Knockbeg College celebrates Students Achievements at end of year Awards Ceremony 2025

Parent’s Day began with mass, which was celebrated by Bishop Nulty, Mons. Byrne, and Fr. Dunphy. Michael Regan, Chairperson of the Board of management, John Behan, President of our Past Pupils Union, and Ellie Keenan, Chairperson of the Parents Association were also in attendance.  A warm welcome was also extended to students, parents, and staff to our day of celebration.

Mr Bolger was thanked for many years as MC for the event, whereby now the prefects have taken over the role this year.

Mr Fr. Dunphy was thanked for his continued service to the college, both as chaplain and as a member of the Board of Management and indeed to all the stakeholders who work tirelessly for the betterment of our school.

The ceremony gave a flavour of the many achievements, both academic and extra-curricular, that have been part and parcel of a busy Knockbeg year.

One of the most notable highlights was the success of our 1st year cohort. Not only were they outright winners of three football blitzes in Carlow, Laois, and Kildare winning the inaugural Niall McDonnell Blitz hosted by Patrician, Newbridge, but they also won the south leinster hurling trophy beating Coláiste Chill Mhantain in the final. Their 2nd year hurling counterparts were also successful with the small ball, beating Ramsgrange in the final to capture another south leinster trophy.

The Gaelic Star Awards were awarded to:

The highlights of the basketball season were our 1st years reaching the midlands plate final, 2nd years reaching the midlands final, and our senior making the midlands final. The basketball player of the year awards went to the following:

In the Laois cross country, we took home gold in the intermediate and senior teams our minors and juniors took home silver. In the south Leinsters, the junior team took home bronze qualifying for Leinster and our intermediate team had an impressive performance on the day and won the intermediate team.

A variety of medals in the track and field this year from the south Leinster, from the walk race to the 5000m and the steeplechase. Congratulations to Fíonn O’Sullivan who won bronze in the Senior Boys 3000m Walking race. Congratulations to Joshua Crosby who won gold in the under 16 boys shot put.

Congrats to the following Athletes of the year:

Although our golf, tennis and chess teams did not bring home any silverware this year, they were competitive in each event. There is enormous potential for improvement, as these extra-curricular activities have only been established in recent years.

Well done to Tristan Kenny in Leaving 1, the first student to represent Knockbeg College at a schools interprovincial swimming gala event. He competed in the 100m back stroke and 100m butterfly.

The overall sportsperson of the year was presented to Fionn O Sullivan for representing Knockbeg with distinction across a multitude of sports, most notably Gaelic football, hurling and athletics.

Congrats to the following students for their achievements outside of School:

The amber flag was successfully renewed this year for the 5th year with various activities throughout the year, and was presented to the chairperson of the Board of Management, Michael Regan by Fionn O’Sullivan and Ennae Byrne.

We are delighted to announce that Knockbeg College received their third Green-Schools flag this year. Eoghan Mitchell, Ben Keady and Adam Nolan represented Knockbeg in the All-Ireland Young Reporters for The Environment competition. Ben and Adam’s article on the Restoration of Drummin Bog won first place in their age category and 2nd place overall. We wish them the best of luck as they go on to represent Knockbeg and Ireland in the global YRE competition against forty-one other countries!

Cathal Ronan, Sean Rainey and Shaun Hurley were presented with their appreciation awards for donating a huge amount of time and effort to ensure that Knockbeg grows and continues its sustainability efforts and education.

Comhghairdeas to Ryan O’Shea (L1), Jamie Doyle (L1), Evan Farrell (3rd Year), and Jack Anderson (3rd Year) on being awarded the Scoláireacht na Gaeilge to Coláiste Spleodar which were presented by Ellie Keenan, chairperson of the Parents Association.

Comhairghdeas to Eoighan Harris (Sóisear) and Luke Kehoe (Sinsear) who were presented with the Gaeilgeoir na Bliana for their constant dedication, effort, passion, and promotion of the Irish language in our school.

Daren Garcia was recognised for his extra-curricular contribution made in his endeavours in the creative field of Art. He led by example with his notable commitment, talent, and attention to detail in his work.

The overall Music Award is given Eddie Keenan for giving the greatest musical contribution to the school community. This student has shown commitment to music performance, and a motivation to study new repertoire in a variety of genres for many school events.

The Comhaltas Ceoltoiri  Eireann was presented to Cormac Murphy (Junior) and Eoin Hovenden (Senior) for demonstrating a commitment to developing Irish traditional music, continually expanding their performance ability on several traditional instruments, and sharing this with the school community at school Masses and other events.

Congratulations to Luke Hennessy, Eoin Hovenden, Adam Nolan, and Eoin Pender who have all received a JP2 Gold Award in 2024, and to Luke Kehoe and Cathal Ronan for being awarded the prestigious Papal Cross for dedicating many hours to parish work and social awareness and have demonstrated ongoing commitment to faith and good works. Best wishes to Luke Hennessy, Eoin Hovenden, and Eoin Pender who are currently working towards a JP2 Papal Cross Award and to Padraic Buckley, Jack Dowling, Tim Hayden, and Shane Maher for the JP2 Gold Award.

A big part of what Knockbeg prides itself on, is the charitable work and fundraising it does for worthy causes. This year, an impressive €11650 was raised for many various charities including St. Claire’s Kitchen, Pieta House, Embrace Farm and Sacred Hosptial but to name a few.

The past pupils Union is actively working behind the scenes to generate initiatives and funds for the betterment of our student cohort. They would encourage all Knockbeg students but especially our L2 cohort to give back to our school by becoming an active member of the union and help it to continue to grow

Knockbeg College believes in the importance in recognising the endeavours and hard work put in by last year’s Leaving Certificate Class. We invite back those who achieved outstanding results in their exams. From the Leaving Certificate Class of 2024, we would like to congratulate:

Mons. Byrne presented a token from the school to the high achievers of leaving cert 2024.

Congratulations to Michael Breen and Fiachra Moore who have demonstrated perfect attendance this academic year were also recognised. In the spirit of Knockbeg College’s ethos, which promotes commitment, personal growth, and a strong sense of community, these students have embodied those values through their consistent presence, day in and day out.

Many thanks to this year’s Meitheal leaders – Seán Behan, Luke Campion, Aaron Doyle, Ben Keady, Febin Manoj, Kevin McKeon, Tomas Murphy, Adam Nolan, and Fíonn O’Sullivan, for helping the first years integrate into Knockbeg and make a smooth transition from primary to post primary school. Bishop Nulty to presented them each with a certificate to acknowledge their efforts over the past year. Best of luck to the Meitheal leaders – Aodhán Bergin, Mark Buggy, Cathal Carroll, Jack Dowling, Frank Flynn, Oisín McNally, Pat Murphy, Ryan Murphy, Callum Ryan, and Conor Twomey, for next year. Hopefully, they will have a positive impact on the incoming first years for September 2025.

Our six outgoing prefects – Tom Hughes (head prefect), James Gannon, Callum Hayden, Luke Kehoe, Patrick Kelly, and Conor Murphy. were thanked for accepting the position of prefect and for the way you have carried yourselves across the year and represented our school. A special word of thanks for how well they have done this afternoon and starting what we hope will be a long tradition of our Senior Prefects leading the prize giving ceremony section on Parents Day. They were then presented with a certificate to show our gratitude for your contribution to school life not just this year but over the past six years by Michael Regan, head of the Board of Management.

Best wished to our six incoming prefects – Thomas Ashmore, Donny Brennan, Énnae Byrne, Mikey Byrne, Febin Manoj, and Kevin McKeon. We look forward to working with you in the next academic year and hopefully you will fill the position with honour and pride.

September 2024 in St. Mary’s Knockbeg College was not only the beginning of another school year, but it was the first time in almost 40 years that an academic year began without Mr. Ó’Faoláin on the teaching staff and on student timetables. He gave unwavering service and support to the school throughout his teaching profession. Teaching Gaeilge and Maths. We would like to thank Mr. Ó’Faoláin for his contribution to our school and we wish him a long and happy retirement.

The Parent’s Association Award acknowledges a student or group of students who have truly made a positive impact on our school community over the past year. This Award goes to Leaving 2 Year Group for their charitable effort during this year between the Tractor Run and the Skydive, presented by the Chairperson of the Parents Assocation, Ellie Keenan.

The pinnacle of our Parents’ Day Ceremony is the presentation of the overall Merit and Achievement Awards for each group.

The Merit Award is presented to the student in a year group, whom the subject teachers feel has made the greatest progress throughout the year and has put in a huge effort to improve. Their respective Year Heads presented each award to the following students:

The Achievement Award is presented to the top performing student in a year group, based on his results in the formal exams throughout the year. Our Principal Mr. Maye presented the award to the following students:

Our school annual is available to purchase from last week. Huge work has been undertaken by Mr. Maxwell and the editorial team to get it over the line. It is an account of the past year’s activities, both curricular and extra-curricular. A huge thank you to our many sponsors and without your support this production would not be possible. We would ask all students, past & present, staff and parents to support to help cover the costs associated with it. The price for one annual is just €10 or two can be purchased for €15. All proceeds will be greatly appreciated

Finally, Principal Mr. John Maye formally closed proceedings by thanking all in attendance their participation, attention, and contributions throughout the afternoon.