End of school year for St. Ernan"s pupils

The pupils and staff of St. Ernan"s National School, Delvin got their summer holidays on Friday, June 26, bringing a very busy term to an end.High on the agenda at St. Ernan"s recently was the arrival of the school"s new Green Flag, as reported in last week"s edition of the Westmeath Examiner.But this wasn"t the only event of importance to involve the Delvin school over the past few months.Shortly after Easter, the pupils from 5th and 6th classes participated in the All-Ireland finals of the Scoildrámaíocht competition.They had earlier qualified through the local and provincial rounds of the festival with their musical presentation of the story of The Pied Piper - An Piobaire Breac.The children also participated in "Coirm", organised by Gael Linn, and received two awards, oen for their movement and dancing, and one for their singing. In fact, throughout the Scoildrámaíocht competition, the children were complimented on their high standard of singing, with each judge in turn remarking on it.The part of the Pied Piper was played brilliantly by the very talented Dean Donnelly, and the Mayor of Hamelin was played excellently by Oisín Quinn. Both Dean and Oisín can be very proud of their performances, which received special mentions from the judges, as did the other solo performers Leanne Weir, Jasmine Confrey and Clíodhna Daly.The pupils painted their own scenery for the play, and enjoyed the whole experience immensely, learning a wealth of Gaeilge along the way.Oisín Quinn, one of the stars of the play, had another reason to celebrate in the school"s final term, proving just as talented on the draughts circuit as he is on the stage.Oisín was recently crowned All-Ireland Primary Schools Draughts Champion at the finals held in Tullamore. He is the third St. Ernan"s pupil to win this title in as many years.In 2007, the school participated in the competition for the first time, and in that year Cody Gaffney took the individual title.In 2008, Niall Fox won the competition, with Oisín finishing second. But this year, Oisín went one better by capturing the title himself.When the rounds were finished, he was level on points with Eoghan O"Brien from Limerick. This led to a nailbiting playoff, but Oisín kept his cool, and won the play-off to clinch a memorable victory.No doubt, Oisín will be back next year to defend his title, and land St. Ernan"s a fourth consecutive All-Ireland win.Historical Society tourMembers of Delvin Historical Society are advised that a tour of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar and its museum will take place on Sunday next, July 12. The tour guide for the day will be well known Mullingar historian, Ruth Illingworth.Tour-goers are asked to meet outside the Cathedral at 3pm on Sunday, and if anyone would like to go on the tour, they can contact Bernie Clancy on 044-9664658.Arrangements can be made to secure a lift for those without a car.Hospice nightOn Saturday night next, July 11, supporters of Delvin Hospice Homecare will gather at Isaac"s Well, Main Street, Clonmellon for a special fundraising night.Fr. Ray Kelly of Oldcastle will launch his new CD on the night, supported by a number of acts, and all proceeds from the launch will go towards the Delvin Hospice organisation.Tickets for the event are €10 (including finger food), and your support would be appreciated.New active retirement group for ClonmellonFollowing on from a recent visit to Clonmellon by Mary Nally, the founder of the Third Age Foundation in Summerhill, a newly formed Clonmellon Active Retirement Group is now meeting every Thursday from 3.30pm to 5.30pm in Clonmellon Community Centre.The aim of the new organisation is to enable older people to lead a full, happy and healthy life by offering organised opportunities to take part in a wide range of physical, social, cultural and learning activities, while at the same time making new friends, and meeting people from the surrounding areas.For more details, contact Julie on 046-9433247.Friendship Club tripMembers of Delvin Friendship Club are asked to note that the group"s annual summer outing will take place on Thursday, July 16.The trip will be to the Wicklow town of Bray, and all are welcome. If you would like to make the trip to the southeast, please contact Alice on 087-4147871, or Kathleen on 044-9664430.