Ursuline Awards Day
The entire Ursuline School gathered together in the Sr Ursula Memorial Hall on Thursday morning, 21 May for the final assembly of the year and the final assembly for the Sixth Years. The School welcomed back past pupil, Dr Amy Maguire, who was the guest speaker. Amy is currently head of Sport and Early Childhood at TUS, Thurles and a performance nutritionist with the Tipperary Senior Hurling team. She spoke about her humble beginnings, failing to get her first choice on the CAO and where that lead her career wise. She also spoke about her career as an Irish International Basketball player and how her love of Basketball was fostered in Scoil Angela, Ursuline Primary School, by Christine Douglas and nurtured in Secondary School by Ms Tríona Gleeson, the now Principal of the Ursuline, who was a PE teacher and Basketball coach at the time. She talked about the lessons she learned from suffering an injury that had a significant impact on her Basketball career, trying to launch herself into the jobs market when the economy crashed and having her own business. She also spoke to students about grabbing the opportunities that are available and open to them when and where they can. Success teaches very little in the way of personal growth. It is the challenges faced and how they are coped with that will test resilience and build character, was her message to the assembled School. There is not one path, but many, was the tone of her speech and that path doesn’t have to be perfect to be successful.
Amy’s talk was followed by the annual Awards ceremony and she was on hand to present the Helen Larkin Fitzgerald Award for Student of the Year to Jane Carroll. Other Awards recipients included the Hyland Trophy for Music Student of the Year to Tara Rae, Sports Student of the Year to Caoimhe Stakelum, the Ursuline 250 Award for fostering School spirit was presented jointly to Fiona Barry, Aoife Queally and Amber Bannon, the David Molony Medal for Performance, was presented to both Lily Murphy and Cáit Browne, the Dwan Salver for excellence in RIAM St Angela’s Academy Exams to Maura Moran, the Outstanding Individual Recognition in Sports Award to Alana Fagan for Show Jumping, the Sr Ursula Memorial Medal for an original, creative piece to Vega Lopez Lagarma for her watercolour. This year there was a special soccer award presented to Zoe Nash. It was a limited edition silver coin to celebrate the Women’s National Football team. This was donated to the School by past pupil and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Mary Elizabeth McMunn on a visit in November. Congratulations to the Class of 2026 on all their achievements and contributions to the School during their last five and six years in UCT and to all those who received awards on Thursday, 21 May.
Child of Mary Graduation Mass, 2026
The Ursuline Child of Mary Graduation Mass took place in the Cathedral of the Assumption on Thursday, 21 May at 2pm. This was the final liturgical farewell to the Sixth Year Class of 2026 who have attended many School masses and religious celebrations as part of the School Community over the past five and six years. It was a very special occasion celebrated by School Chaplain Fr Jim Purcell. The theme chosen, by the Year Group was a Winnie the Pooh quotation ‘We didn’t know we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.’ This theme of memories shared was threaded through the mass in word, song, dance, ritual and prayer. In his homily Fr Purcell reminded the congregation of the Greek philosophers, Socrates in particular, who were only interested in the highest ideals, of truth, goodness and worth. They knew what was right, knew what was correct and were only interested in the highest ideals. In the final words of his homily he told the Sixth Years that their lives were before them and may they live them well. The girls were joined by family members, the School Community and the Community of Ursuline Sisters to remember their time together and to give thanks for how far they have come and how much they have grown.
AIMS Choral Festival
Congratulations to Fifth Year student, Katelyn Barry, who won the solo girls competition at the AIMS Choral Festival on Friday, 22 May. Accompanied by Mary Rose McNally of St Angela’s Academy of Music Katelyn sang When I Look at You from Jekyll and Hyde and Good Morning Baltimore from Hairspray. Well done to Katelyn who is such an aspiring talent in stage, musical theatre, singing and music.
Athletics
Ursuline athletes had a brilliant day out on Saturday, May 16 in Castleisland at the Munster Schools Track and Field. A large team travelled down with their parents and were met by their coaches in the wind and rain swept 400m track in Kerry. First off was Rachel Donoghue in her first ever School's Track and Field Munster Final. She competed in the race walk and finished a very credible fourth place. Then Helen Renehen, Second Year, jumped 1m49 to win bronze and qualify for the All Irelands. Tianna O'Leary competed in the 1500m steeplechase, a great event for her. This was a very competitive race, with Tianna up against two of the best steeplechasers at intermediate level. She kept pace with them and finished just behind the silver medallist in bronze with automatic qualification for the All Irelands. Eleanor Kiernan finished fourth in the 3k and may yet qualify depending on other results. Incidentally, her U16 mile record was not beaten on the day. Olivia Lynch had a great race in the 1500m, leading it out over the first two laps. Caoimhe Slevin had an excellent outing in what was a super fast race. Alana Spillane, representing the School one last time, competed well in the Senior 1500m to finish just outside the medals. Grace Power lowered her PB by two seconds in the 800m. Órla Pamplin finished in the bronze medal position, losing out on automatic qualification in the 300m by 100th of a second. Eleanor Doyle qualified for the 200m and was out of luck that the other members of the 4 x 300m team did not make it to Kerry. Thanks so much to coaches Mr McDonnell, Mr Corbett and Ms Delargy.
Teacher v Sixth Year Soccer Match
Arsenal may have won the Premier League in 2026 after a twenty-two-year hiatus but for the first time, in around the same length of time, the Ursuline Sixth Years beat the teachers in the annual Teacher v Sixth Years end of year soccer match. Although the teachers team was winning for most of the match, three late goals from the Sixth Years cinched the win for them. There was much celebration on the pitch from the girls in pink who were thrilled with their little bit of Ursuline sporting history.