What a bee-rilliant morning we had on Friday 9 May 2025 at our annual Year 8 Spelling Bee — a celebration of quick thinking, cool nerves, and, most importantly, excellent spelling!

A huge congratulations to every single Year 8 pupil who took part. They displayed impressive talent, determination, and confidence on the yellow hotspot, and we couldn’t be prouder of your efforts. The tension was palpable, the competition fierce, and the vocabulary – well, formidable!

We were absolutely delighted to welcome back a very special guest to compère the event — none other than Mr Jarlath Burns, Uachtarán of Cumann Lúthchleas Gael and former Principal of St Paul’s. Despite a diary more tightly packed than a GAA fixture list on any weekend, Mr Burns always makes time for this special event. His humour, warmth, and clear affection for our school made the occasion even more memorable.

We think he might secretly enjoy it more than the All-Ireland Final!

Congratulations to our spelling champions from each group:

Group 1:

1st – Annie Carville (0822)

2nd – Riley Dillon (0822)

3rd – Anopaishe Karoma (0822)

Group 2:

1st – Harry McBirney (0899)

2nd – Cali Kavanagh (0875)

3rd – Saoirse McQuaid (0875)

Group 3:

1st – Anna McShane (0854)

2nd – Conor O’Hagan (0864)

3rd – Kaylee-Rose Lennon (0883)

Thanks to everyone who helped make the day such a success. Our Year 8 Spelling Bee is the organised so effectively every year by our Literacy Co-ordinator Mrs Maeve McShane, and she is ably assisted by her colleagues in our English and Literacy department. The Spelling Bee is the culmination of weeks of hard work by every pupil in Year 8 and we are very proud of them all.

What a brilliant experience for our Year 8s!