By Michelle Crean

There's something brand new in The Mon which will be of enormous benefit to children with sensory needs - and it cost the school just €5!

The Sensory Pod is worth a whopping €10,000 - but thanks to Principal Mary Brosnan - it barely cost them anything at all.

Presentation Monastery was announced the winner of the Sensory Pod from thesensorypod.ie with the support of Fresh Today Ireland and AsIAm, at the recent Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) conference in the Gleneagle Hotel.

She had purchased a ticket in the raffle and was thrilled when the school won.

"It was brilliant, I couldn't believe it," Mary, describing it as the size of a bunkbed, told the Killarney Advertiser. "We're delighted as it's something we would never have been able to afford."

The school has a sensory unit - but it's of the more active kind, she explained, saying that the new pod is located in the corridor where pupils can take some quiet time out if needed.

"We have a sensory room but some children have different sensory needs and our room is a very active space. We have it [the pod] along the corridor so it is accessible for everybody. The boys love it, they said it's like a spaceship!"