Coláiste Chú Chulainn Dundalk hold student awards

Coláiste Chú Chulainn Dundalk hosted former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at its annual awards ceremony last week. Mr Ahern helped celebrate the achievements of over 120 students. The event recognised outstanding performances in various categories, including 80 students who achieved full attendance, subject awards, sports achievements, and academic excellence.

Cllr Marianne Butler opened proceedings and expressed her pride in being appointed the chairperson of the school's board of management. She congratulated students, families and staff for all of their efforts.

Mr Ahern congratulated the students on their successes. He commented on the strong culture of success in the school and the great reputation it has achieved in its first 10 years in existence. Mr Ahern spoke to the students about the importance of dialogue in achieving success.

He mentioned the enjoyable visit of President Bill Clinton to Dundalk and commended the many people from the area who worked tirelessly as part of the Irish Peace Process. Bertie Ahern also remarked that his school days were tougher than now, with lessons also taking place on a Saturday morning.

Student Ambassadors addressed Mr Ahern and made the following remarks:

"Mr Ahern, Bertie. Look around you. Look at the society and community we have built together here in Coláiste Chú Chulainn. This evening, in our homes, we will speak up to 46 different languages. But we will all speak about the same things – school, friends, sport, family, and who will do the washing up.

“This week, we will all pray and worship in different temples, churches, mosques and community houses. But we will pray for the same things – peace, understanding and justice.

“We will train in our sports this evening – because we have an All Ireland Basketball Final to win on Thursday. On our teams, we all have different positions, strengths and roles – but combining them together, we hope to win as a team.

“As young people, we want an economy that will help all of us provide for our families and our communities. But we need an economy that will not destroy the land we eat from, the water we drink or the air that we breathe. Many wars have been fought over land, water, oil and gas.

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“So, we want a new economy that does not rely on the old fossil fuels. We want energy that is renewable and an environment that is clean. We want an economy that does not cause war, division, inequality or disaster.

“So, in the coming weeks and months, we suspect that you will be meeting a lot of people. Tell them about us. Tell them about the community of 900 young people in Coláiste Chú Chulainn who work, study, train, play and celebrate together. Tell them about the world we want to live in and are determined to make for ourselves and others."

The main prize winners were:

Sportsperson of the Year: Sophie McMeel ,Joseph Osagie , Christos Kostopoulos, Grace Reilly, Franciszek Chmieleck

Academic Student of the Year: George Bombea, Dominik Majewski, Kate White, Guoda Jerofenko, Makhdoom Haider Ali Rashid

Student of the Year: Chizitere Anyanwu, Joshua Osaghae, Victoria Amao, Oluwatomi Olagbemiro, Cedric Saavedra

Cú Chulainn Awards: Junior Cycle Emeka Umeh Senior Cycle Alice Adeyemo