The Graduation Mass for our Leaving Cert class of 2023/24 was held on Thursday 23rd of May. The cermony was held in our Sports Hall with parents, family, friends, staff, students and of course the class themselves in attendance. This is an important evening for the students as it marks the ending of thier time in GCS. Fr. Anthaiah along with Fr. Mooney celebrated the last mass for these students in our school as they face into their Leaving Cert exams and then part on their seperate ways in life.
The evening started with the class entering the hall in pairs wearing their graduation gowns to music by our ensemble. Mr. Duignan welcomed all in his opening speech and wished the class well in their future endeavours. He urged them not to take anything for granted, to stay focused in the coming weeks and to try to do your best. Finally, as always, he asked them to look after each other and not to get too distracted in the coming weeks during the exams. During the cermony, members of the class read or sang as well as bringing up gifts to the altar. Rachael Slattery and Joe Cunnane, as valadictorians, spoke on behalf of thier classmates about their time in GCS, highlighting the up and downs, trips and events, the craic and the laughter. They thanked all those who had helped them and thier classmates during their time at the school. They presented their yearhead, Mr. Heavey with a gift as a thank you for his efforts with them over their time in the school.
Mr Heavey then gave a speech of his own. In it he had a few final words of advice for the students; Be careful on the roads, look after your well being (don't be afraid to ask for help). give your studies your best and have no regrets and finally change the "I've got to do xyz" to " I get to do xyz" and therefore think in a positive way! Finally, Mr Heavey called out the names of all students as they were presented with a bookmark from Mr. Duignan and Ms Hardiman.
Many thanks to all involved in making the night such a success; staff, students, parents and Fr. Anthaiah in particular for celebrating his first graduation mass with us.
View a slideshow of photos from our mass by clicking on the photo below
The Graduation Mass for our Leaving Cert class of 2024/25 was held on Thursday 22nd of May. The cermony was held in our Sports Hall. In attendances were parents, family, friends, staff, students and of course the class themselves. The evening marks the ending of the students time in GCS. Fr. Anthaiah along with Fr. Mooney celebrated the last mass for these students in our school as they face into their Leaving Cert exams and then part on their seperate ways in life.
The evening started with the class entering the hall in pairs wearing their graduation gowns to music by our ensemble. Mr. Duignan welcomed all in his opening speech and wished the class well in their future endeavours with the hope that the dreams of the Class of 2025 would come true. He urged them not to take anything for granted, to stay focused in the coming weeks and to try to do your best. Finally, as always, he asked them to mind themselves and each other and not to get too distracted in the coming weeks during the exams. During the cermony, members of the class read or sang as well as bringing up gifts to the altar. Tomás Lee and Rebecca Joyce, as valadictorians, spoke on behalf of thier classmates about their time in GCS, highlighting the up and downs, trips and events, the craic and the laughter. They spoke on how they started in GCS by wearing masks in first year due to Covid, the loss of extra currilar that year and then the release from it in second year to go trips to places like Killary, skiing in Poland, France mixed with all the sporting achievements of Connacht and All Ireland victories. They thanked all those who had helped them and thier classmates during their time at the school. They presented their yearheads, Ms. Madden and Ms. Hession with a gift as a thank you for thier efforts with them over their time in the school.
Ms. Madden and Ms. Hession then gave a joint speech. They spoke on how the parents/guardians should be so proud of their graduates and how they have come through their time in the school. They both spoke about the tough start with Covid, the air breaks, the online teaching and all the excuses that were used to avoid sitting in front of that screen. They said that everyone should be proud of their own journery as everyones has been different and that they have created a bond with each other that will endure the test of time and they will always be able to remember their time with each other in GCS. Finally, Ms. Madden and Ms. Hession called out the names of all students as they were presented with a bookmark from Mr. Duignan and Ms Hardiman and took thier place for the class photo.
Many thanks to all involved in making the night such a success; staff, students, parents and Fr. Anthaiah in particular for celebrating the graduation mass with us.
View a slideshow of photos from our mass by clicking on the photo below
Monday 25th of May saw the Graduation Mass for our Leaving Cert class of 2014/15. The cermony was held in our Sports Hall with parents, family, friends, staff, students and of course the class themselves in attendance. Fr. Commins celebrated the last mass for these students in our school as they face into their Leaving Cert exams and then part on their seperate ways in life.
The evening started with the class entering the hall in pairs wearing their graduation gowns to music by our ensemble. Mr. Duignan welcomed all in his opening speech and wished the class well in their future endeavours urging them, as always, to look after each other. During the cermony, Aidan Keavney spoke on behalf of his classmates about their time in GCS, highlighting the up and downs, trips and events, the craic and the laughter. A special word was kept for Mr. Joe Coy who was their yearhead for their first two years until his retirement. Finally Ms. Madden, as current yearhead, gave a speech. In it she gave the memories she had of the group through their five or six years in the school. She finished by calling out the names of all students as they were presented with a bookmark from Mr. Duignan and Ms Gildea.
Finally a group photo of the class before they went their seperate ways.
Many thanks to all involved in making the night such a success; staff, students, parents and Fr. Commins in particular for celebrating the mass.
The Graduation Mass for our Leaving Cert class of 2025/26 was held on Thursday 21st of May in our Sports Hall. In attendance were parents, family, friends, staff, students and of course the class themselves. The evening marks the ending of the students time in GCS. Fr. Anthaiah along with Fr. Mooney celebrated the last mass for these students in our school as they face into their Leaving Cert exams and then part on their seperate ways in life.
The evening started with the class entering the hall in pairs wearing their graduation gowns to music by our ensemble. Mr. Higgins welcomed all in his opening speech as well as thanking our former Principal, Mr. Duignan for his help in the last few months and the positive school environment he helped to create in the school. Linking back to music in the charts around when these students were born he noted Rihannas 'Take a bow' which he felt was apt for our students as they take a final bow in the school to salute all their work and achievements during thier time in GCS. He wished them well in the exams and their lives after school.
During the cermony, members of the class read or sang as well as bringing up gifts to the altar. Sam Nolan and Shauna Joyce, as valadictorians, spoke on behalf of thier classmates about their time in GCS, highlighting the up and downs, trips and events, the craic and the laughter. They spoke on how they started in GCS by wearing masks in first year due to Covid and how they went on trips to Errit Lake in 1st Year, Killary in 2nd Year, ski trip to Poland in 5th Year and Emerald Park in LC. They also recounted a smokey bus trip to Macbeth when the bus gave up on the way! Sam congratulated the girls on thier 3 All Irelands and they finished by thanking all that had helped them in their time at GCS. They presented their yearheads, Ms. O'Shea and Ms. Conroy with a gift as a thank you for thier efforts with them over their time in the school and also made a presentation to Mr. Duignan.
Ms. Conroy spoke as yearhead to the LCA group. She commented on how they were seen as a challenging group at first but have developed into a tight group who look out for each other. She spoke on how they are capable and resilient and have been a memorable group in the school. Ms. O'Shea started by thanking the management, staff and parents on behalf of the year group. She when through all the trips and activities over the years with a trip to Barcelona standing out. As the students move into 'Phase 4' of thier life, as she called it, she quoted Mark Twain in urging the students to 'explore, dream and discover'.
Finally, Ms. O'Shea called out the names of all students as they were presented with a bookmark from Mr. Higgins and Ms Hardiman and took thier place for the class photo.
Many thanks to all involved in making the night such a success; staff, students, parents and Fr. Anthaiah in particular for celebrating the graduation mass with us.
View a slideshow of photos from our mass by clicking on the photo below
Thursday 19th of May saw the Graduation Mass for our Leaving Cert class of 2015/16. The cermony was held in our Sports Hall with parents, family, friends, staff, students and of course the class themselves in attendance. Fr. Mooney celebrated the last mass for these students in our school as they face into their Leaving Cert exams and then part on their seperate ways in life.
The evening started with the class entering the hall in pairs wearing their graduation gowns to music by our ensemble. Mr. Duignan welcomed all in his opening speech and wished the class well in their future endeavours urging them, as always, to look after each other. During the cermony, members of the class read or sang as well as bringing up gifts to the altar. Shannon Shanks sang Ava Maria and recieved a well deserved round of applause after. Sean Raftery spoke on behalf of his classmates about their time in GCS, highlighting the up and downs, trips and events, the craic and the laughter. Finally Ms. O'Shea, the groups yearhead, gave a speech. In it she gave the memories she had of the group through their five or six years in the school. She finished by calling out the names of all students as they were presented with a bookmark from Mr. Duignan and Ms Hardiman.
Finally a group photo of the class before they went their seperate ways.
Many thanks to all involved in making the night such a success; staff, students, parents and Fr. Mooney in particular for celebrating the mass.
View a slideshow of photos from our mass by clicking on the photo below
