This was stage 4 of the competition, where the girls spent 3 days explaining their project ideas to the public. The presentation of the 5 Irish Angus calves worth €3,500 was made by Mary Claire Fitzpatrick, a presenter from RTÉ. The calves may be reared on the students’ family farms or by arrangement with Certified Irish Angus.
Other guests who arrived to congratulate our students on wining the calves in the competition included:
- Charlie McConalogue - Minister of Agriculture, Food and Marine
- Bishop Denis Nulty
- Helen Carroll – Presenter from Ear to the Ground
- KEPAK
- ABP
- Irish Angus Producer Group
- John Heslin – Westmeath County Player
- Meath ladies football team with the Brendan Martin Cup
- Colm Markey MEP
- Rachel Duffy – Winner of the International Rose of Tralee 2022
A massive thank you must be extended to all family, friends and the students from Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan, who came and supported the girls over the three days.
The fifth and final stage of the competition will involve the girls rearing the calves through to finishing over 14 months, to coincide with their Leaving Certificate studies. Students will benefit fully from the financial gain derived from the production of the cattle. A final presentation of their projects will be made to a panel of Agricultural and Food industry experts before an overall winner is selected. One school will be chosen as the overall winner and will receive an additional €2,000 payment towards their further education.
Currently, the five Irish Angus calves are on Trasa and Sinead Bracken’s family farm. The girls will be running a competition with the primary school to help name the calves very soon, so, keep an eye on our school website for updates on the calves’ and how the girls are getting on with their project, “Exploring the opportunities of low carbon beef”.
On Tuesday the 13th of September the school community had the privilege of welcoming Minister for Education Norma Foley to Mercy Kilbeggan. The Minister was welcomed to the school by Mr. Farrell, before being introduced to the Student Council. Minister Foley spoke briefly to each individual on the council and then took questions about her role as Minister and the life of a politician. She also commented on the new changes to the Senior Cycle course coming into effect next year and the admiration she has for students and student activism.
Minister Foley was brought then on a short tour of the school where she met with students and teachers hard at work in their classrooms. Here she spoke to them about school life and the new school, which is making great progress. She then made a visit to the ASC classes where she met with the students and SNAs before being treated to a musical performance by the talented Wrafter brothers.
To complete the visit, the Minister stopped at the site of the new school to view the progress that has been made over the past year. It was a day to remember for many students and teachers.
Congratulations to our 2020-2021 Wellbeing Committee and to our teachers Ms. Daly and Ms. Raymond on achieving 2nd place in the Schools Environmental Competition. Their Wellbeing Garden project turned out to be a huge success and it has been a valuable addition to our school campus. The prize was collected at the Cathaoirleach Awards on Friday May 6th at a civil ceremony in Belvedere House and Gardens.
Well done to all the First Year students who participated in the Green-Schools poster competition titled ‘Groundwater Our Hidden Treasure’. The students were presented with a reusable draw-string bag and some goodies.
Back row: Ava McDonnell, Alison Murray, Aine Bracken, John Tehan, Lily McLavin, Peter Daly, Feras Abdo, Zuzanna Gierak, Ciara Relph
Front row: Emma Tandy, Aimee Slevin, Carol-Anne Finn, Anna Mullen, Lucy O’Sullivan, Lorna Noreigan Grehan, Lena Clarke, Emily O’Neill
Missing from photo: Marie Coyne
Congratulations to Transition Year student Keith Gavigan, who submitted a poster in the EST Solar Competition which is run throughout Europe. Keith completed an excellent poster illustrating the Carrington Effect and he received a certificate for his efforts.
A bake sale was held in our school on Friday April 8th in aid of the Children's Health Foundation. It was a massive success, raising €280. Well done to the TY students involved in running the event, the student council, and to the students in our school who baked goodies for the sale.
Our students, staff and TY Mentors had a fantastic day exploring the sights and sounds of Dublin Zoo on April 5th. The weather was extremely kind and made the day even more enjoyable. A special mention must go out to our TY Mentors who continually demonstrate great maturity and leadership. They are a credit to our school.
Pictured below are our two Transition Year student groups who are participated in the Certified Irish Angus Beef Competition in Croke Park on April 1st.
Group 1: Martha Egan, Rachel Maxwell and Ríona Egan (not pictured). Group 2: Mary Ellen Colton, Sinead Bracken, Chloe McDermott and Trasa Bracken.
Well done girls.
SciFest 2022
Eagraíodh go leor imeachtaí an tseachtain seo chun ár dteanga náisiúnta a cheiliúradh. Bhí tráth na gceist, maidin chaife, tóraíocht taisce. comórtas na gcontaetha agus fiú comórtas na bpeataí! Bhain gach duine an-taitneamh as na himeachtaí go léir agus bhí go leor Gaeilge le cloisteáil timpeall na scoile. Maith sibh agus leanaigí ort!
The momentum in the first half was with Newpark as they scored the opening try to put them 0-5 ahead at the ten minute mark. Minutes later Newpark extended their lead as they charged over the line for another try. It was looking quite bleak for our lads as we approached half time but a try from Eoin Robinson raised the spirits of the team as he barged his way over the line to get our first score of the match. Neale Pierson scored the subsequent conversion just before the half time whistle to make it 7-10 at the break.
As the second half of the game got underway Newpark got off to a flying start with a third try. This didn’t stop our boys as Darragh O’Brien made a brilliant run down the left hand side of the field, crossing the try line to cut the deficit to a 3 points again. Shortly after, Newpark replied with their fourth try to extend their lead once more. Eoin Robinson gave us hope and kept us in the running as he scored his second try of the game. This was converted by Neale Pierson to make it 19-20 with only five minutes left on the clock.
Our forwards were very strong in tackles and put great pressure on Newpark in the closing moments. With seconds left on the clock, Robinson made a line break and was tackled just before the try line. He reached out to score the winning try but it was heartbreakingly disallowed for double movement. Moments later the full time whistle was blown and it finished 19-20 in favour of Newpark Comprehensive School. Our boys never gave up throughout the game and played very well from start to end. Stand tall boys!
Ukraine: we stand with you.
Thank you to all,
The Student Council.
Our Transition Year mini company students visited Golden Island Shopping Centre, Athlone on March 10th for the local Student Enterprise Awards. A huge congratulations to Lauren O'Reilly and Summer Feery who won first place for their company "Framed it", and to Isabelle Hayden who achieved third place for her company "Shambalm". The girls were supported on the day by their mini company tutors Mr. Dunne and Mr. O'Meara, and by their Transition Year colleague Tristan Seery. Finally, our school was awarded the title of the 'most enterprising school in Westmeath'. Well done to all.
scrum from our forwards. Neale Pierson went on to score yet another try to extend the lead. Eoin Robinson
charged over the line in the final minutes of the game for a second time and this was converted by Neale Pierson once more. Tremendous pressure and defending by our boys kept Raheny scoreless throughout the entire game. The game finished 43-0 in our favour. The lads now head to Dublin for the Leinster Final next week. Best of luck lads! - By Shane King
Well done to all 50 players from First and Second Year who braved very tough weather conditions to play two U14 Girls Football games on the week ending Friday February 18th. We recorded a victory against Moate C.S. on what was a ferociously windy day and we were then gracious in defeat against Our Lady's Bower, Athlone. It is great to see so many girls from First and Second Year playing Gaelic Football in our school. 
On February 15th our Transition Year students went on a Physical Education trip where they walked from Bray to Greystones via the spectacular cliff walk. Our students also visited Jump Zone Sandyford for some trampolining. Between the two activities our students were given some time to explore Dundrum Town Centre. The weather was perfect for the occasion and each student really enjoyed their activity-filled day out.
Photo gallery from our recent North Leinster Final success.
Our Transition Year students attended a wonderful production of the iconic musical Les Misérables in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on February 10th.
Congratulations to our two Transition Year student groups who will be participating in the Certified Irish Angus Beef Competition in Croke Park on April 1st. Group 1: Martha Egan, Rachel Maxwell and Ríona Egan. Group 2: Mary Ellen Colton, Sinead Bracken, Chloe McDermott and Trasa Bracken
Pictured below are Transition Year students Mary, Julia and Isabell with their cake for Marian Hostel Tullamore. Consider It Cake makes birthday treats for people living in direct provision. Well done to the girls for getting involved.
Our Junior Girls Football Team are through to the Leinster Final after beating St Wolstan's Celbridge on February 3rd in Durrow. The final score was 8-17 to 5-03. Well done to Miss. Daly, Miss. Shortall and the girls.
Well done to our Athletics Team who participated in the North Leinster Cross Country Championships on January 28th. A special mention must go to our Intermediate Girls Team who finished 2nd overall.
Our Senior Boys Rugby Team played an excellent quarter final match on Thursday 27th January against Dundalk. The match was held in Navan. We started off very strong with the first try of the game being scored by our captain Tadhg Dowdall. Tadhg then followed this up with his second try soon after. Daire Early and Peter Pierson put more points on the board for us with the respected conversions for both. We then pushed on and excelled for the remainder of the first half, keeping our opponents scoreless. At half time the score was 37-0 in our favour. Several changes were made during the second half as we were able to utilise our squad. Mark Devine and Daire Early scored two amazing stand-out tries in the second period, but scorers were spread throughout the team. The game ended 67-12. Now on to a semi-final!!
Congratulations to our Senior Boys Hurling squad and the management team of Mr. Doyle, Mr. Minnock and Tristan Seery, after their fantastic North Leinster Final win on January 25th. Our lads won away to Castlepollard C.C. in what was a tight encounter. The final score was 2-15 to 1-15. We march on!
Congratulations to our past and current students who received John Paul II Awards on Saturday January 22nd.
- Papal Cross Award: Brian Walsh, Kevin Walsh
- Gold Award: Geri Louise O'Brien, Katie Coffey, Aoibhe Cusack
Well to our TY students Isabell Hayden and Martha Egan who got 'highly commended' for their project "Does Makeup Effect You Skin?" at BT Young Scientist 2022. The event was held from January 12th to 14th. You can find their exhibit on https://btyoungscientist.com/. Their stand number was 3547.
Stand Up Awareness Week is celebrated in all Irish post-primary schools to spread awareness and take a stand against LGBTI+ related bullying. Our Wellbeing Committee decorated the Wellbeing notice board to create awareness among the school community and some of our classes have been actively engaging in the BeLonGTo.org activities. We stand together so our school remains a safe place for all. 
Well done to our Junior Boys hurling team who beat Tullamore College in their first outing on Friday November 12th.
Our Senior Boys Football Team wrapped up their Senior B league campaign with an excellent win over Boyne Community School, Trim. The lads put in an excellent team performance with a wide range of scorers on the day. This was an excellent response to our opening game against Cnoc Mhuire Granard, who edged the tie in the last ten minutes in what was a tight encounter. We now look forward to the Senior Championship which begins in two weeks with a game against Ballymahon Vocational School at home. 
Wednesday 20th October 2021 marked a momentous day on the Dublin Road out of Kilbeggan for the whole school community of Mercy Secondary School Kilbeggan.The machines and staff of Stewart Construction landed on-site to a huge welcome from students and school staff alike, as the process of building the new state of art 650 pupil secondary school commenced. This has been a long wait for everyone in the school community, who are now looking forward to the new school being ready for the start of the 2023/2024 academic year.
On the 16th of October, Andrew Grehan, Seamus Grehan, Gavin Moran and Mark Green took part in a 24-hour cycle challenge around the Mondello Park racetrack. One person kept cycling at all times from the start of the event at 12.00am on Saturday the 16th, until the finish of the event at 12.00am on Sunday the 17th. Andrew, after becoming aware of the fleet of bikes we have in our school which we use for student cycling trips, decided to take on this challenge with the assistance of friends in order to raise some funds to assist with their maintenance. Andrew explains that "cycling is an amazing activity to help support wellbeing and mental health, and a school having such a resource available is fantastic for students". Andrew, Seamus, Gavin and Mark managed to cover 593k completing 179 laps of the track. We would like to express our gratitude to Andrew and crew for such generosity. A very considerable amount of money has been raised so far, which will be put to great use in order to keep our wheels rolling! The donation page will remain open for a few more days and any donation is greatly appreciated via the following link: https://gofund.me/
Well done to 1 Green who won our First Year Litter Pick Competition. The class were presented with some goodies for their great work collecting litter around our school for Climate Action Week. They are pictured with our TY Green Schools members who ran the competition.
Our Senior Camogie Team had a successful first outing on October 15th, beating St. Joseph's of Navan 3-6 to 2-2. It was a great team performance. Well done girls. 
On Tuesday October 12th, our TY Students carved pumpkins as a creative activity within their Wellbeing module.
A number of our students took part in the Inter-schools Showjumping competition in Mullingar Equestrian Centre on Sunday last, 10th October. A fantastic day was had by all. Congratulations to the students who won rosettes on the day in their classes and well done to everyone for taking part. It was a very enjoyable day. We are looking forward to our next competition.
On Thursday, October 7th our Third Year students set out on the Bray to Greystones cliff walk accompanied by their class tutors Mr. Duffy, Ms. Bhreatnach, Ms. Conmy, Ms. Henry (who stood in for Ms. McCardle) and Year head Mr. Donnelly. Afterward the group enjoyed a session in JumpZone Sandyford completing what was a fantastic day out.
Our Sixth Year Agricultural Science students enjoyed a trip to Little Buds Farm on October 7th. GD Young gave them a very informative tour of his dairy farm. This trip brought what they learn about in class to life and will complement their studies. A huge thanks to GD Young for giving up his time.
On Wednesday October 6th all Second Year students, accompanied by their Class Tutors and Year Head Mr. Corrigan, visited Lilliput Adventure Centre for an Outdoor Adventure bonding day. Each student was given the opportunity to partake in Orienteering, Kayaking, Bog Hopping, Rock Climbing and Capture the Flag. A thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all in spite of the inclement weather.
Friendship and Kindness are two of the fundamental principles that guide the daily workings of our school and indeed the interactions between all those in our wider community.
Acknowledging the importance of these ideals - now more than ever, in October 2021, T.Y students at our school have re-launched our mentoring programme for this academic year, wherein they work with younger students to help guide their development while building lasting friendships along the way.
The ‘Cairdeas agus Cinéaltas’ programme recognises that students learn a great deal simply by observing and interacting with their peers and that the impact of a great mentor can be lifelong.
To this end, students and mentors meet across the week, throughout the academic year to enjoy mutual hobbies /interests, help one another in their studies and learn many new skills along the way.
The initiative is already having a hugely positive impact on all those involved and it will only continue to prosper.
‘Friendship is not a big thing…..it’s a million little things’
