St Mac Dara's Community College
Encyclopedia
St. Mac Dara's Community College is a school situated on Wellington Lane, Templeogue
in South Dublin
. It accommodates both Junior Certificate
and Leaving Certificate
students. It is run by the Dublin Vocational Education Committee (V.E.C) and is a non-fee paying school.
It has a Transition Year
programme which is usually restricted to one class, with a maximum of thirty students per year.
The school also has a selection of sports and extra curricular activities for its students to choose from including Gaelic Football
, Hurling
, Soccer
, Rugby
, Basketball
, Golf
and Canoeing
.
In August 2009, the Irish Times League Table decided that the school was the 6th best in Ireland, while being the best Public School in the country.
Past trips have included France
, Scotland
, Germany
, Spain
, Holland and ski trips to Austria
, Switzerland
, Sweden
, Italy
, and New Hampshire
, USA. 2nd year students will be going on a trip to New York in 2010.
The school has an annual Celtic
trip, which is organised by Irish teacher Mr. Alan Curran. Students and teachers travel to Scotland to see Celtic F.C. play and meet the team.
/Nicaragua
.
St Mac Dara's Community College is Ireland's number one charitable school for a sixth time in a row raising around €60,000 per year for the Irish charity Trócaire
.
In order to raise money each year group is given a certain task to do. First years do a sponsored 24 hour fast, second years do a table quiz, and third years sponsor Mr. Culleton, who is a teacher in the school, to do an embarrassing undertaking, which has previously included dyeing his hair pink.
Fourth and fifth years do a soccer marathon in which the students, some staff and celebrities play football all day. The sixth years organized a "Bomb Mr. Curran" fundraiser where students paid to throw balloons at the teacher.
In 2010, the school raised more money than any other school in Ireland for Trócaire for the 10th year in a row.
laboratories (one which has been newly refurbished), three home-economics rooms with essential appliances, two woodwork and two engineering rooms, both of which have newly installed equipment e.g. lathes, pillar drills etc., two computer
rooms with over 30 broadband-enabled computers, two technical graphics rooms and over 40 classrooms. St Mac Dara's recently constructed a separate P.E. hall and gymnasium on the school grounds, which is equipped with shower rooms and a full gym.
In 2010, St. Mac Dara's was chosen with 100 other schools to be part of the Government's 100mbits Broadband Iniatitive. This will incorporate every room having a smartboard, a laptop being broadband enabled at 100mbits/sec, and projectors being installed in every room too. The work will take place over summer of 2010.
, History Society, choir, orchestra and a Gaeilge society.
The college's Amnesty International
Group is run by Mr. Shane Culleton, and encourages the campaigns of Amnesty International. The group organise an annual Fair Trade Fair where fair trade products are sold, and various other fundraisers throughout the year. Some of the most recent include the "May Day Gig" held on 1 May 2008, a "Rag Day" on 30 April 2008 which raised over €2,000, and a table quiz held on 29 April 2008.
On 10 March 2009, the St. Mac Dara's choir participated in the V.E.C festival of music. The choir sang Abba's Thank You For The Music
, and two soloists from the choir performed The Chiffons
' version of One Fine Day
. In 2010 four soloists performed "I Got Rhythm
" by George Gershwin
. The following year, the school choir sang Rihanna's "Umbrella".
, starring Vinnie Jones
. Some of the 4th and 5th year students were used as extras in the scene which was filmed in one of the science rooms.
The Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin
visited the school on 5 March 2008 as the guest of honour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the school. The occasion was celebrated by invited teachers, staff, parents and students.
and debates chaired by RTÉ Six One News Anchor Bryan Dobson
and Newstalk 106
and RTÉ Rugby Pundit George Hook
and attended by a number of Irish senior politicians and party leaders.
The full list of politicians in attendance:
Thursday 12th March
Friday 13th March
From 5 to 9 October 2009, St. Mac Dara's Community College held its second Political Awareness Week.
The event incorporated many different activities such as a trip to RTÉ
to attend current affairs programme, The Frontline
hosted by Pat Kenny
; a "Rag Day" (with a total of €1,200 being donated to the Dublin Simon Community); a trip to Dáil Éireann
, and the main event of the week, "The Leaders Debate", attended by many of Ireland's senior politicians and party leaders.
The event was covered by Irish media including RTÉ
, TV3, and the Irish Times. The debate was chaired once again by RTÉ News lead anchor, Bryan Dobson
The event was organised by Chairperson Dale McDermott and a committee of 6th year students with the guidance of school teacher Mr Shane Culleton.
The full list of politicians in attendance:
Templeogue
Templeogue is a suburb of southwest Dublin, Ireland. The original Irish name Teach Mealóg refers to a chapel named after Saint Mel that was built there in about 1273....
in South Dublin
South Dublin
South Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is one of three smaller counties into which County Dublin was divided in 1994. The county seat is Tallaght, the largest suburb of Dublin and the biggest urban centre in the county. Other important centres of population are Lucan and Clondalkin...
. It accommodates both Junior Certificate
Junior Certificate
The Junior Certificate is an educational qualification awarded in Ireland by the Department of Education to students who have successfully completed the junior cycle of secondary education, and achieved a minimum standard in their Junior Cert. examinations...
and Leaving Certificate
Leaving Certificate
The Leaving Certificate Examinations , commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert is the final examination in the Irish secondary school system. It takes a minimum of two years preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior...
students. It is run by the Dublin Vocational Education Committee (V.E.C) and is a non-fee paying school.
It has a Transition Year
Transition Year
Transition Year is an optional one-year school programme that can be taken in the year after the Junior Certificate in Ireland and is intended to make the senior cycle a three year programme encompassing both Transition Year and Leaving Certificate...
programme which is usually restricted to one class, with a maximum of thirty students per year.
The school also has a selection of sports and extra curricular activities for its students to choose from including Gaelic Football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
, Hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
, Soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, Rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and Canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
.
In August 2009, the Irish Times League Table decided that the school was the 6th best in Ireland, while being the best Public School in the country.
School trips
The school regularly hosts trips and foreign exchange programmes to different countries.Past trips have included France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Holland and ski trips to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, USA. 2nd year students will be going on a trip to New York in 2010.
The school has an annual Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
trip, which is organised by Irish teacher Mr. Alan Curran. Students and teachers travel to Scotland to see Celtic F.C. play and meet the team.
Charity
The school was involved in a charity project, where a small group of students travelled to HondurasHonduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
/Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
St Mac Dara's Community College is Ireland's number one charitable school for a sixth time in a row raising around €60,000 per year for the Irish charity Trócaire
Trócaire
Trócaire is an Irish non governmental organization development agency. The charity is registered in the Republic of Ireland under Irish Charity No...
.
In order to raise money each year group is given a certain task to do. First years do a sponsored 24 hour fast, second years do a table quiz, and third years sponsor Mr. Culleton, who is a teacher in the school, to do an embarrassing undertaking, which has previously included dyeing his hair pink.
Fourth and fifth years do a soccer marathon in which the students, some staff and celebrities play football all day. The sixth years organized a "Bomb Mr. Curran" fundraiser where students paid to throw balloons at the teacher.
In 2010, the school raised more money than any other school in Ireland for Trócaire for the 10th year in a row.
Facilities
St Mac Dara's enjoys numerous facilities such as four scienceScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
laboratories (one which has been newly refurbished), three home-economics rooms with essential appliances, two woodwork and two engineering rooms, both of which have newly installed equipment e.g. lathes, pillar drills etc., two computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
rooms with over 30 broadband-enabled computers, two technical graphics rooms and over 40 classrooms. St Mac Dara's recently constructed a separate P.E. hall and gymnasium on the school grounds, which is equipped with shower rooms and a full gym.
In 2010, St. Mac Dara's was chosen with 100 other schools to be part of the Government's 100mbits Broadband Iniatitive. This will incorporate every room having a smartboard, a laptop being broadband enabled at 100mbits/sec, and projectors being installed in every room too. The work will take place over summer of 2010.
Organisations within the college
The College has many organizations and societies including a Student CouncilStudent council
Student council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...
, History Society, choir, orchestra and a Gaeilge society.
The college's Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
Group is run by Mr. Shane Culleton, and encourages the campaigns of Amnesty International. The group organise an annual Fair Trade Fair where fair trade products are sold, and various other fundraisers throughout the year. Some of the most recent include the "May Day Gig" held on 1 May 2008, a "Rag Day" on 30 April 2008 which raised over €2,000, and a table quiz held on 29 April 2008.
On 10 March 2009, the St. Mac Dara's choir participated in the V.E.C festival of music. The choir sang Abba's Thank You For The Music
Thank You for the Music
"Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album ABBA: The Album and was released as a single on November 6, 1983, to promote the Epic Records compilation album Thank You for the Music: A Collection of Love Songs...
, and two soloists from the choir performed The Chiffons
The Chiffons
The Chiffons was an all girl group originating from the Bronx area of New York in 1960.-Biography:The Chiffons were one of the top girl groups of the early 1960s...
' version of One Fine Day
One Fine Day (song)
"One Fine Day" has been recorded by a diverse array of artists including Susie Allanson, the Carpenters as part of the oldies medley on their album Now and Then, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, Even in Blackouts, Kids Incorporated, David Lasley, Natalie Merchant , the Mountain Goats, Aaron Neville,...
. In 2010 four soloists performed "I Got Rhythm
I Got Rhythm
"I Got Rhythm" is a song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the "rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes such as Charlie Parker's and Dizzy Gillespie's Bebop...
" by George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
. The following year, the school choir sang Rihanna's "Umbrella".
Involvement in Hollywood movie
In October 2006, St. Mac Dara's was chosen over many schools in the area to be used to shoot an important scene in the forthcoming film Assault of DarknessAssault of Darkness
Assault of Darkness, also known as Legend of the Bog, is a 2009 Irish horror film by the production company Bog Bodies surrounding local lore in the swamplands outside of Dublin Ireland. Six strangers come across an ancient evil in the murky bog and are pitted in a fight for survival...
, starring Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones
Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
. Some of the 4th and 5th year students were used as extras in the scene which was filmed in one of the science rooms.
25th Anniversary celebrations
2007/2008 was the 25th year of the college's existence. Celebration events included a school magazine and the musical production 'Carmen'.The Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin
Mary Hanafin
Mary Hanafin is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who was a Teachta Dála for Dún Laoghaire from 1997 to 2011. She served as Government Chief Whip , Minister for Education and Science , Minister for Social and Family Affairs , Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport and Minister for Enterprise,...
visited the school on 5 March 2008 as the guest of honour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the school. The occasion was celebrated by invited teachers, staff, parents and students.
St. Mac Dara's Political Awareness Week
From 9 to 13 March 2009, St. Mac Dara's Community College held its first Political Awareness Week, incorporating activities such as a trip to Dáil ÉireannDáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
and debates chaired by RTÉ Six One News Anchor Bryan Dobson
Bryan Dobson
Bryan Dobson is a newscaster with RTÉ in Ireland. He has presented RTÉ News: Six One for almost 15 years. He previously presented RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock.-Early life:...
and Newstalk 106
NewsTalk 106
Newstalk is an Independent Radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Denis O'Brien's Communicorp group, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.The station is a "quasi-national" station as of 29 September...
and RTÉ Rugby Pundit George Hook
George Hook
George Hook is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and rugby union pundit. He had a career as a rugby union coach and businessman, before becoming a rugby pundit with Raidió Teilifís Éireann...
and attended by a number of Irish senior politicians and party leaders.
The full list of politicians in attendance:
Thursday 12th March
- Mayor Marie Corr - Labour
- John PhelanJohn Paul PhelanJohn Paul Phelan is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency at the 2011 general election. He was elected in 2002 to Seanad Éireann by the Agricultural Panel, and was re-elected in 2007...
- Fianna Fáil Local Election Candidate - Councillor Colm Brophy - Fine Gael
- Councillor Tony McDermott - Green Party
- Councillor Seán CroweSeán CroweSeán Crowe is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, and is a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South West constituency.Crowe was born in Dublin and has lived there all his life, currently in Tallaght...
- Sinn Féin - Councillor Mick Murphy - Socialist Party
Friday 13th March
- Eoin Ryan MEP - Fianna Fáil
- Gay MitchellGay MitchellGabriel "Gay" Mitchell is an Irish politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency since 2004. He is a member of Fine Gael, part of the European People's Party, and a former Teachta Dála for the Dublin South Central constituency from 1981–2007. He was defeated by...
MEP - Fine Gael - Proinsias De RossaProinsias De RossaProinsias De Rossa is an Irish Labour Party politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency. He a former President of the Workers' Party and subsequently leader of Democratic Left, and later, a senior member of the Labour Party. He was Minister for Social Welfare from...
MEP - Labour - Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald is an Irish politician, the current Vice President of Sinn Féin and a Teachta Dála for Dublin Central...
MEP - Sinn Féin - Minister for Integration Conor LenihanConor LenihanConor Lenihan is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South West constituency from 1997 to 2011, and served as a Minister of State from 2004 to 2011. He then moved to Moscow.-Biography:...
TD - Fianna Fáil - Charlie O'ConnorCharlie O'ConnorCharles "Charlie" O'Connor is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South West constituency from 2002 to 2011. Mr. O'Connor is also a member of the AWEPA Governing Council....
TD - Fianna Fáil - Brian HayesBrian Hayes (politician)Brian Hayes is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South West constituency and also the Minister of State at the Department of Finance.-Early life:...
TD - Fine Gael - Pat RabbittePat RabbittePat Rabbitte is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources since March 2011...
TD - Labour - Senator Deirdre de BurcaDéirdre de BúrcaDéirdre de Búrca is a Green Party Irish politician and a former member of Seanad Éireann. She had represented the party on Wicklow County Council and Bray Town Council from 1999 to 2007 and in the Seanad from 2007 until her resignation from the parliamentary party in 2010.-Background:Born in...
- Green Party
From 5 to 9 October 2009, St. Mac Dara's Community College held its second Political Awareness Week.
The event incorporated many different activities such as a trip to RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
to attend current affairs programme, The Frontline
The Frontline
The Frontline, commonly known as Frontline, is a rap duo from Richmond, California consisting of Left and Locksmith, also known as Lock. The group is associated with West Coast hip hop music.-History:...
hosted by Pat Kenny
Pat Kenny
Patrick "Pat" Kenny is an Irish broadcaster and former disc jockey and continuity announcer. He is employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is their highest paid presenter. He presents Today with Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday morning between 10:00 and midday...
; a "Rag Day" (with a total of €1,200 being donated to the Dublin Simon Community); a trip to Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
, and the main event of the week, "The Leaders Debate", attended by many of Ireland's senior politicians and party leaders.
The event was covered by Irish media including RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
, TV3, and the Irish Times. The debate was chaired once again by RTÉ News lead anchor, Bryan Dobson
Bryan Dobson
Bryan Dobson is a newscaster with RTÉ in Ireland. He has presented RTÉ News: Six One for almost 15 years. He previously presented RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock.-Early life:...
The event was organised by Chairperson Dale McDermott and a committee of 6th year students with the guidance of school teacher Mr Shane Culleton.
The full list of politicians in attendance:
- Minister for Foreign Affairs - Micheál MartinMicheál MartinMicheál Martin is an Irish politician who has been leader of Fianna Fáil since January 2011. He is a Teachta Dála for the Cork South Central constituency...
TD - Fianna Fáil - Leader of Fine Gael - Enda KennyEnda KennyEnda Kenny is an Irish Fine Gael politician, and has been the Taoiseach since 2011. He has led Fine Gael since 2002. He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997. He is also a two-term Vice President of the European People's Party.Kenny has been a Teachta Dála for Mayo since...
TD - Fine Gael - Fine Gael Education Spokesperson - Brian HayesBrian Hayes (politician)Brian Hayes is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South West constituency and also the Minister of State at the Department of Finance.-Early life:...
TD - Fine Gael - Leader of the Labour Party - Eamon GilmoreEamon GilmoreEamon Gilmore is an Irish Labour Party politician and the current Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has been the Leader of the Labour Party since September 2007, and a Teachta Dála for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since 1989, first with the Workers' Party of Ireland, and...
TD - Labour Party - Minister for the Environment - John GormleyJohn GormleyJohn Gormley is an Irish politician. He was the leader of the Irish Green Party from 2007 to 2011, and was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South East constituency from 1997 to 2011. He served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from 2007–11...
TD - Leader of the Green Party - Leader of Sinn Féin in the Dáil - Caoimhghín Ó CaoláinCaoimhghín Ó CaoláinCaoimhghín Ó Caoláin is a Sinn Féin politician from Ireland. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Cavan–Monaghan constituency since 1997 and was the parliamentary leader of Sinn Féin in Dáil Éireann from 1997–2011.-Biography:Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin was born in Monaghan in 1953. He was educated at St....
TD - Sinn Féin - Leader of the Socialist Party - Joe HigginsJoe HigginsJoe Higgins is an Irish Socialist Party politician. In the 2011 general election he was elected to Dáil Éireann as Teachta Dála for the Dublin West constituency, having previously served in that capacity from 1997–2007...
MEP - Socialist Party
List of notable alumni
- Lance Daly - IFTAIrish Film and Television AwardsThe Irish Film and Television Awards were first awarded in 2003. Its sole aim is to celebrate Ireland's notably talented film and television community...
Awarding Winning Screenwriter and Director - Aidan TurnerAidan TurnerAidan Turner is an Irish actor. He is best known for playing Dante Gabriel Rossetti on Desperate Romantics, Ruairí McGowan on The Clinic, and John Mitchell on the supernatural drama series Being Human. He will be playing Kíli in the upcoming two-part fantasy film The Hobbit.-Early life:Aidan...
- Actor - Shane O'Connor - Sinn FéinSinn FéinSinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
Councillor - Daniel Devine - Premiership Football player for Aston Villa F.C.Aston Villa F.C.Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
- Pat BurkePat Burke (footballer)Pat Burke is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Dublin and Kilmacud Crokes. Pat won the Dublin Senior Football Championship with Kilmacud Crokes in 2008. He then won a Leinster Senior Club Football Championship, Dublin Division One AFL and the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship...
- FORMER Dublin GAA footballer