,000 and includes professional support. Runners up were awarded €500.

Among the successes from Kildare & Wicklow ETB were:

• Simon Cross, former student at local ETB school in Rathangan and now owner of innovative agricultural engineering firm ‘Cross Engineering’ was presented with an alumni award.
• Corey Talbot from St Farnan’s Post Primary School was runner for the Media & Communications Bursary. Corey is a stop motion animator with a passion for Lego who aspires to enter the film industry as a director or screenwriter.

Other notable alumni nominees were Olympian Sarah Lavin, former education editor of the Irish Independent Katherine Donnelly and campaigner Vicky Phelan, whose family received a standing ovation from the 200+ attendees.

Entertainment was provided by a rock group comprising ETB learners and staff who inspired a national carpool karaoke competition, and Limerick based rappers MuRli and God Knows Jonas.

Congratulating the winners of the awards, Paddy Lavelle, Chief Executive of ETBI said: “Excellence in education and training across all sixteen ETBs in the country – through their current and past students is really on display today, and I congratulate all our winners on their achievements. Their stories show us the power in education, and how it can have a pivotal impact on your life’s path.

“I would like to commend our ETBs – they continue to go above and beyond to create diverse, accessible and effective learning opportunities in all corners of the country – impacting communities and ensuring people nationwide have access to education – regardless of what stage of life they are at.”

Further information is available at: https://events.etbi.ie/ETBWEEK2024