Prize Day 2006
Prize Day 2006 took place on Friday 27th October with Guest of Honour Ms. Emily O’Reilly Ombudsman. The Platform Party included the Chairman of the Board of Governors Mr. Don Brown; the Headmaster Mr. Philip Gray; the Bishop the Rt. Revd Michael Burrows; the President of the Parents; Association Mr. Henry Yates; the President of the Past Pupils’ Association Mr. Aubrey Nuzum; and the Deputy Principal Mr. Aubrey O’Keeffe.
The music was provided by the Choirs and Orchestra of the school under the direction of Mr. David Milne and Ms. Nicola O’Mahoney.
Pieces performed were the first movement of Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, the Sanctus from Fauré’s Requiem (the Chamber Choir) and “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” by U2 arranged by Mr. Milne and the proceedings concluded with the Choir and Orchestra performing the College Anthem “Comme je trouve”.
Ms. O’Reilly’s Address (abridged):
For those of you who don't know what I do, it's really quite simple; I deal with complaints from members of the public who feel they haven't been treated fairly by the Government; maybe they haven't received a particular social welfare benefit, or a farming subsidy, maybe they feel that they're paying too much for their stay in a nursing home; maybe they don't know when they will secure a local authority house or maybe it's something much simpler than that, a parking fine they didn't deserve or maybe they're upset because someone in a Government department hasn't replied to their letters. I decide who's right and who's wrong after I investigate the complaint and make recommendations accordingly.
I am also mother of five children, one in fifth year, one in first year, one in sixth class, one in fourth class and one in first class. So, you can take it from that, that I am reasonably up to speed on BEBO, MSN messaging; You Tube, My Space, and all of the other internet distractions that even my seven year old seems to be aware of. I have learned to become very, very quiet indeed when I walk into the room where we have the computer to try and see what they're up to before they spot me and hit the Clear History button. One of the disadvantages that my children have to cope with however is that I was a journalist for twenty years and their father is a computer whiz so they know that they run the risk of having their parents hack into their computers if we suspect they're up to something. Even passwords are easy to deduce if you know your child really well. So be careful out there.
Parents and guardians are like that. Sneaky. They have to be sneaky sometimes because they are anxious to know as much as possible about what is going on in their child's life. Adolescents, on the other hand, want their parents to know as little as possible about what they're doing in the more private parts of their lives, not because they're doing anything bad but because the act of growing up involves separating, breaking away from your parents, and having your own personal space is part of that.
What can also infuriate teenagers and even younger children is the claim by their parents that they know "what they're going through" because they were young once as well. I say it to my own children and every now and then I realise how ridiculous it sounds. Yes, you might once have been the same chronological age as your child but you inhabited a world and a time so vastly different that you might as well say that you know what it's like to live on the North Pole simply because Ireland and the North Pole share the same planet.
Most parents of my generation, when they acknowledge differences, will point to the very recent arrival of the internet as the greatest change that has taken place in our lives. For my parents generation, your grandparents generation, it was probably the arrival of the car and the television. For us, it is astonishing that access to information can be achieved so quickly and so comprehensively. There is scarcely any field of knowledge that cannot now be downloaded at the click of a mouse. The benefits are obvious and massive. You no longer have to search and
find the world, the world comes to you, to your kitchen or living room or bedroom. The internet opens up that world and exposes all the choices that you can make out there; choices about where to go, or what to listen to, or what to learn, or what to buy, or who to talk to. That choice can be exhilarating but it can also be scary. There is so much information out there about so many things that people run the risk of becoming paralysed by indecision. The internet has also become a destination in itself for many teenagers, a sort of stage where you can parade yourself and put yourself out there or at least the version of yourself that you want out there. I think that that's both a brave and a scary thing to do. Brave, because you put yourself out there and you will be scrutinised and judged, scary because by exposing yourself you leave yourself open to that judgement by the world which may not be the sort of judgement that you feel you deserve.
My generation had to fight hard to get the very few jobs that were around in the 1980s, many people, as you know, had to leave the country to find work. Nowadays, we have what economists call, full employment and with it, what I call the tyranny of choice. Time and time again I come across young people who can't decide on, or settle into a career because they're not absolutely sure it's for them, or because they think that there must be something better or more exciting somewhere else, so they drift, doing a bit of study, travelling a bit, maybe working a bit, all the time looking for the perfect job. It's not like that for everyone of course. Some people, because of family circumstances, or because they haven't achieved what they hoped to achieve in school or college have to settle for something less than they might have wished for. They get a job, are glad of it, even if they don't like it that much and engage in a similar sort of drift, passing the years, getting the wage, though ultimately getting little satisfaction from what they're doing and feeling that they're wasting their lives. But if you have a certain attitude of mind that tells you that you are going to succeed because you simply want to.
The challenge for your generation is not just to find a job, it is to find a career path in which you will be happy and fulfilled and in which you will make a contribution which will lead to better things not just for you and for your families but for other people as well. Nobody can really advise you on that although good career guidance will help. But guard against being pigeonholed; dig down deep inside yourself and work out where you want to go, what will make you happy and fulfilled.
I want to address a few words in particular to the young women in this room, to the girls. In some ways you might think that you will have easier choices than the boys. You might, despite the career opportunities that are now afforded to your generation of Irish women, think that in a few years time you'll marry, have a family and leave the workplace. There might even be family or other social pressures on you to do just that. It has been and will continue to be a fine choice for many women, but keep in mind nonetheless that the talents that God sprinkled around the world were sprinkled equally on the heads of men and women and that men too are more than capable of changing a nappy. I believe that women have a particular role to play in developing good things for that wider community. We are different, we have different emotional and even intellectual responses to events and to people and we need to bring that difference to bear on the world. What would this country be like if more women were involved at the centre of power, in politics, at the top levels in our administration, in our universities, in our industries. We, as women, have a duty to ourselves and to our society to make an impact on that public world, perhaps in the world of paid work, perhaps in the world of volunteerism. We cannot retreat solely to the domestic world when there are so many problems out there that need our help to fix.
There are practical reasons also for keeping a toe in the public world. Family life is not as secure as it once was, families sadly break up, both men and women in those situations often need to work to enable the family to carry on. And even in families that stay together it's worth remembering that children grow up, rearing children is only going to take up a part of your life, we all need to plan ahead for the day that ends. Feminism is not just about equality in the workplace and elsewhere, it is about feminising the world, bringing to bear on the world the unique characteristics of women and not have our society dominated by one gender, wonderful and all as that gender truly is.
As for the boys, many people believe that the world today is a far more difficult one for boys than it is for girls. The girls are beginning to make great strides in all spheres of life, even though they still have a lot of catching up to do. The girls can still choose to remain at home, while the role of the boys, of the men, has become less clear. A generation ago, your role was very clearly mapped out, you were the provider, your life was dominated by your work, and the family was very much under your control. Many young men nowadays are less clear about what their role should be.
Yet it shouldn't be so difficult to figure out. Like women you have a role to play in both the private and public sphere and your generation is actually luckier than those that went before you, you will be encouraged, even forced, to play a far greater role within the family, to engage much more with your children than perhaps your grandparents did.
Your time here will flash by but how you decide to make use of that time may determine much of what you do in your future lives.
AWARDS:
Bill Corrigan Memorial Award –
awarded to the student from the Junior Certificate year who made an outstanding effort
and showed great endeavour during the year.
Mark Drought, David Moynan, Elise Doyle and Catherine Eager
Mayne Cup & Past Pupils’ Prize – “The Diligence Cup’ is awarded to the pupil who has made best use of their time in the school. [Mainly for academic diligence and achievement but including participation in all school activities].
David Brennan.
Guinness Trophy – (formerly “The Deportment Prize”) is awarded to the girl who would best have represented the school e.g. in speech, manner and deportment.
Sarah Porter.
Bishop’s Prize – is awarded to the pupil who has most exemplified the Christian
spirit throughout their time in Kilkenny College.
Richard Hobson.
Lipsett Library Prize is awarded to the student who has contributed most to the running of the library and has encouraged others to use and enjoy the library.
Alana Power.
Kilkenny College Parents Association Prize is awarded to the student who came first in his Leaving Certificate
Class (with 600 points). David Brennan.
L.C. CLASS 200 STUDENTS OVER 500 POINTS
In order of achievement: David Brennan Medicine UCD; Simon Lanngartner Medicine Munich; William Hynes Gap Year; Sarah Porter Pharmacy in TCD; Emily Cunningham History and Politics in TCD; Harry Fogg (GFG) Engineering TCD; Evin Lee Electrical and Electronic Engineering UCD; Sean Rafter Law with French Law UCD; Julie Starrett Psychology French UCD; Alana Power Physiotherapy UCD; Cora Deacon Ocupational Therapy TCD; Simon Kiersey Engineering UCD; Megan Tyner International Arts UCD; Emma McGahey Primary Education C.of .I College of Education; Alison Murphy Science TCD; Andrew Denham Optometry DIT; Kevin Murphy (Marianne Murphy) Ancient History and Archaeology TCD; Jessica Rothwell (Primary Education C.of .I College of Education; Jennifer Matthews (Hazel Potterton) Nursing TCD/Adelaide Hospital.
SUBJECT PRIZES
First Year Scripture: Sarah Mabelson; Chemistry: Simon Lanngartner; Physics: Maurice Hamilton; Religious Education Scripture: Sean Rafter; Freddie Gould Prize For Agricultural Science:Graham Haslam;
The Dorothy Fulcher Prize for French: Sarah Porter; Irish: David Brennan; The Helen Batwell Prize for Art: Rebecca Leech; Construction Studies: John Lutrell; The Naylor-Horan Cup for a wind instrument: Andrea Jacob; Music: Jason Boland; Engineering : Herbie Bagnall; The Chamney Prize for German: Jen Matthews; Economics: William Hynes; Accounting: William Hynes; Maths : Evin Lee;
The Sherwood Cup for Computers: Jeremy Sterling; Applied Maths: Harry Fogg; Faulkner Prize Technical Drawing: Harry Fogg; English: Tim Dukelow; The Sam McClure Prize for Geography (Shared): Sarah Porter/Leanne Stoddart; History: Jason Elkin; Biology: Alana Power; LCVP: Aoife Quill.
Class Prizes
CLASS 2005/6
FIRST YEAR: Alexandra Hamilton, Robert Bennett, Suzanne Williams, Edward Oakes, Ben Jacob, Ben Jacob, Emily Murtagh, Christine Healy, Tom McIntyre, Margaruite Callnan,
Nicola Murphy, Clive Stanley.
SECOND YEAR: Elizabeth Sterling, Eva Hendy, Laura Ridgeway, Hazel Beattie, Nadia Mahfoud, Wesley Smyth, Helena Hughes, Gillian Willis, Vivien Minnet, Rachel Lett, Gabriella Kavanagh, Amy Coyle.
JUNIOR CERTIFICATE 6 or more “A”: Elise Doyle, Robert Collier, Mark Drought, Patricia O’Morchoe, David Moynan, Ross Comerford, Rachel Atkinson/Alan Meredith, Katie O’Sullivan,
Catherine Eager/Steven Willis, Dean Wilson, Lyndsay Baker/Jill Condell, Megan Roark-Shannon, Sheebani Jondhali/Megan Paterson, Steven Brennan.
FOURTH YEAR: Gavin Hill, Ethan Braithwaite, Maurice Hamilton, Hannah Fogg, Edwina Handbidge, Sarah Salm, Wendy Hodgins, Linnae Bel-Maguire, Frances O’Morchoe, Freddie O’Sullivan.
FIFTH YEAR: Tim Dukelow, Dayle Johnson, Sarah Gethings, Mark Harris, Dayle Johnston, Susan Herbert, Fraser Rath, Sheena Mahon, Emma Rothwell, Robert Colton.
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