Alumni Newsletter - November 2023

17-June-24
Alumni Newsletter - November 2023

Dear Past Pupils of St. Finian's College,

Thank you for signing up to our past pupils' portal on our school website. We have so much to share with you about what has been happening in the college so far this academic year as well as the host of events to look forward to between now and Christmas.

Transition Year students have been busy rehearsing for their musical production of the School of Rock which takes place at the end of December. This is the fifth TY musical hosted by the college and has the largest cast of students involved since our first TY production back in 2019. This year's musical is particularly special as the stage in the school gym will be extended to account for the large cast. It will also be a special performance as it is the first TY production where students will perform with instruments live on stage. The show will take place on the 14th, 15th and 16th of December.

Our annual Awards Night was held at the end of September where the many achievements of our students both past and present were celebrated. We were lucky to have some very special guests in attendance, including three of our past pupils; Virgin Media and Newstalk Journalist Gavan Reilly, Journalism student Ellie-Anne Smith, and Primary School student teacher Enda Keating. Gavan spoke to parents, staff and students about his time at St. Finian's College and the lasting impact the school has had on his career. He presented a special award for journalism to Fiona Lawlor of the class of 2023. Fiona is currently studying journalism at NUIG. Ellie-Anne and Enda performed I Dreamed a Dream from the hit musical Les Miserables before presenting awards to last year's winners of the school's annual talent show.

The German Department at St. Finian's organised yet another successful exchange programme with Gymnasium Maria Stern, Augsburg. The relationship between the two schools over the years has resulted in such a positive educational experience for students from both countries in improving and developing their language skills. Students who completed the exchange programme this year said it was an experience they will never forget.

There are exciting times ahead for everyone at St. Finian's with the recent commencement of the construction phase of the new building project from the Department of Education which will see the expansion and renovation of the college. The project will also include the construction of a new school for St. Mary's Special School on the grounds of St. Finian's College. The new building project will transform the college into a state-of-the-art campus with impressive up to date facilities for all subject areas.

Our sports teams have been hard at work training and competing with schools from across the country. In particular, the school's basketball teams have had substantial success. The U16 basketball team won the All Ireland schools league last year allowing them to compete in the B-Grade competitions this year. A number of our basketballers have been selected for Basketball Ireland's Academy Programme. Our athletics students have also achieved so much, with a large number of podium position finishes at the recent Belvedere Cross Country.

Some of our past pupils have recently made headlines with their sporting and acting careers: Weightlifter Ailbhe Mulvihill represented Team Ireland at the Weightlifting World Championships in Saudi Arabia in September where she broke a new personal best. Actress Eimear Keating was cast as a lead role in the world premier of Somewhere Out There You in the Abbey Theatre for the Dublin Theatre Festival at the end of September. Congratulations to both on their continued success!

This academic year at St. Finian's is an important one as we mark 20 years since becoming a co-educational school with the first enrollment of girls in St. Finian's College back in 2003. If you are a member of the Leaving Cert class of 2008, please get in touch if you wish to arrange a class reunion to mark this anniversary. We are also interested in hearing from past pupils of the classes of 1994, 2004 and 2014 who are also marking important graduation anniversaries toward the end of this academic year.

At St. Finian's College we are always striving to prepare our students for both college and the working world. There will be a careers evening for 5th and 6th Year students in the college on Wednesday, the 29th of November from 6pm - 8pm. On top of events like this, we are always interested to hear from past pupils in relation to their college / career experiences. If you feel interested in speaking to students about a particular career path or business venture, please contact us via email (alumni@stfinianscollege.ie).

All the best,
Daniel Connell
St. Finian's College Alumni

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