News
Finalise CAO choices ahead of Change of Mind deadline on July 1

The final CAO Change of Mind deadline is on July 1st at 5pm and it will not be possible to make changes after this deadline!
It is really important that you take some time to look at the details of your CAO application, particularly your course choices. To use the Change of Mind facility you simply log on to www.cao.ie, click on ‘My Application’ and log in with your CAO number, date of birth and account password.
You can add, take out and amend your course choices with the exception of ‘Restricted’ courses which can’t be added in at this stage.
There are exceptions to this in that you may be permitted to introduce a restricted course which shares the exact same assessment procedures with a course you had applied for by 1st February at 5pm - you should consult with the relevant Higher Education Institution (HEI) before introducing such a course.
At this stage work through the following guide when reviewing you details in your CAO application
Check that all your details are correct including personal details, qualifications & assessments (including educational and exemption) details and course choices.
Include courses on both categories, Level 8 & Level 7/6. This gives you the best chance of getting 2 offers when the Round 1 Offers come out (the top choice that you qualify for on each list). You will then have to choose which one you prefer.
Fill in as many of the 20 choices as you can. You have the option to fill up 10 on both sides which gives you 20 chances of getting a college place.
Check the Alert Lists on www.cao.ie. Some very interesting new courses have been added in several colleges since the CAO Handbook was published last September.
Take out courses that you are no longer interested in.
Research the detail of every course that you are including on your CAO application – take particular note of entry requirements and modules so that you choose courses which you are able for and interested in and that suit how you learn. This cuts down on the chance of making the wrong choice.
List your courses in ORDER OF PEFERENCE. This is the golden rule of CAO. No one knows what the points will be for 2023 until the day the Round 1 offers come out on August 30 and equally you won’t know your Leaving Cert results until they are issued on August 25.
My advice is don’t try to second guess either of them and before 5pm on July 1st make sure that your course choices are list in ORDER OF PREFERENCE! This means listing your favourite course in your favourite college first, your second favourite next and so on down to number 10.
Include courses that you are confident of getting – ‘banker courses’, but make sure you are interested in the course content. There is no point in filling all your choices with courses that tend to come in over 500 points if your target is 400 so be sensible about your choices. In 2022, a total of 1,203 courses came in at 400 points or under and 1,034 came in at under 350 points so there are plenty of options available.
An Exceptional Late Application deadline applies only to existing 3rd level students who want to change courses and re-apply for new course choices through CAO. The closing date for such applications is July 22nd at 5pm.
Niamh Dwyer is a Guidance Counsellor in Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra, Rathmore and a member of Kerry Branch of IGC. See www.mycareerplan.ie or follow @mycareerplan on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
News
Kerry’s youth celebrated at the Lee Strand/Kerry Garda Youth Achievement Awards
This year’s overall winner of the Lee Strand Kerry Garda Youth Achievement is Ryan Griffin from Waterville who was nominated by Mairead O’Sullivan from Killorglin Family Resource Centre. Ryan Griffin […]

This year’s overall winner of the Lee Strand Kerry Garda Youth Achievement is Ryan Griffin from Waterville who was nominated by Mairead O’Sullivan from Killorglin Family Resource Centre.
Ryan Griffin is a member of the Skellig Stars and was chosen to represent Kerry at the Special Olympics.
Ryan’s biggest hurdle is communication and he had to overcome this during his trip to Berlin for the big event.
Ryan has overcome his disabilities by focusing on all the great abilities he has. Ryan attends mainstream school in Coláiste na Sceilge where he is a very respected member of the School Community. He is a member of Kerry Stars and also Downs Syndrome Kerry.
Ryan has always had a keen interest in sport and even played with the local team in Waterville, but now Ryan thinks it’s too fast for him so he prefers to cheer them on from the side-lines.
Ryan has always been involved with the Community and they have never left him out. Ryan started out his athletics career with Skellig Stars and without them he would have gone to the Special Olympics and he has never forgotten when he came from.
Ryan and his family are very grateful to the local community in Waterville and the surrounding area for all the support they have given them over the years and especially now with the Special Olympics coming closer.
The whole community from Waterville to Mid-Kerry got behind Ryan, raising funds to help his family go to Berlin for 2 weeks. Ryan is now an inspiration to others to overcome difficulties and “go for gold”.
Ryan was the only representative from Kerry on this years Irish Special Olympics Team and in fact one of the Youngest Athletes on Team Ireland at only 16yrs of age, which was a great honour for him.
This in itself is a great achievement but it also shows his friends at Skellig Stars, Downs Syndrome Kerry and in the wider community that dreams do come true.
It took a lot of hard work and determination on Ryan’s behalf to make these dreams come true, not least the long journey he had to make from South Kerry to Dublin once a month since last January to train for the Special Olympics. He also trained weekly with the Skellig Stars.
At the 2023 Special Olympics in Berlin Ryan took part in the 100m run and the relay but his biggest achievement was winning the Silver Medal in the mini javelin. This showed others that overcoming difficulties can be possible and you can achieve your goals with hard work and determination, which Ryan has in abundance.
Local Merit Awards
Aliza Gul, Killarney
Joey McCarthy, Killarney
John O’Connor, Killarney
Nattagun Ryan, Killarney
Samuel Behal, Killarney
St Brendan’s Choir, Killarney
News
Controversial finish to Cougar’s opening match of season
Basketball Ireland is to review the result Killarney Cougars opening match of the new Basketball season. The opening game of the season was long and eventful The game was abandoned […]

Basketball Ireland is to review the result Killarney Cougars opening match of the new Basketball season.
The opening game of the season was long and eventful
The game was abandoned with 1.48 seconds remaining in the second quarter with the court unplayable due to condensation, however Portlaoise Panthers plea to change venue was allowed by the officials.
The game continued an hour later in Portlaoise College despite the Killarney protest with the long delay to proceedings and the game already abandoned in the St Mary’s venue.
Panthers held the advantage through the second quarter whan the game was abandoned following a series of bad slips and falls on the wet floor with just under two minutes remaining,
Darius Hopkins heavy slip and fall that finally saw the game stopped.
The remainder of the game in in the new venue was completed without any competitive edge.
Cougars finished with a series of injuries to Bill Wiseman, Alex Fleming and Oleh Drahanchuk with the game conditions and long delays a contributing factor but the homeside won the contest.
A final decision on the outcome of the game is expected by Basketball Ireland following a review of events.