In Pictures: Limerick hurling hero on hand for special ceremony at school

THERE was great excitement at Scoil Chaitríona in Cappamore last week as Limerick hurler Darragh O'Donovan raised the school’s latest Green and Amber Flag.

Limerick You’re a Lady and Dreams by The Cranberries were sung by the students as both Darragh and principal, Mrs Nicola Blake, spoke about the fantastic achievement of gaining two new flags for the national school.

The Limerick midfielder was delighted to hear the songs that he and his teammates sang when celebrating after winning their fourth All-Ireland title a few months ago.

“I know ye are all mad hurling supporters here and one piece of advice I would give everyone is to listen to your teachers and coaches and also continue to keep practising, even if that means hitting a ball of a wall, it all counts,” said Darragh.

The Limerick hurling star continued by saying: “It is all about having fun and hurling is where I have met some of my best friends, they stick with you for the rest of your life.

“I really enjoyed the singing from the choir, I haven’t heard those songs in a couple of months and they sound way better than when myself and the Limerick team tried to sing them.”

The first flag awarded to the school was the Pieta Amber Flag, which recognises the efforts of school communities in creating a healthy and inclusive environment that supports mental well-being for students and staff.

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The objectives of the Amber flag are to promote positive mental health, enhance inclusivity through teamwork and social support, reduce risk factors through increased awareness and education and improve the quality of life for those with mental health challenges.

Scoil Chaitríona embodied all of these objectives and was awarded the flag thanks to hard work from all the staff and pupils.

Principal Nicola Blake stated at the ceremony: “The most important education we can give our children is how to look after themselves and their mental health, we established a committee and we created a wellness board for positive affirmations.”

The second flag that was raised was the school’s eighth Green Flag which focused on global citizenship and marine biology.

While this year the theme was global citizenship and marine biology, the national school also kept up litter picking, conserving energy and water and practising a more environmentally friendly way to travel to school, which were all themes from previous Green Flags that the school was awarded.

Scoil Chartíona participated in a river clean-up in Cappamore while also learning about the effects plastic has on our ocean.

Huge work has been put into gaining the flags for both the teachers and students at the school and the occasion was made even more exciting with the appearance of the All-Ireland winning hurler from the near-by east Limerick club of Doon.