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Relief for students as State exams finally begin

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Killarney Community College students Stefan Lajdar said it was easy enough once he got going.

Aoife O'Brien student of Killarney Community College said the first exam wasn't too bad.

Bharragh O'Shea from Killarney Community College felt his first exam went pretty well. "I thought it was easy."

Happy to get it over and done with was Adam O'Connor from The Sem.

Kayleigh O'Connor and Bethany Kelly pictured ahead of their Home Economics exam on Wednesday afternoon.

By Michelle Crean and Grigoriy Geniyevskiy

Although it was a Leaving Cert like no other - that didn't stop some students from feeling nerves and others relief - as they finally began their State exams on Wednesday morning.

After a mix of homeschooling due to the COVID lockdowns, it was a tough final year for the Sixth Years who at times had no idea if they final school exams would even go ahead.

Some have opted for no exams, while others want a mixture of Accredited Grades combined with the option to sit the exams.

And it all began on Wednesday morning as English Paper 1 was first up followed by Home Economics in the afternoon.

REACTION

For Killian O'Brien, a student in St Brendan's College, he said that there was no stress as he headed in.
"I'm grand out, not stressed at all."

George Griffin, also a student in St Brendan's College was glad to begin the final leg of his school journey and said he too felt grand about it.

"Predictable grades are a good backing to it, it levels out the stress."

His classmate Darren Counihan was "not too worried" about what was ahead of him.

"You can only go up in points, not down thanks to accredited points."

Luke Tindall, also a student in the school said he was alright and "not too stressed"

For Adam O'Connor there was some nerves.
"I'm feeling a bit of everything, but mostly stressed," he said. "I'm just waiting to get it done and over with."

In Killarney Community College Oliwia Bielanska spoke to the Killarney Advertiser after coming out of her first State exam.

"I was nervous at first, but once I started writing it was all good."

Aoife O'Brien from the same school said she was "kind of nervous" but that "it was fine".

"It wasn't too bad."

Stefan Lajdar, also a student in Killarney Community College said it went "alright".

"I finished a bit earlier. I was a bit under pressure before the exam, but it was easy enough. We have a backup with the predicted grades so it was fine."

A turbulent year

Principal of Killarney Community College, Stella Loughnane, acknowledged the uniqueness of this year. "This year has been a turbulent and emotional year for this particular Leaving Cert group. Thankfully, all of our students sitting these exams have the security of knowing they already have an accredited grade from their subject teacher and can really try to improve on that when sitting their chosen exams. I think this is of great comfort to students and will ease some of their nerves.The majority of our students have embraced this challenge and chosen to sit their exams."

She added that also this year there are a lot more COVID guidelines from both the Department of Health and the Department of Education that both the school and students must adhere to.

"This year has shown how adaptable our students are, therefore I don't believe they will cause too much fuss. However, like every other year, our students arrived with the age old butterflies in their stomachs but a willingness to begin their exams."

Sean Coffey, Principal of St Brendan's College said it was great to see the exams finally underway.

"It has been the most incredible two years for the students. This is as fair as you can get really. I would say the Sixth Years had a less disruptive year than other students as they had their eye on the prise and could see the finish line in sight."

Killarney Community College student Stefan Lajdar said it was easy enough once he got going.

Aoife O'Brien student of Killarney Community College said the first exam wasn't too bad.

Bharragh O'Shea from Killarney Community College felt his first exam went pretty well. "I thought it was easy."

Happy to get it over and done with was Adam O'Connor from The Sem.

George Griffin from St Brendan's College pictured before Wednesday's English exam.

Darren Counihan student from St Brendan's College said that he was not too worried ahead of the first exam on Wednesday.

Killian O'Brien from St Brendan's College said he wasn't feeling stressed before the first exam on Wednesday morning.

Katerina Polyakova and Maryia Casey from Killarney Community College pictured cramming in some last minute revision before Wednesday's Home Ec exam.

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Killarney and District Motor Club members honoured by Motorsport Ireland

By Cormac Casey Several members of Killarney and District Motor Club were honoured at the Motorsport Ireland awards lunch in Dublin on Wednesday. The highlight of the event is the […]

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By Cormac Casey

Several members of Killarney and District Motor Club were honoured at the Motorsport Ireland awards lunch in Dublin on Wednesday.

The highlight of the event is the announcement of the sport’s top awards.

Kilkenny’s Jack Brennan (19) was named Young Rally Driver of the Year, while Wexford native Jack Byrne was named Young Racing Driver of the Year and the International Driver of the Year award went to recently crowned FIA Junior World Rally Champion, William Creighton.

Muckross-based co-driver Noel O’Sullivan was presented with his Irish Tarmac Rally Championship winning trophy.

This year saw the introduction of the Motorsport Ireland President’s Awards which celebrate the achievements of  clubs and organisations.

Killarney and District Motor Club won in the innovation category for their work with their KDMC 2 initiative thanks to the efforts of the club’s vice chairman Mike O’Shea.

Rally Rescue teams were also recognised and the club’s Mike Cleary picked up an award for his role he played in what was a difficult year for rescue crew operators.

Tom O’Riordan, who looks after ambulance procurement on the club’s events, was presented with an FIA Volunteer Pin by Motorsport Ireland President Aiden Harper.

Killarney Advertiser Journalist Sean Moriarty was presented with an award for best use of of PR and media in 2023.

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Kerry Mental Health and Wellbeing Fest ‘thank you’ event at Brehon

Participation in the 2023 Kerry Mental Health and Wellbeing Fest has grown by more than 100% since 2020 with 98% of those who gave feedback saying they would attend similar […]

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Participation in the 2023 Kerry Mental Health and Wellbeing Fest has grown by more than 100% since 2020 with 98% of those who gave feedback saying they would attend similar events again in 2024.

Feedback from more than 100 people who attended this year’s Fest events from 7th to 14th October was positive with 91% stating they were satisfied.
The Kerry Mental Health and Wellbeing Fest is held annually over the course of a week to highlight World Mental Health Day on October 10.
It aims to raise awareness of the available supports and services in Kerry as well as empower people to engage with the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ through offering a dynamic and interactive programme of events.
99% percent of respondents, most of whom identified as female, said they would recommend the Fest to friends next year. Some key notes for improvement included a request for more events with wider variety throughout the county.
The Chair of the Interagency Steering Group, John Drummey from Kerry Mental Health Association, said: “We wish to extend a heartfelt thanks to event organisers, community groups, businesses, funders and partners that facilitated the Fest’s dynamic and interactive programme of events in 2023. We are encouraged to see such growth in numbers attending the Fest events with a 50% increase from 2022. We are already making plans for the Fest from 5 to 12t October 2024 and we are looking forward to building on this year’s successes. That said, there is always room for improvement and we would welcome suggestions for new events and activities.”
Many of the event organisers attended a ‘thank-you’ event at the Brehon Hotel, Killarney, courtesy of the Kerry Volunteer Centre to coincide with the annual International Volunteer Day, December 5.
The Kerry Mental Health and Wellbeing Fest was organised by an interagency steering group made up of local agencies that support wellbeing in our community.
The organising committee is a collaboration between Connecting for Life Kerry, Healthy Kerry, Kerry County Council, Kerry Recreation & Sports Partnership, the HSE, NEWKD, SKDP, Kerry Mental Health Association, Jigsaw Kerry, Munster Technological University/Kerry, KDYS, Kerry Volunteer Centre and Family Resource Centres throughout the county.

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