Head of Irish at St Paul’s, Miss Ciara McCoy, Irish teacher, Mr Stephen Mooney, Príomhoide, Ardscoil Naomh Pól, Mr Jarlath Burns, Year 10 student, Niall Campbell and Year 13 student, Anita Dennison, who both excelled at the recent Ulster Final of ‘Abair’ public speaking competition.

Year 10 student at St Paul’s High School, Niall Campbell and Year 13 student, Anita Dennison continued their run of success in the Ulster Final of the prestigious Irish public speaking competition ‘Abair’, which is organised annually by Gael-Linn.

Held in the Garage Theatre in Monaghan, Niall Campbell achieved first place in section A with his topic ‘An bhfuil amhrán náisiúnta nua de dhíth orainn?’ (‘Do we need a new national anthem?’).

Anita Dennison fought off fierce competition from students from other schools to achieve second place in section C, with her moving speech on ‘An streacháilt le haghaidh foirfeachta’ (‘The struggle for perfection’).

This was a wonderful achievement in itself, as the overall winner was a native Irish speaker from Gaoth Dobhair.

Head of Irish at St Paul’s High School, Miss Ciara McCoy, congratulated the students and their teacher, Mr Stephen Mooney, on their hard work, enthusiasm and commitment to the Irish department.

She commented that the students’ flair for public speaking has long been acknowledged by the school, and the skills mastered in this competition will help both students immensely as they prepare for public examinations in the near future.