Statue of St Ignatius of Loyola in the Clongowes Reception. AMDG
MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMASTER
In Clongowes, we have a strong sense of our own identity, rooted as it is in our Jesuit approach to education. It is characterised by our holistic, all-round focus, which has shaped schooling from the time of St Ignatius and continues to shape a Clongowes education today. Ignatius believed that education was for “improvement in living and learning, for the greater glory of God and the common good”, enabling students to flourish as human beings, and encouraging them to search for the best in each individual - for their own personal benefit and for the benefit of others. This is as relevant in 2023 as it was all those years ago.
The very best learning, whilst incorporating high examination grades and Leaving Certificate points, is something much more intellectually challenging: it is about developing a real openness to, and curiosity for, learning. Our living and our learning, however, is about so much more than that. As a member of our boarding school community, boys are charged with playing their part to the full in the day-to-day life of the College. If you ask any of the boys what is the best thing about school, they are likely to say, “being with friends.” And these friendships endure once they leave here. Much of a Clongowes’ education comes from taking part in our broad and varied ethos, sports and co-curricular programmes which help to develop those qualities of character essential to a fulfilling life: integrity, judgment, tolerance, resilience, sensitivity, the capacity to work as part of a team, to think for oneself and of other people, developing self-awareness and confidence.
Clongowes’ boys can look around and know that their contributions in the classroom, dormitory, on the sports field, in our broad ethos programme, in our music-making and so on are greatly valued. I hope that the pages of Clongowes Life 2023 bring some colour and substance to another very fruitful year in the life of the College. There is so much for all of us to cherish and be grateful for.
Chris Lumb Headmaster June 2023
The Pages of Clongowes Life are filled with images that capture the vibrant life of our school and the achievements of our students. The publication would not be possible without the support of staff who take the time to capture the many moments that celebrate life in Clongowes. Our thanks to all staff who have contributed to this year’s magazine:
MS BROWNE ECONOMICS TEACHER
MR CARLOS ATHLETICS COACH AND ELEMENTS PREFECT
MS CLARKE DIRECTOR OF ETHOS
MR DAWSON RHETORIC PREFECT & JUNIOR RUGBY COACH
MR GRAY HEAD OF BOARDING
MR KELLY IRISH TEACHER
MS KIRWAN SCIENCE TEACHER
MS MACNEANY SCIENCE TEACHER AND TY COORDINATOR
MS NOLAN ELEMENTS ACADEMIC YEAR HEAD & SCIENCE TEACHER
MR O’DONOGHUE DIRECTOR OF SPORT
MS O’LOUGHLIN SCHOOL LIBRARIAN
MR SCOTT VOICE COACH
MR JIM STITT OC ‘72
MR TAYLOR HIGHER LINE PREFECT
A word of thanks to Mr Gerry O’Sullivan OC of GPFoto whose photographs can be found on the cover and in sections such as Union Day, The Colour Run, Kayaking, Sports Day, Golf Classic, Cup Rugby, Christmas Concert and Cup Rugby. Ms O’Louglin, School Librarian, kindly supplied photographs for library and cultural activities.
UNION DAY
On 28th June we celebrated the graduation of Rhetoric 2023 at our annual Union Day. After a wonderful graduation Mass, celebrated by Fr Sheil SJ, families gathered for lunch in the Refectory and an awards ceremony afterwards in the Sports Hall.
HILL WALKING
Poetry boys took on Slieve Donard on a misty morning!
EXCHANGE WITH FORDHAM PREP, NEW YORK
A group of Transition Year students got the opportunity to take part in our annual exchange programme with our sister Jesuit school, Fordham Prep in New York. The boys hosted their exchange brothers in Ireland and then got to spend time in the ‘Big Apple’. Our thanks to Fordham Prep for hosting our boys!
NEW HOUSE LEADERS FOR 2023 / 24
In May, the new House Leaders were announced. House Leaders play a very important role in Clongowes working in service of the school and their fellow students. There are ten Houses in Clongowes, all named after notable Jesuits. Boys from each Year Group make up the Houses. Houses compete in events like Sports Day and have social events together. It is a great way to get to know boys from different Year Groups!
HOUSE HOUSE LEADERS
Arrupe Liam Simon-Fellowes & Marcus McElligot
Claver Sasha Byrne & Ned Williams
Collins Cyril Boateng & Tiernan Crowe
Gonzaga Donagh Callaghan & Hugo O’Leary
Hopkins J.P.Murphy & James Gilheaney
Kenney Philip Casey & Osian Killeen
Kostka Dermot Collins & Conor Lysaght
Loyola Matthew Ruddy & Gavin Keane
Sullivan Callum McDonald & Aodhán McGuinness
Xavier Jack Shannon & Patrick Connell
SCHOOL CAPTAIN
Matthew Kelly
SCHOOL VICE-CAPTAINS
Mark Cox
Christopher Keenan
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
Christmas is a special time in Clongowes. We celebrated with a whole school Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception followed by Christmas lunch. House Leaders served a delicious meal to the school community that was prepared by our wonderful catering team. In the dorms, boys decorated and had ‘Secret Santa’ before heading home for their Christmas holidays.
ELEMENTS TOUR
In January, Elements headed north to Belfast for an action packed tour that included rugby matches, ziplining, ice skating, bowling, museum visits and more!
LEAVING CERT RESULTS DAY
Great to have Rhetoric 2022 back to celebrate Leaving Cert results day.
PETS TO WORK DAY
Boys were delighted to celebrate Pets to Work Day as part of Wellbeing Week at Clongowes. We’re not sure how much work was done in class with our 4-legged visitors!
LEGO CLUB
Our Lego Club in Elements is a great way to be creative and spend time with friends.
NEW SCHOOL YEAR ASSEMBLY
Headmaster Mr Lumb brought the whole school together to mark the start of the new school year in the beautiful College Chapel.
NASA VISIT
Wonderful to have specialists from NASA visit us to speak to boys about the amazing work undertaken by the space agency.
NEW SCHOOL CAPTAIN AND VICE CAPTAINS
Congratulations to our new School Captain Matthew Kelly and Vice Captains, Mark Cox and Christopher Keenan on their appointments. Our sincere thanks to outgoing Captain and Vice Captains, Joey Kennedy, Patrick Smyth and James Wyse.
STAFF RETIREMENTS
After 31 years of service to Clongowes in a front of house role as Receptionist, Bernie Barry decided to retire. Both of Bernie’s sons, Robert and Stephen were educated in Clongowes and in later years Bernie took on the role of events coordinator with the Clongowes Union.
MARGARET DOYLE
Well known to many OCs and parents, Margaret joined the school in 1972 from a teaching role in the USA and taught History and Geography for 30 years before taking up the role of Archivist which she held for 16 years. We wish Margaret well in her well earned retirement.
RUDIMENTS ON TOUR
Rudiments boys went west to the Delphi Adventure Centre on their annual tour. The boys enjoyed lots of outdoor adventures and great team building activities. Great fun was had by all!
ELEMENTS AWARDS
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Daniel Maguire
Joba Adeyemi
Fionnán Boyle
Tom English
Allen Gu
Igor Mazur
DILIGENCE AWARDS
George Browne
Mauricio Alcalde Ramos
Victor Chan
Edmond Cogan
Minh Nguyen
Senan Walsh
SERVICE TO CHOIR
Julian Schmalz
Andrew Tierney
Tadas Bendorius
Johnny Boyd
Daniel Mahon
MUSIC
Certificates for their achievements in the study of Piano
Joba Adeyemi
Minh Nguyen
LANGUAGE
Highly Commended in the Comórtas
Gaeilge Labhartha
Joba Adeyemi
Daniel Maguire
Michael O Regan
Oran Gately
READING
Awards for students who read an impressive number of books, using library resources.
Donagh Deasy
Oran Gately
Jaime Guardiola Roman
SCIFEST
Winner: Perpetual Shield
Fionnán Boyle
Communication Award
Charlie McGriele
MATHS
IMTA National Maths Competition winner
Allen Gu
STUDY
Awards for Effective Study
Planning - Certificate
Oran Gately
Johnny Boyd
Thomas McDonagh
Michael Regan
SPORTS AWARDS
TENNIS
TL Singles League Runner Up
Jack Scannell
TL Singles League Winner
Christian Veal
CRICKET
Minor Cricket Player most improved
Robert Nolan
Minor Cricket Player of the Year
Rory Conyngham
RUGBY
Elements P1 Player Of The Year
Senan Walsh
Elements P1 Most Improved Player
George Browne
Elements P2 Player Of The Year
Tadas Bendorius
Elements P2 Most Improved Player
Daniel Mahon
BASKETBALL
Elements player of the year
Daniel Maguire
GOLF
Elements player of the year
Michael McCormick
SWIMMING
Elements Most Improved Swimmer
Donagh Deasy
KAYAKING
Elements Paddler of the year
Daniel Mahon
ATHLETICS
South Leinster Medalist
Gold, 75m hurdles - Minors
Victor Lamph
Elements 100m winner
Victor Lamph
Triangle Race –
Best Elements result
Tom English 8min 14
SPIRIT OF THE ELEMENTS AWARD
This award is presented to students who have contributed greatly to the Elements year group throughout the year. These students have shown compassion for each other, been respectful in their interactions with peers and staff, have shown resilience in times of difficulty and have been ‘Men for Others’ in their day to day life as a Clongowes student.
Daniel Maguire
Jack Scannell
Patrick Akwuobi
RUDIMENTS AWARDS
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Edward McCarthy
Ethan Poon
Hugo McHugh
Matthew Brennan
Fionn Doyle
Dylan McGriele
DILIGENCE AWARDS
Finnan Browne
Juan Gomez
Pharrell Evenor
Luke Hynes
Harry Reams
Andy Zheng
GAEILGE
Highly Commended in the Comórtas
Gaeilge Labhartha
Cian Duro
Hugo Farrington
READING
Awards for students who read an impressive number of books, using library resources
Adam Craig
Niall Gordon
GREEN SCHOOLS AWARD
In recognition for his part in securing the Water flag for Clongowes Wood College, as Regional Water Ambassador winner and and for winning the Green Schools
Art competition:
Andy Zheng
SPORTS AWARDS
RUGBY
Rudiments P1 Player Of The Year
Ben Brady
Rudiments P1 Most Improved Player
Owen Hough
Rudiments P2 Player Of The Year
Freddie Farrington
Elements P2 Most Improved Player
Kishor Savam
GAA
Third line GAA player of the Year
Owen Hough
ATHLETICS
TL 100m Cup
Dylan Morrissey
Triangle Race –Best Rudiments result
Ciaran Duro 8min 05
South Leinster Medalist
Silver, 1200m walk - Juniors
Victor Chauvire
CRICKET
Junior Cricket Player of the Year
Nick Hunter
Junior Cricket Most improved Player
Charlie Ryan
CHOIR
Contribution to choir: Freddie Farrington
GRAMMAR AWARDS
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Tim Boyle
Patrick Jones
James Lee
Alex McKenna
Peter Gibbons
Max Sweetman
DILIGENCE AWARDS
Bernard Yum
Jack Reams
Ethan Yeung
James Maguire
Luis Lopez Niembro
Tom Walsh
GREEN SCHOOLS AWARD
Awarded a Certificate as Regional Water Ambassador
Jack Reams
MUSIC
Contribution to Choir
Patrick Jones
Music
James Lee
SPORTS
RUGBY
JP1 A Team Player Of The Year
Michael O’Sullivan
JP1 A Team Most Improved Player
Patrick Jones
JP1 B Team Player Of The Year
Hugo Chiu
JP1 B Team Most Improved Player
Jake Carswell
JP2 Player Of The Year
Sebastian Veal
JP2 Most Improved Player
Edison Cheung
ATHLETICS
2nd place Blackrock Gala
Captain Max Sweetman
House 400m Championship (Cup)
Mikey O’ Sullivan
Triangle Race –
Best Grammar result
Tom Walsh 8min 21
SOUTH LEINSTER MEDALS
Gold, 100m- Juniors
Bernard Ibirogba
Inter relay team, 4 x 100m, Gold
Freddie McGuigan
Bernard Ibirogba
Brian A McCulloch
Mikey O’Sullivan
Inter 100m, Gold
Mikey O’Sullivan
U16 Long Jump, bronze
Maxim Stasyukaytis
Inter Javelin, bronze
Brian A McCulloch
TENNIS
L.L. Doubles League Runners Up
Peter Gibbons & Charles Gouret
L.L. Singles League Runner Up Charles Gouret
CONGRATULATIONS
Best of luck to the following boys in the upcoming interprovincial summer programmes.
Leinster U17S;
Tom Walsh, Brian McCullach
Charlie Hussey, Freddie McGuiggan
Munster U17S;
Michael O Sullivan
Ulster U16S
Ollie Worth
Congratulations to Max Sweetman
Max Sweetman has qualified to go to the 420 European championship in Poland this summer as part of the u17 420 Irish sailing team.
POETRY AWARDS
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Aodhan McGuinness
Ignacio Pasqual del Pobil
Sam Dowling
Dermot Collins
Gavin Keane
Christopher Keenan
DILIGENCE AWARDS
Marcus McElligot
Mark Kelly
Luke Fitzgerald
Santiago Ahmed Gil
James Gilheaney
Rian O’Kelly
MUSIC
Awarded with certificates In recognition of their contribution to choir
Marcus McEilligot
Ben McGuigan
Dermot Collins
In recognition of being awarded a place in the Dublin Symphony
Youth Orchestra
Rian O Kelly
MATHS MODELLING TIES
Kai Stark
Gavin Keane
Matthew Ruddy
Luke Fitzgerald
Liam Simon- Fellowes
Hugo O’Leary
Cyril Boateng
Conor Moynihan
Mark Kelly
Conor Lysaght
Michael Hunter
Vlad Spiru
Ewan Lui
Oscar Burns
Arno Hui
OVERALL SCIFEST WINNER
Jack Shannon
CLONGOWNIAN
In recognition of their work as Student Editors on the 2022 Clongownian, Presented by
Mr Rochford:
Mark Cox
Marcus McElligott
Donagh Callaghan
ESSAY
Runner Up in the Higher Line Essay Medal Competition
Ben McGuigan and Marcus McElligott
SPORT AWARDS
ATHLETICS
WINNERS OF SILVER IN THE SOUTH LEINSTERS;
Senior relay team, 4x 100m Gold
Kai Stark and Dermot Collins
Leinsters Senior relay team, 4x 100m: Bronze
Kai Stark and Dermot Collins
South Leinsters Senior 1500m Silver
Chistopher Keenan
House 1500m Cup
Chistopher Keenan
House High Jump Cup
Gavin Keane
Higher Line 100m Cup winner
Dermot Collins
Swimmer of the Year
Cian McCormack
GOLF
Higher Line match play winner
John Collins
GAELIC FOOTBALL AWARDS
Higher Line GAA - Player of the Year
Matthew Kelly
CRICKET
Senior Cricket Player most improved Daniel Schacht
RUGBY
A special mention to Tom Byrne on his represented honours in rugby, playing for the Cayman Island U19 side. A further well done to Dermot Collins who will be involved in the Leinster U18 summer squad.
RHETORIC AWARDS
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Dan Daly
Sean Hallissey
James Keenan
Colin Simon Fellowes
Ben Smyth
James Wyse.
DILIGENCE AWARDS
Mike Chen
Toby Griffin
Ibai Juntlla el Busto
Ferdinand Spaetgens
Sebastian Pratt
Matthew Roche Nagle
THE ACADEMY
Toby Griffin
Ibai Juntilla El Busto
Joey Kennedy
Henry McCallum
James Wyse
FOR SERVICES TO LITURGY
Eucharistic Ministers Certificates
Sean Hallissey, Jacobus Jankovich
Besan, Alexander Kelly, Joey Kennedy, Harry Mallon, Aran Maloney, Tiernan O’Doherty, Reuben O’Neill, Adam Radmall, Matthew Roche Nagle, Patrick Smyth, Ferdinand Spaetgens.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TIES
Moderator of the Eucharistic Ministers
Aran Maloney
Moderator of the Altar Servers
Max von Stern
TRADITIONAL MUSIC GROUP
Special awards to Patrick Smyth, Patrick Duffin, Conor Crutchley and Mike Chen for their loyal contribution to the Trad group.
ORCHESTRA CONTRIBUTION
James Keenan, Mikey Liu, Max Von Stern, Henry McCallum, Matteo Mazzoli,Craig Clarke, Sean Hallissey, John Fleming
ACADEMIC TIES
Sean Hallissey, and to Colin Simon Fellowes, for winning the Leinster Regional Applied Maths competition, coming second in the All Ireland competition, for winning the Leinster Regional final of the Senior Science quiz and coming fifth nationally and, to Tiernan O’Doherty, Mikael Landmark.
SPORTS AWARDS
RUGBY
SP1 panel member of the year
Connor Caso
Senior Thirds Forward of the Year
Aran Maloney
Senior Thirds Back of the Year
Jack Reed
Senior Fourths forward of the Year
Kelvin Kiernan
Senior Fourths back of the Year
Leo McCann
CRICKET
Senior Cricket Player of the Year
Harry Thompson
BASKETBALL
Senior Basketball Player of the Year
Sean O’ Chan
ATHLETICS
South Leinster Gold - 4x 100m relay and Leinsters bronze - 4x 100m relay; Daniel Baugh
SPORTS TIES
Senior Thirds Captain
Aran Maloney
Senior Fourths Captain
Leo McCann
Senior Soccer Captain
Oisin Hussami
Senior Basketball Captain
Sean O Chan
For his contribution to coaching rugby and cricket
Oscar Ramsdale
DISTINGUISHED SERVICES TIE
For services to Sen P2 rugby
Patrick Cosgrove
PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION TALK
Our thanks to the Clongowes Parents’ Association for hosting a talk on gambling addiction for students and parents with speaker Tony O’Reilly.
RHETORIC TIES
At the start of the new school year, Rhetoric received their Rhetoric Ties from Higher Line Prefect, Mr Taylor, to mark their transition into the final year of school.
SUNDAY OUTING
Sunday outing fun for a spot of sea kayaking.
ONLINE SAFETY
Great to have Wayne Denner come to talk to students about online safety.
WELCOME NEW ELEMENTS
House Leaders and Fr Sheil were front and centre to welcome our new Elements at the start of the new school year!
APPLIED MATHS CHALLENGE
Huge congratulations to the Applied Maths Teams that took first, second and third place in the Regional Final as well as having the highest placed 5th Year team. Clongowes has a super record in this competition, having taken the top placings for three years in a row and the highest mark in the country in the Regional Finals. There were a total of 10 Clongowes teams competing at the event.
Winning Team: Sean Hallisey, Colin Simon Fellowes, Luke Fitzgerald
Second Place: Patrick Smyth, Paddy Cosgrave, Hugo O’Leary
Third Place: Tiernan O’Doherty, Ben Smyth, Liam Simon Fellowes
Sean Hallissey, Colin Simon Fellowes (Rhetoric) and Liam Simon Fellowes (Poetry) went on to finish in joint 2nd place in the National Finals of the Senior Applied Maths challenge continuing Clongowes’ successful participation in this competition.
Well done everyone and thank you to Applied Maths Teacher, Mr O’Hara for preparing our teams.
ART TRIP TO PARIS
Higher Line art students enjoyed an amazing trip to Paris!
ELEMENTS SCIENCE IN ACTION
Elements dissecting onions to learn about cellular structures up close and personal.
ARTIST VISIT
NON VIOLENT CUTLERY
A masterclass for our TY art students with Non Violent Cutlery where they got to make spoons straight from a tree!
BRÚ NA BÓINNE
Art students visited the World Heritage Site of Brú na Bóinne - Ireland’s richest archaeological landscape.
BEBRAS CHALLENGE
Mr Hegarty’s coding and computer science students took part in The Bebras Computing Challenge which introduces computational thinking to students, by allowing them to solve interactive tasks online. The aim of Bebras is to get students all over the world excited about computing.
Huge congratulations to Patrick Smyth who won the National Final!
CÉILÍ
Elements had a great time at a céilí hosted by Mount Sackville Secondary School, Dublin.
ELEMENTS OFF TO THE ZOO
What a fun way for students to learn about wildlife management and biodiversity!
CAREER SKILLS COMPETITION
A great achievement for Eduard Giurca who was Commended by the judging panel at the National Career Skills Competition in May.
GENERATION EURO NATIONAL FINALS
A team from Clongowes were invited to present their project to Mr Robert Kelly, Chief Economist of the Central Bank, Ms Gillian Phelan, Head of Monetary Policy at the Central Bank, and Mr Simone Cima, Senior Economist and Lecturer. They were one of three top teams nationally to be invited.
Our team of Tiernan Crowe, Callum McDonald, Breon Molloy and John Collins gave an excellent presentation, which was followed by a very probing and challenging question and answer session. Well done to the team and to Ms Browne for her guidance.
UK MATHS TRUST AWARD FOR SEAN
Huge congratulations to Sean Hallissey who won a bronze medal, awarded by The UK Maths Trust for achieving the second best Irish score at the British Olympiad Round 1, pictured here with his teacher Mr McGrath. Some exciting news for Sean who has since been invited to join the Irish team in the International Maths Olympiad in Japan this summer!
PETER’S PROBLEM
Congratulations also to Borries Van Lengerich and Rui Huang (Syntax) who were the overall national winners of ‘Peter’s Problem’ - a maths competition run nationally for TY students and sponsored by the Irish Maths Teachers Association and Engineers Ireland.
IRISH MATHS TEACHERS ASSOCIATION COMPETITION
Well done Allen Gu, Elements who finished in the top 0.4% of students nationally who entered the Irish Maths Teachers Association competition for 1st year students. Allen is pictured with his teacher Ms Pratt.
MATHS MODELLING
The popular Maths Modelling Programme started for another year with great participation from Syntax and Poetry students.
This year’s students were posed problems in the areas of carbon sequestration in forestry, dealing with an asteroid on a collision course with earth and how pumped water storage could help solve the climate crisis.
Students worked all year under the guidance of Mr O’Hara, Applied Mathematics Teacher and Professor Gleeson, University of Limerick (UL) before travelling to UL to present their final projects. Our thanks as always to Mr O’Hara and Prof. Gleeson for their work with the boys on this fantastic programme.
SENIOR SCIENCE QUIZ
Congratulations to the Senior Science teams who swept the board at the regional final of the Irish Science Teachers Association Quiz in November! Clongowes took 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions.
WINNING TEAM
Tiernan O’Doherty, Colin Simon-Fellowes & Mikael Landmark
2ND PLACE
Sean Hallissey, Mike Chen, Conor Crutchley
3RD PLACE
Felix Felten, Ibai Junttila & Benoit Clarke
4TH PLACE
James Keenan, James Wyse & Jack Reed
MOON PHASES
What a great way to learn about the phases of the moon - recreate them with tasty Oreo cookies!
GENDER PARTICIPATION IN SPORT
Our Leaving Certificate PE class were delighted to welcome Dr Orlagh Farmer for a workshop focusing on Gender, Participation and Sport.
SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE
In March we celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish week) with a whole host of poster competitions, quizzes, treasure hunts, games, films in Irish and sport ás Gaeilge!
SCIFEST AT CLONGOWES
Well done to all the Elements students who took part in this year’s SciFest! Thanks to our judges and to Ms Nolan who spearheads the event every year.
SCIFEST OVERALL WINNER
Fionnan Boyle AI vs Humans ,Which is better at recognising human emotions?
SCIFEST OVERALL RUNNER UP
Riain Singh
How does the length of time an opened fizzy drink bottle affect its fizziness?
STUDENTS CHOICE AWARD
Daniel Maguire Attention spans and how they have changed the music industry
EIRGRID AWARD
Edmond Cogan Hydrogen Power
COMMENDED
Patrick Akwuobi Does the amount of salt in an ice cube affect how long it takes an ice cube to melt?
Mauricio Alcalde Ramos What impact has biomimicry had on modern architecture?
George Browne Does the amount of air in a rugby ball affect its accuracy and the distance it travels from a tee
Fintan Connolly Ike Jime - Fishing; Guided by principle, disciplined by science
Max Creedon How do sails work?
Oran Gately What method of lucid dreaming yields the most lucid dreams?
Victor Lamph How and why fruits rot
Daniel Mahon What are the benefits of using toothpaste when brushing your teeth?
Igor Mazur Does temperature affect battery voltage
Charlie McGriele What are the best conditions for mould to grow?
Rayann Narensamy Is the 5 second rule true?
Ezekwesilu Nwike Yanny or Laurel?
Jack Ryan
Investigating the effects of sleep on athletic performance
Jack Scannell Which mints are the mintiest in Ireland?
Isaac Sheridan Which type of renewable energy is the most efficient
SCIFEST REGIONAL FINAL AT DCU
Our participation at the SciFest Regional Final of SciFest was an overwhelming success! Congratulations to all who participated and took home awards.
DCU Merit Junior Technology Award
Fionnán Boyle
DCU Merit Junior Physical Sciences Award
Rayann Narensamy and Riain Singh
DCU Merit Individual Senior Award
Matthew Kelly
Overall Communications Award
Charlie McGriele
Accenture Maths in Science
Overall Award
Hugo O Leary, Gavin Keane, Matthew Ruddy and Conor Lysaght
Overall Award- Top Prize from 138 entered projects and now in the National Final in November
Jack Shannon
STEAM WEEK
As part of the themed week TY students were challenged to build a model roller coaster, drawing on their knowledge of physics, engineering, design skills and imagination. They also partook in a Maths riddle challenge hosted by the Maths department. Cliodhna Ni Scanaill, a research and development scientist from Intel, spoke to the boys about what a job in engineering is really like.
YOUNG ECONOMIST OF THE YEAR
Congratulations to Aodhan McGuinness who was awarded a silver medal in the Young Economist of the Year competition.
COMMENDATIONS FOR ELEMENTS
In recognition for a great first term the following Elements boys received commendations and some yummy selection boxes!
IRISH ECONOMICS OLYMPIAD
Congratulations Tiernan O’Doherty, winner of the Irish Economics Olympiad 2022.
ACADEMY
This year, we saw a wonderful range of Academy papers presented from Poetry and Rhetoric students. The Academy was set up in Clongowes in the 1950s by Fr Hiliary Lawton and it seeks to be a modern-day version of Plato’s Academy from Ancient Greece.
Each paper is the culmination of the students’ in-depth research into his chosen topic. Members of the Academy develop skills in the areas of research, public speaking and responding to questions on his feet!
Toby Griffin served as Rhetoric President of the Academy and Henry McCallum as Secretary. For the Poetry Academy, Jack Shannon served as President with Marcus McElligott as Secretary. Well done to all involved!
Henry McCallum Tsar Vladimir the Great ?
James Wyse Alan Turing – The Imitation Game
Joey Kennedy Roe v Wade
Ibai Junttila Epistemology – Theory of Knowledge
Toby Griffin Sports Diplomacy
Marcus McElligott The French Foreign Legion – Escape from your Past
Liam Simon Fellowes The Future of Us – Exploring Future Possibilities
James Gilheaney How an Irish Weather-Forecaster helped decide WWII
Mark Cox Kanye (Ye) West: Creative? Bipolar? Perfect Imperfect Person?
Dermot Collins Zionism – Causes and Effects
Jack Shannon Bushido: A Belief in Death before Dishonour
ZOOBOTS
Grammar students got together to build Zoobots as part of their Junior Cycle science classes. Their challenge was to design a robot that could move using a zoo theme, using only a paper cup, a motor and arts and crafts materials. Some very imaginative solutions - well done!
3RD FLOOR
In March parents,staff and students alike packed the Sports Hall for a concert from ‘3rd Floor’. The band was made up of a group of musicians from Poetry that came together to raise funds for the Malealea Development Trust in Lesotho ahead of the African Immersion Experience. The evening was a huge success! Well done to all who supported the fundraiser from selling tickets, donating raffle prizes, running the tuck shop etc.
Vocals: Dermot Collins, Tom Byrne
Guitar: Osian Killeen, Gavin Keane, Sam Dowling
Keyboards: Val Dowling
Drums: Sasha Byrne
Orchestral Support: Mark Cox, Osian Killeen, Matt O’Leary, Rian O’Kelly, Jack Shannon
FEIS CEOIL
Well done Dermot Collins who was awarded with Very Highly Commended in the Paul Deegan Cup / U19 male singing, and Commended in the Junior Vocal Recital at the Feis Ceoil in March.
175TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FLAG RAISING
In March we were honoured to take part in the 175th Anniversary celebration of the first raising of the Irish Flag. The Irish flag has a special significance in Clongowes as it was designed by OC Thomas Francis Meagher.
LIBRARY
Author Paul Dowswell
A super experience for TY students who got to learn from author Paul Dowswell about his research process for his historical fiction novel Auslander. A follow up workshop took place for those interested in learning about creative writing.
Book Christmas Tree
Well done Ivann Nolan who was a great help to Ms O’Loughlin, Librarian, in creating the annual book tree!
Book Character Dress Up Day
Another great Book Character Dress Up Day! Our thanks to our Librarian, Ms O’Loughlin for once again organising this fun literature based whole school activity!
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
This year’s Christmas Concert was a triumph! A wonderful showcase of the musical talent in the school across orchestral, trad, piano and singing.
DUBLIN YOUTH ORCHESTRA
Well done Rián O’Kelly who performed with the Dublin Youth Orchestra, at the Helix Theatre in February. Well supported by friends!
WESLEY INTERSCHOOLS MUSIC FESTIVAL
David Lannen and Freddie Farrington at the Wesley Interschools Music Festival in March!
NAVAN CHORAL FESTIVAL
Congratulations Freddie Farrington and David Lannen - both Highly Commended at the Navan Choral Festival.
SENIOR CHOIR
The Senior Choir were part of Lyric FM’s Christmas Competition where they sang ‘The Coventry Carol’.
PAST V PRESENT DEBATE
October saw the return of the Annual Past V Present Debate. The motion was “This house believes that social media is a platform for delusion”
GOVERNMENT
Max Coveney capt.
James Keenan
Leo McCann
Henry McCallum
OPPOSITION
Mr. Ben Osborne OC13 capt.
Mr. Cormac Lucy OC78
Mr. Bob Manson OC87
Mr. Andrew Murphy OC82
The past took the Daniel O’Connell Perpetual Cup this year! Cormac Lucy won best speaker with James Keenan highly commended.
TRAD GROUP
The Clongowes Trad Group had a busy year! They undertook their annual Trad for Trócaire fundraising event and also were invited to play in The Brazen Head in Dublin.
GREEN SCHOOLS
This year, our Green Schools Committee made significant strides in promoting water conservation and raising awareness about the importance of saving water.
Through a series of engaging initiatives, we have encouraged responsible water usage among our students and staff. Our school implemented practical measures such as installing drinking water fountains and passive infra red (timed showers), checking and repairing leaks regularly. Additionally, we organised quiz nights, movie nights and presentations on water conservation, highlighting the significance of reducing water waste both at school and in our daily lives. These efforts yielded remarkable results, with reduced overall water consumption. Our commitment to water conservation was recognized by The Kildare Co. Council and An Taisce, when we were awarded our Water flag in May 2023. Through these achievements, our school continues to serve as a model for water conservation, inspiring others to make a positive impact on our planet’s water sustainability.
Jack Reams, Clongowes Water Ambassador.THIRD LINE DRAMA
After several months of hardwork in rehearsals, the Elements and Rudiments Performance classes showcased two short plays to an audience of teachers and students last week. Both classes put on stellar performances that were thoroughly enjoyed by all in attendance.
AGE ACTION
TY Students enjoying their time spent with a local Age Action group on Tuesday afternoons.
CAROL SERVICE
A staple of our Christmas celebrations, the Carol Service, led by Director of Liturgy Mr Murphy was a wonderful reflection on the liturgical meaning of Christmas and a musical triumph!
DARKNESS INTO LIGHT
In the early hours of May 6th, over 100 students walked with staff to raise awareness and funds for Pieta House, promoting positive mental health. Thanks to our Catering Team who provided much needed hot drinks and snacks afterwards!
MASS FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR
It was wonderful for the whole school community to come together and celebrate the first Mass of the new school year.
JESUIT REFUGEE SERVICE FUN DAY
In early May we were delighted to welcome refugee families to Clongowes for a day of fun and games. Thanks to our TY students who took part and made families feel so welcome.
WELLNESS WEEK
As part of our Amber Flag for Mental Health Activities lots of activities took place in school including a wonderful ‘gratitude wall’.
LESOTHO IMMERSION EXPERIENCE
In late March, a group of staff and students travelled to Lesotho as part of our African Immersion Experience.
“We departed on Monday the 27th of March and when we arrived after our long travels we were ecstatic. We arrived at the lodge in Malealea at night. Upon waking up we were astonished by the beautiful scenery that Lesotho had to offer.
We started with our roadside work on the 29th of March digging trenches for water runoff and filling in potholes. After we returned to the lodge we were greeted by the local choir and band who played their wonderful music for us to enjoy. In the following days we continued with our road maintenance and undertook a number of water projects providing water to a nearby school of 99 students and to the local village. Alongside this we worked with the school planting trees and working on fencing. After this we had our soccer match against the local team which was a thrilling game and resulted in a win for us! After Mass on the Sunday morning we headed off with our local families and spent the day with them. I spent the day working on the farm dosing sheep and doing a stock count. After this eye opening experience of seeing their daily lives we continued to work on road maintenance and poured concrete and finished what we had aimed to do and more. ”
Donagh Callaghan, Poetry StudentLOURDES PILGRIMAGE
Mr Marron, John Flemming, Joseph Curley, Aran Maloney, Patrick Brophy, Leo MacCann and Mrs Lumb travelled to Lourdes with the Dublin Diocese on their annual pilgrimage
TENEBRAE
In March, the school community gathered with parents and guests to celebrate Tenebrae in the Sports Hall. This wonderful liturgical event featured the College Schola and renowned soprano Celine Byrne and cellist Jane Hughes.
ROME PILGRIMAGE
In early June, Mr Carroll, Fr Rector Michael Sheil SJ, Ms Clarke and 10 students from Syntax and Poetry travelled to Rome on a pilgrimage to follow in the footsteps of St Ignatius and the Jesuits in Rome. The four days were full and included a visit to the Jesuit Curia where they met Irish Ambassador to the Holy Sea, Francis Collins. The group met with John Dardis SJ for a lovely lunch near the Curia. There was a visit to St Ignatius Church and the Jesuit College next to the Jesù and Sunday Mass in the rooms of St Ignatius.This first Ignatian Pilgrimage to Rome was a great success and Ms Clarke is looking forward to offering and organising another one in early June of 2024.
BEECH SEEDLINGS
ELEMENTS RETREAT
Elements had the wonderful surrounds of Glendalough for their retreat.
IGNATIAN CAMINO PILGRIMAGE
The annual TY pilgrimage to locations that were of significance in St Ignatius’ life, including Pamplona, Montserrat and Manresa. Travelling on foot through breath-taking scenery before finishing up in Barcelona for some well deserved R & R!
DANCE WORKSHOP
TYs got to enjoy fantastic dance workshops with Arthur Gourounlian!
F1 IN SCHOOLS
For the first time, we had two TY teams in this year’s F1 in Schools Finals! two teams ‘Blizzard Racing’ : Borries Van Lengerich, James Elliott, Louis Goodman ‘Firetyre Racing’: Rui Huang, Federico Muniz Capel, Peter Zhang, Louis Tardy, Tobi Baruwa and Sam Dalton. While we didn’t leave with any prizes, judges were impressed with how well engineered both cars were and the aesthetic of Blizzard Racing’s car.
FORMULA ONE SIMULATOR
SCUBA DIVING
The scuba diving group completed this year’s course with two open water dives at Killary Harbour.
FOOTGOLF
Footgolf fun!
SUBJECT ROTATION
TY students sampling Leaving Cert biology. In TY students get to ‘test drive’ subjects that they may consider for Leaving Cert.
TY HIT THE SLOPES
In February, a group of TY students went to San Martino Di Castrozza in Italy for some fun on the slopes!
MUSIC PRODUCTION WORKSHOP
A super workshop for TYs to learn about the music production industry.
LAW ED
Really interesting workshop with Law Ed teaching the TY boys how the law impacts their daily lives.
PRECIOUS PLASTICS
TY CIRCUS SKILLS WORKSHOP
OUTDOOR EDUCATION TRIP
The year got off to a great start for TY students with a trip to Co Kerry for the Outdoor Education Trip!
TRANSITION YEAR (SYNTAX) AWARDS
GAISCE AWARDS
Tobi Baruwa
Charlie Chen
James Elliott
Lukas Felten
Tom Groome
Conor Hogan
Oisin Lambe
Borries Van Lengerich
Max Reva
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Michael O’Dowd
Memorial Cup
Lukas Felten
McCarthy Medal for Science
Rory Wheatley
Medal for English Essay
Frudi Chan
Runner up for
English Essay
Ruairi Hegarty
Peter’s Problem Prize
Borries Van Lengerich
Rui Huang
SPORTING ACHIEVEMENT
Leinster U18s Rugby
Ross Adams
Max Doyle
Ross Doyle
Luke Murtagh
Leinster U17s Rugby
Arthur Ashmore
Tetrathalon
James Dempsey
Gold in Irish Jiu Jitsu
Nationals
Maurice Prendivlle
GROWTH IN LEADERSHIP AWARD
Eduard Giurca
TULLABEG AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE & INITIATIVE
Tom Groome
SPORTS AWARDS
Player of the year
Emilio Cruz
TY Rugby coaches player of the year
Conor Moynihan
TY Rugby most improved
James O Neill
Lower Line Golfer of the Year
Louis Goodman
Pierce Cup Golf
Marcus Sullivan
SOUTH LEINSTER TRACK & FIELD
Gold Inter 1500m
Luke O’Leary
Gold Senior Relay Team
Patrick Moloney
Bronze Inter hammer
Max Doyle
Bronze Senior Hammer
Callum Delahanty
Bronze Inter 100m
Patrick Moloney
ATHLETICS
House 800m Cup
Philip McCartan
Lower Line 100m winner 2023
Patrick Moloney
Best Syntax Result - Triangle Race
Philip McCartan 7 min 44
GAA
Lower Line GAA - Player of the Year 2023
Finn Kehoe
TENNIS
Tennis Cup - Lower Line Singles League Winner
Federico Muniz Capel
Tennis - Lower Line Doubles League Winners
Federico Muniz Capel
Gonzalo Orive Basterra
TY AWARDS
Arthur Ashmore
Max Doyle
James Elliott
Lukas Felten
Mark Fitzgerald
Eduard Giurca
Tom Groome
Rui Huang
Philip McCartan
Patrick Moloney
Matthew Mooney
Conor Moynihan
Gonzalo Orive Basterra
Borries Van Lengerich
Harry Ward
Rory Wheatley
James White
DUCK PUSH
The annual Duck Push fundraiser for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin is an initiative of the TY Year Group and involves huge effort by the boys as they aim to raise funds for Ireland’s sick children. As well as pushing the 3M high yellow duck to raise awareness and funds, the boys organise events, set up a shop and do bucket collections. Well done to this year’s TY students on a great Duck Push Year!
24 HOUR SWIM
An amazing feat of resilience and commitment by the TYs to swim in teams for a straight 24 hour period.
DUCK PUSH COLOUR RUN
Students came out in force for the very colourful Colour Run!
CLONGOWES RUN
A rainy day for the Clongowes run this year did not dampen the spirits of participants and organisers.
THE HILL OF TARA
A sunny day for the 50km push to the Hill of Tara with some rush hour traffic!
COLLECTING AT THE AVIVA STADIUM
A great spot for collecting - Ireland V England at the Aviva Stadium.
A PUSH TO HEADFORT SCHOOL
Thank you to our friends at Headfort School who gave us a warm welcome when the boys pushed the Duck from Clongowes.
GOLF CLASSIC
A wonderful day for the Duck Push Golf Classic at Millicent Golf Club where 15 teams competed.
THE ANNUAL LADIES LUNCH FASHION SHOW FUNDRAISER
Our thanks to the Annual Ladies Lunch in Cavan that donated €10,000 to the Duck Push and the boys got to walk for the show!
SPINATHON
A hard day of spinning at The Whitewater in Newbridge but lots of support for the boys.
ATHLETICS
LEINSTER INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP
In March, Chris Keenan took silver in the under 19s 1500m at the Leinster Indoor Championships in Athlone.
SOUTH LEINSTER SCHOOLS TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
A strong group represented Clongowes in early May at the South Leinsters for Minors and Juniors.
75M HURDLES (MINORS) GOLD, Victor Lamph
100M (JUNIOR) GOLD, Bernard Ibirogba
1200M WALK (JUNIOR) SILVER
Victor Chauvire
SOUTH LEINSTERS RELAY
On May 20th our older athletes brought home bronze in the senior relay. Well done Dermot Collins, Daniel Baugh, Patrick Moloney and Kai Stark.
SOUTH LEINSTERS
On May 9th a strong squad went to the South Leinsters in Carlow and came home laden with medals!
100M RELAY (SENIOR) GOLD
Kai Stark, Patrick Moloney, Dermot Collins, Daniel Baugh
100M RELAY (INTER) GOLD
Freddie McGuigan, Bernard Ibirogba, Brian McCulloch, Mikey O’Sullivan
1500M (SENIOR) SILVER
Chris Keenan
1500M (INTER) GOLD
Luke O’Leary
100M (INTER) GOLD
Mikey O’Sullivan
100M (INTER) BRONZE
Patrick Moloney
LONG JUMP (U16) BRONZE
Maxim Stasyukaytis
JAVELIN (INTER) BRONZE
Brian McCulloch
HAMMER (INTER)BRONZE
Max Doyle
HAMMER (SENIOR) BRONZE
Callum Delahanty
ATHLETICS
TRIANGLE RACE
This year’s Annual Triangle Race was a record breaking event! Huge congratulations to Chris Keenan who broke the long standing Higher Line record (Jack O’Leary, 2015 - 06.38.40) with a fantastic time of 06.28.25, shaving 10 seconds from the record! Chris now holds both the Lower Line and Higher Line records having broken both in successive years.
HL (record: Jack O’Leary, 2015: 06.38):
1. Chris Keenan 06.28 - new record
2. Dermot Collins 08.02
3. Peter McGuinness 08.14
LL (record: Chris Keenan, 2022: 06.51):
SYNTAX:
1. Philip McCartan 07.44
2. Conor Keogh 08.26
3. Etienne Bertaud Du Chazaud 08.34
GRAMMAR:
1. Tom Walsh 08.21
2. Alex Hayes 10.00
TL (record: Jack O’Leary, 2012: 07.17):
Rudiments:
1. Cian Duro 08.05
2. Robin Ryan 08.32
3. Teddy Crowley 08.56
ELEMENTS:
1. Tom English 08.14
2. Senan Walsh 08.30
3. Victor Lamph 08.38
ALL IRELAND HURDLES
An amazing achievement for Elements student Victor Lamph as he took silver at the All Ireland Minor 75M Hurdles on June 3rd. Victor qualified for the event after a blistering win in May at the Tullamore Harriers grounds.
SENIOR BASKETBALL
Our Senior Basketball side had a great year and reached the semi-final of the league.
RUDIMENTS BASKETBALL TEAM
CRICKET
Our Senior Cricketers had a super year! They reached the final of the Senior B League.
JCT CAPTAIN AND VICE CAPTAINS
Junior Cup Team Captain Tom Walsh with his Vice Captains, Michael O’Sullivan Charlie Hussey with Mr O’Leary, Mr O’Donoghue, Mr Lumb, Mr Dawson and Mr Amerlynck.
SCT CAPTAIN AND VICE CAPTAIN
Senior Cup Team Captain Alex Kelly with his Vice Captain, Harry Roche Nagle with Mr O’Leary, Mr O’Donoghue, Mr Lumb, Mr Wright and Mr English.
SUMMER SPORTS
Once the rugby season came to a close - it was all systems go on our summer sports programme. Lots of GAA, soccer, tennis, golf, watersports, cricket and more to keep everyone very busy!
HIGHER LINE SOCCER CHRISTMAS TOURNAMENT
Senior students had a soccer tournament after Christmas lunchcongratulations to the winning team, captained by Oscar O’Brien.
GOLF
Jack Coughlan (Grammar) Portmarnock
2022 Golfer of the Year.
Our Junior and Senior Golf Teams took part in the Leinster Qualifying section of the Irish Schools Junior and Senior Boys Championship.
Well done Seniors Louis Goodman, Matt O’Leary, Marcus Sullivan, Mark Fitzgerald, Harry Blake and Juniors Charles Gouret, Cian Andersen, Michael McCormick
EQUESTRIAN
Congratulations Ted O’Leary (Poetry) who was crowned Junior Event Champion at the Millstreet International Horse Trials in early June 2023.
At the start of the year, Josh Williamson (Syntax) won team gold for Ireland in the FEI Pony Eventing European Championships in Poland.
Well done Matthew Kelly (Poetry) who won the Junior Eventing League for 2022 aboard his mare Fanlehane Nariah.
INTERPRO RUGBY
Congratulations
HOUSE ATHLETICS EVENING
Great fun in May at the House Athletics evening!
JIU JITSU GOLD
IRELAND U18S
BLESSED JOHN SULLIVAN SJ TOURNAMENT
Delighted to host First Year teams from other schools to our tournament. Clongowes players won the plate!
LOWER LINE SOCCER
A competitive Lower Line Soccer League was ultimately won by ‘Team Brazil’ captained by Aidan O’ Donnell.
COACHING FROM OCS
We were so grateful to OC Leinster players Ed Byrne and Will Connors who came back to Clongowes for a coaching session with our senior rugby players.
SAILING
Max Sweetman (Grammar) won the 420 dinghy Munster Championship fleet at Kinsale Yacht Club.
Tom Flannery competed at the SB20 World Championships in Dún Laoghaire in Sept where he placed 22nd out of c. 60 boats in a very competitive field.
TOUCH RUGBY
Matthew Colton and Brian A McCulloch (Grammar) represented Ireland in the European Touch Rugby Junior Championship in Vichy, France last summer.
THIRD LINE SOCCER LEAGUE
The Third Line Soccer League 2023 was won by ‘Borussia Dortmund’. Captained by Gonzalo Navarro Salido
SPORTS DAY
The weather did not fail us for our Annual Sports Day in September! Boys competed in their Houses in a whole range of events. The coveted Aloysius Bowl went to Claver House! There were honours of the individual athletes on the day also.
ATHLETES OF THE DAY
Elements Tom English
Rudiments Brian A McCulloch
Grammar Joshua Grant
Syntax Ross Adams
Poetry Chris Keenan
Rhetoric Sean Opara
The Junior Rugby team, led by Captain Michael O’Sullivan and Vice Captains Charlie Hussey and Tom Walsh, had a challenging but ultimately positive season. The team played a total of 17 games, winning six and losing 11. Despite the seemingly low win ratio, the team demonstrated significant player development and growth throughout the season.
Heading into the Cup campaign, the team’s performance looked promising, having won a tight game at home against Kilkenny College. However, they were knocked out in the first round of the Leinster Schools Cup by Cistercian College Roscrea. Nevertheless, the team remained determined and went on to make the semi-final of the Junior Plate competition, where they unfortunately lost to Kilkenny College by just 2 points in a closely contested match.
Despite some narrow losses, including those against Campbell College and Methodist College Belfast, the team never gave up and continued to work hard throughout the season. The lessons learned from these losses proved invaluable in highlighting areas for improvement and motivating the team to work harder in future matches. The first-round Cup defeat was a fantastic account of the team’s spirit and determination.
Throughout the season, the Junior Panel 2 coaching team consisting of Mr. Carlos and Mr. Gray provided invaluable support to the team, contributing significantly to the team’s development and success.
Mr Dawson, Backs Coach, Junior Rugby
SENIOR RUGBY
The pre cup season was very successful with 9 victories and three defeats recorded. Alex Kelly was selected by the players and management as captain, providing cool and calm leadership, consistently demonstrated through his actions.
During the Mid-Term break, the Panel embarked on a tour to Cambrils Park Sports Village, south of Barcelona. This provided a period of intense warm weather training and helped to unite the entire panel. Highlights of the pre-cup games included a fantastic double victory away to Blackrock College. This memorable day in December demonstrated the ability and resolve that existed within the group.
The Cup campaign proved to be dramatic and entertaining with Clongowes playing a fast, attacking brand of rugby.
The opening cup game saw Clongowes come out on top after a pulsating encounter with Terenure College. Both teams showed great intent to play and Terenure opened the scoring. Clongowes responded with a powerful try with Dan Daly running a lovely line to dot down under the sticks. Clongowes were then awarded a penalty try after great work by Max Duggan offloading to Alex Kelly who was illegally prevented from scoring. The referee awarded a penalty try.
Terenure responded with a penalty and a try to lead 15-14 at half time. The second half proved to be a tight and tense affair with Clongowes pressure earning them a penalty. Harry Mallon converted and Clongowes defence withstood everything Terenure had to earn a deserved 17-15 victory in a thrilling encounter.
The game had to be replayed, due to an administration error. This was a true test of the character and resolve of the playing and management group. A Daniel Baugh try in the fourth minute, converted by Harry Mallon saw us get off to a flying start. Blayze Molloy dotted down, after great teamwork in the 13th minute, to double the lead. Mallon added a penalty on the stroke of half time to give us a 17-0 lead. Terenure produced a fantastic 2nd half comeback to go 19-17 ahead, but the Clongowes DNA was evident when Tom Murtagh kicked the winning points to leave Clongowes celebrating another great victory over Terenure. Final score 20-19.
The quarter final draw saw Clongowes paired with St Michaels. Once again the Clongowes attacking flair was on show. Clongowes illustrated a great skill set, making multiple line breaks in an enthralling first half. Unfortunately we could not translate these incisions into points as St Michaels scramble defence did just enough to hold us scoreless in the first half. St Michaels led 8-0 going in at half time. Hopes of a comeback were dealt a blow when St Michaels scored just after half time. St Michaels added to their account in the 43rd minute. Lesser teams would have folded in similar circumstances but this Clongowes team illustrated its resolve. Daniel Baugh, James Wyse and Conor Lysaght all added tries but St Michaels held on for a deserved victory. Final score 27-17.
Despite the disappointment, the team can be proud to have represented everything good that one associates with Cup teams in Clongowes Wood College.
Mr Wright, Senior Rugby Coach
Photography:GPFoto
THIRD LINE RUGBY LEAGUES
There was plenty of fun at this year’s in-house rugby league for Third Liners.
WINNERS Sharks
RUNNERS UP Bath
WOODEN SPOON WINNERS Crusaders
WOODEN SPOON RUNNERS UP Highlanders
THE ALBERTO HURTADO BURSARY PROGRAMME (AHP) AT CLONGOWES
The Alberto Hurtado Bursary Programme (AHP) which commenced in 2007, aims to provide up to seven bursary places each academic year to boys who may not otherwise fulfil their potential because of socio-economic disadvantage. Inspired by the desire to remove barriers to the unique educational experience that a seven-day boarding school can offer, the AHP has become an integral part of the fabric of Clongowes life with thirty-eight boys currently attending the College and sixty-six who have graduated as old Clongownians.
‘In Clongowes I was surrounded by motivated people and people who always had the right intention. Once you are surrounded by people like this it makes you thrive in all aspects of education, sport, music, and life in general.’
AHP Student
The Clongowes Foundation is committed to the funding of the AHP with the long-term objective to make the AHP self-financing. The Alberto Hurtado Endowment Fund was created in 2020 with this aim and will have no draw down on funds until 2025/26. Further contributions and legacies will be crucial, and this remains a key focus for the Foundation. Current funding for the AHP and further contributions to the AHEF are reliant on the generosity of past pupils and parents who recognise the impact these contributions make to fulfilling the promise of the AHP.
For further information on the impact of the AHP please check out the Clongowes Foundation section on the Clongowes website.
FOUNDATION TEAM
The Foundation team greatly appreciates the support of all our donors. The generosity of current and past parents, past pupils as well as the Jesuit Community, Province and friends of the College has led to a significant enhancement of the school’s infrastructure in recent times along with widening access to a Clongowes education through the development of the Alberto Hurtado Bursary Programme.
The Foundation team – Joe Rooney, Chair of Fundraising (OC’79 and past parent) Antoinette Kelly, Director of Development and Emma Robinson as Development Officer, work closely with our donor base with the desire to maintain the historic success of the Clongowes Foundation and to connect our audience with future plans for the College. The Foundation is supported by Denise Nichol, Director of Finance and Administration and Clare Daly, Finance.
If you would like any information about Clongowes Foundation or wish to support the Bursary Programme or Capital developments, please contact the Foundation Office 045 902334 / antoinettekelly@clongowes.net
“THE ALBERTO HURTADO BURSARY PROGRAMME (AHP) WHICH COMMENCED IN 2007, AIMS TO PROVIDE UP TO SEVEN BURSARY PLACES EACH ACADEMIC YEAR TO BOYS WHO MAY NOT OTHERWISE FULFIL THEIR POTENTIAL BECAUSE OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE.”
INFIRMARY REFURBISHMENT
In December, Clongowes Foundation hosted a plaque unveiling to honour Richard Robinson OC’38 and his legacy gift to Clongowes. Richard’s legacy helped fund the refurbishment of the Infirmary (originally built in 1872) and support the Alberto Hurtado Endowment Fund thereby ensuring that his benevolence will positively impact on the lives of future generations of Clongowes’ students.
We were honoured on the day to be
joined by Margaret Horne, second cousin of Richard who shared her memories of Richard and expressed how delighted he would have been for his legacy to support students in the College into the future.
Joe Rooney (Chair of Fundraising) in his dedication of the plaque spoke of the positive impact of the Alberto Hurtado Programme and how one of the early Alberto Hurtado Bursary graduates, Seán McMahon (OC’16), entered the Jesuit
novitiate in Innsbruck in September.
Fr Rector Michael Sheil blessed the Plaque and remembered Richard along with all who have contributed so generously to Clongowes as it continues to evolve and hold its special place at the forefront of Irish education. After the unveiling Fr Sheil celebrated the annual Mass of Thanksgiving for Benefactors and Donors where all donors were remembered.
“RICHARD’S LEGACY HELPED FUND THE REFURBISHMENT OF THE INFIRMARY (ORIGINALLY BUILT IN 1872) AND SUPPORT THE ALBERTO HURTADO ENDOWMENT FUND THEREBY ENSURING THAT HIS BENEVOLENCE WILL POSITIVELY IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF FUTURE GENERATIONS OF CLONGOWES’ STUDENTS.”
