Author: Jo Adams

On Thursday 20 May 2021, we heard the great news that 2nd Year student, Hugo Phelan, had been crowned Junior Young Economist of the Year. The ceremony took place online, owing to Covid-19 restrictions. Hugo greatly impressed the judges with his project, and they commented on the excellence of his research, which reflected his great interest in space and space technology from a young age. Hugo’s project was entitled Is Space Exploration a Sustainable Enterprise – Economically, Socially and Environmentally? His research led him to recommend that the Irish government should invest in space exploration as part of its economic policies aimed at the Irish economic recovery from the effects of the coronavirus crisis.

Other Glenstal prize-winners this year were TY students Daniel Hughes, who was awarded a gold medal for his project on the current housing crisis, and Aonghus Cooke, who received a bronze medal for his research on the economic effects of the coronavirus. https://geembi.com Congratulations to all the students who took part, and to their teacher, Ms Máiréad O’Sullivan.

You can watch Hugo describing his project briefly below.

We are sad to announce the passing of our former colleague, Maeve Casey. The photo accompanying this post, from her retirement celebrations in 2018, seems apt – a cake with a pencil and ruler, the word ‘Farewell’, and a delightful image of Maeve at her most vibrant, joyful and mischievous. It sums up much of how many of us will remember her.

A proud Dubliner, Maeve first came to teach in Glenstal in 1997, having settled in East Clare after several years teaching in the UK. She came to teach English and History, but in time pioneered our Special Educational Needs department. She led the SEN department until her retirement, combining that specialised work with the teaching of English. Maeve was passionate about her subject and passionate about students with additional needs. https://www.oldhouseonline.com Indeed, she was passionate about a lot of things! She could truly be a force of nature, and it was a brave decision to take the opposite side to her in a debate. But disagreements were always forgotten quickly.

Maeve had a huge heart and was a warm, supportive and witty colleague. Whenever there were staff gatherings, days away or nights out for various occasions, Maeve was generally at the heart of things. And whenever there were student successes to be celebrated, she was there too. She even wrote a poem in honour of the 2018 Munster Senior Cup victory.

Maeve became ill in late 2014 and went out on sick leave in December 2014. We didn’t know when she would be back, or indeed if she would be back. But Maeve was a trooper, and came through her treatment. After nearly three years, she returned to work, large as life and full of enthusiasm in 2017. She worked for a further 18 months, before deciding that it was time to retire. The Assembly to mark Maeve’s retirement in May 2018 was an unforgettable experience, made especially memorable by 6th Year student Ben O’Sullivan’s heartfelt tribute to Maeve for all she had done for him and for countless other students over the years.

As it happens, Maeve was actually the only teacher who ever reduced me to tears! She could be fierce about things that really mattered to her – but rows were always made up quickly. There were tears in my eyes that day too, but they were of a much different, bittersweet kind. The event said so much about her, and about this school, which she loved very much. She had plenty to say that day when she had a captive audience!

Maeve was determined to live life to the full and she enjoyed her retirement. It is sad that it turns out to have been such a short one. We can be happy for her, though, that her children, Enda, Oisín and Finnuala, of whom she was fiercely proud, were all able to get home before the end. Something that couldn’t be taken for granted in these days of pandemic. We send our sympathy to them and to Maeve’s beloved husband, Alan.

On this feast of the Epiphany, traditionally known in Ireland as Nollaig na mBan – ‘Women’s Christmas’ – I can’t help thinking of some lines from Brendan Kennelly’s poem, St Brigid’s Prayer, as I remember Maeve.

I’d like the people of Heaven to gather

from all the parishes around.

I’d give a special welcome to the women,

the three Marys of great renown.

I’d sit with the men, the women and God

there by the lake of beer.

We’d be drinking good health forever

and every drop would be a prayer.

 

May Maeve rest in peace, and be raised to transfigured glory.

Martin Browne OSB, Headmaster

The School Choir Sings Good King Wenceslaus on the Terrace

There was huge disappointment all-round when news filtered in that the School Advent Carol Service was cancelled.

New Covid restrictions on Church Choirs were introduced the day before the Concert was due to take place in the Abbey Church.

So much effort and time had gone into preparing for the Concert and these new restrictions meant it was bitterly disappointing for the members of the Choir as well as for Choirmasters Fr. Columba and Br. Jarek,

However, Choir Captain John Walsh was not going to let the occasion go by without some sort of performance and so the video crew which was there for the church performance transferred their gear to the school terrace where the Choir sang Good King Wenceslaus.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the making of the video as you can see. www.colombia.co We hope you enjoy it too. The YouTube link is below.

Plans are afoot for a big concert from the School Choir later in the year when the present restrictions will have been lifted. We will inform everyone when the time comes and we hope to have a packed church for this postponed Concert…..just like we have had for previous Advent Carol Services.

Fr. Damian of the Friars of the Renewal from St. Mary’s Parish, Moyross accepted the presents which were donated by the students and parents of Glenstal Abbey School.

Fr. Damian was taken aback at the generosity of Glenstal Abbey School. He said that he was amazed at both the quantity and quality of the gifts. He thanked everyone and said that the presents would be all the more appreciated this year as it has been a very tough one for everyone involved in the parish. https://mommabe.com

School Captain Tom Rooney and the School Council representatives presented the gifts to Fr. Damian. It took quite a while to fill Fr. Damian’s minibus with all the presents and it was full to overflowing when all the presents were loaded.

Sincerest thanks to the parents and students of Glenstal Abbey School for their wonderful generosity at a time of great hardship for many people in Limerick

My name is George O’Leary, and on the 26/11/2020, I had the unique opportunity to meet (remotely) with Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform Mr. Michael McGrath TD regarding my YEOTY (young economist of the year) success as a TY IGEES winner. My winning project, entitled “When China Sneezes, Ireland Catches a Cold”, was an in-depth analysis on the early (January-February 2020) effects of the covid-19 pandemic on the world’s biggest economies. As part of my study, I also discovered that there was a lack of balanced information provided by the Government to Irish companies exporting to the Chinese market. My summary / recommendation was to take into consideration the potential risks for Irish exporting companies when entering the huge Chinese market.

I asked Minister McGrath a question in relation to the huge amount of money that Ireland borrowed to pay for the effects of the Covid-19 crisis (which the country was most grateful for) & how the Government planned to pay that back without it affecting future generations. His answer was great as he pointed out that before covid-19, the national debt was around €200 Bn, and while by the end of next year it will be approximately €240 Bn (a 20% increase), the country borrowed the money at historically low interest rates (close to 0%). https://remotepilot101.com However, the debt will have to be refinanced in the future, so it’s very important that the public finances are managed in a responsible and sustainable way. As it happens, Ireland is doing well compared to other EU countries.

Glenstal’s 2^nd year (the entire business class) also won a medal each for their projects in the Young Economist of the Year, which is incredible seeing as very few, if not any full class ever gets a medal each. I gave a speech to the 2^nd years about my meeting with Minister McGrath and my project. Glenstal did very well this year in terms of YEOTY.

As it happens, the day of my meeting was also Thanksgiving, therefore the 2^nd year business class, Glenstal’s US students & I had a pizza party to celebrate.

On Thursday 19 November, our Transition Year students went to Fota Wildlife Park in Cork, to spend a day learning about how the park works and the programme in place to maintain the well-being of all the animals.

They were split into three groups and were taken to see the animals as well as going into the back areas where food is processed. There was also a video on the various species in the park.

It was a great day and full of fun and learning. https://www.oldhouseonline.com/ We recommend it to any of the year groups in Glenstal as it is Covid compliant and totally safe. We certainly learned a lot from our day and special thanks to the staff of Fota Island for looking after us so well.

There are photos of the day – taken by Luke Fahy and Fr. Denis – in the Photos section

Congratulations to George O’Leary, who is this year’s Winner of the Young Economist of the Year 2020 Competition ( TY Category).  His project entitled ‘When China Sneezes; Ireland Catches a Cold’, examined government policy in relation to Irish company’s trade with China and the repercussions following the outbreak of Covid19 initially in China. George’s inspiration for this project came as a result of a trip to China during TY.

While in China, George saw the level of production in full flight before Covid19 and read about the many Irish companies that had begun trading with China in recent years. He knew he wanted to investigate this further on his return and the Young Economist of the Year Competition gave him the opportunity to do this. George said ‘I was able to highlight some anomalies in terms of overly positive recommendations to Irish businesses being encouraged to trade with China. My project grew legs once Covid19 took hold as all my predictions and reservations came to fruition. It was a very exciting project to do and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it. https://aspireregenerativehealth.com/ ’ George would like to thank his economics teacherMs Mairead O’Sullivan for all the support and direction she gave him with his winning project.

From thousands of entries that culminated in hundreds of finalists, students all gathered online on Friday 19th June to witness the virtual ceremony viewed in homes around the country. Glenstal Abbey School was proud to have 22 students in total competing in the Young Economist of the Year Final 2020 and are very proud to have George’s achievement in the Senior Category as well as a Junior team who were placed third in the Junior Category with their project. Four other teams won gold and silver medals.

Glenstal were among the Junior Prize Winners with a Trophy for third place:  William Waller, Callum Hughes, Edward Franklin and Aedan O’Kelly (Team Captain). Their team project was an investigation into the factors affecting the Irish economy of inward tourism into Ireland in 2020.

Young Economist First Year Gold Medal Winners – A Farmer’s Life for Me?

Glenstal Abbey School had another Gold medal team among the winners, with their project entitled  “A Farmer’s Life for me? – An investigation into the economic consequences for young people who opt for a life in agriculture rather than other professional pursuits. The team was captained by Tommy McNamara  and included Alex Courtney, Olivier Hilaire, Fionn Stack and Oliver Springett

There were three silver medal winning teams in total from Glenstal Abbey School at the Final. These included a project investigating the effects of Ireland’s imports and exports on the Irish Economy. This team comprised Colum Hanly, Paul O’Kane( captain), Anselme Callens and Christian Kinahan

Hugo Phelan captained the silver medal winning team that researched the Gender Pay Gap in Sport. His teammates were Lochlann Frawley and Donncha Ó Murthuile and Eric White.

A fifth team among the silver medal winners were Cillian O’Donovan (team captain), Cillian Plummer, Teak Williams and Frederick Japy.

Glenstal are no strangers to the Young Economist of the Year Competition as last year two TY students Cillian O’Sullivan and Laurence Tuohy travelled to St Petersburg to compete in the International Economics Olympiad representing Ireland and Glenstal at the prestigious event.

Congratulations to George and to all the Glenstal representatives who did us proud at this year’s Young Economist of the Year Competition.

Finally, none of this would be possible without the support of Ms. Mairead O’Sulliven, Head of the Business Department in Glenstal and all the teachers of Business throughout the school. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for their encouragement and inspiration.

Prize-winners for the academic year 2019-20 were announced during the Virtual Sports Day Zoom meeting on Sunday 24 May. https://geembi.com/

Congratulations to all recipients and indeed to all the Students of Glenstal Abbey School.

Enjoy your Summer holidays!

A wonderful Virtual School Assembly and Prize Giving took place via Zoom on Sunday 24 May to mark the end of the 2019-20 academic year. The event took the place of the usual Sports Day activities, made impossible this year by the Covid-19 lockdown. Nevertheless, the usual family picnics took place in the homes of Glenstal students all around the world, with photos shared during the Assembly, and the announcement of prizewinners was interspersed with a wonderful variety of home-recorded student musical performances.

Particularly warm congratulations to Donagh Hyland, who was awarded the Abbot of Maredsous Cup; and to Tom Rooney and Ted Collins, who were announced as next year’s School Captain and Vice-Captain.

Congratulations to all of our students for the outstanding way in which they have dealt with this unprecedented period of lockdown. Keep safe and well during the summer holidays. colombia.co We look forward to seeing everybody in September.

Pax