Tag Archives: St Flannan’s College

THEY may have already taken a step but a group of Ennis students are now hoping that, with some help, they will be able to take a giant leap towards a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Six students from St Flannan’s College in Ennis have taken second place in an international competition, run by US space agency NASA, for their plans for a ‘space elevator’. The fifth-year students now have an opportunity to attend a conference in Los Angeles, featuring some of the biggest names in space exploration, including former astronauts and the founder of Amazon, Jeff Benzos, who is developing technologies to allow for space tourism. However, in order for them to reach for the stars, the students have yet another out-of-this-world task to accomplish, with €12,000 in funding needed in order to take the trip. They are hopeful that a sponsor might come on board and support them in making their dream trip a reality. Students George Harrington, Cyrus Gillan, Micheal …

THE important role that religiouslic faith can play in tackling on-line bullying was emphasised at the national launch of Catholic Schools Week at St Flannan’s College in Ennis today (Wednesday). Catholic Schools Week is an All-Ireland celebration which invites Catholic schools to give expression to the ethos of Catholic education, will run from this Sunday. At the launch, Canon Tom Deenihan voiced concern at the influence of social media, with bullying moving from the school yard to online platforms. He said, “Our faith teaches us that we are all made in the image and likeness of God. Surely as people of faith that should influence how we interact with each other, be it in school, out of school, with our families or work place. If our faith doesn’t influence us, it’s not a faith at all. If it doesn’t have any practical implications, it’s absolutely useless.” He stated that faith is not about indoctrination, but practical support for communities. Canon …

THE national launch of Catholic Schools Week will take place in St Flannan’s College, Ennis on Wednesday at 10.30am. Bishop Fintan Monahan, Bishop of Killaloe, and local school principals will be in attendance along with student representatives and representatives from the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Catholic Schools Week is an All-Ireland annual event, which invites Catholic schools to give expression in a special way to the ethos of Catholic education. Catholic Schools Week runs from January 28 to February 4. This year’s theme for Catholic Schools Week connects with the upcoming World Meeting of Families due to take place in Dublin in August. The week invites Catholic schools to reflect on and celebrate the relationship that exists between home, school and parish with the theme; “Catholic Schools: Called to be a Family of Families” On Sunday, February 4, Bishop Monahan will be the chief celebrant at mass for the conclusion of Catholic Schools Week 2018.  This mass will be broadcast …

THE Annals of the Poor: Scariff Workhouse Union Counties Clare and Galway 1839-1851 will be launched this Sunday in Scariff by John Minogue, assistant principal of St Flannan’s College. The MC is Colm Madden. Gerard chose to conduct research and write this book because so little was known about the workhouse in Scariff and very little has been documented about it. Although he, together with Michael O’Gorman, published a book on workhouses in 1974, this book is a chronological account and references records that have only since been made available online in the last 15 years and, in particular, the work of Dr Richard Robert Madden. Dr Madden, no relation of Gerard’s, offered up a first-hand account of life in the Scariff Workhouse and his reports shed a lot of light on what was happening there, particularly with regard the diet of the inmates and mortality rates there. “His work was really important. He visited the actual workhouse; he visited …

BISHOP Fintan Monahan has defended his appointment of Fr Ignatius McCormack as principal of St Flannan’s College in an interview with The Clare Champion, following concerns raised and reported in The Irish Times. The Bishop of Killaloe said direct appointment is the way priest principals were appointed in the past, that it is “not without precedent” and that he had it “utterly checked” beforehand. He said direct appointment “is normal practice”. “That’s the way all past priest principals would have been appointed and there is a facility for doing that in diocesan colleges. There is a thing called the articles of management and under Article 20, the patron of the school is entitled to appoint a priest directly to be principal of the school, so that is allowable in diocesan colleges”. He outlined that lay principals would be advertised publicly and filled following an interview process. He added that St Flannan’s College is “very fortunate to have Fr Ignatius in …

BISHOP Fintan Monahan has defended his appointment of Fr Ignatius McCormack as principal of St Flannan’s College in an interview with The Clare Champion, following concerns raised and reported in The Irish Times. The Bishop of Killaloe said direct appointment is the way priest principals were appointed in the past, that it is “not without precedent” and that he had it “utterly checked” beforehand. He said direct appointment “is normal practice”. “That’s the way all past priest principals would have been appointed and there is a facility for doing that in diocesan colleges. There is a thing called the articles of management and under Article 20, the patron of the school is entitled to appoint a priest directly to be principal of the school, so that is allowable in diocesan colleges”. He outlined that lay principals would be advertised publicly and filled following an interview process. He added that St Flannan’s College is “very fortunate to have Fr Ignatius in …

Minister For Employment and Small Business Pat Breen said he is satisfied that progress is now being made on the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme as the project has gone to tender. “It is my understanding that the tender documents will be going out to contractors for pricing on Monday (yesterday). The tender period will be eight weeks, and pending no further complications, work is to commence on the ground in July,” said Minister Breen. “This third phase of the Ennis Flood Relief Scheme had been delayed due to technical difficulties, but I am pleased that the project is finally moving on,” added Minister Breen. “I understand the frustration of residence effected by flooding in this area of Ennis as they await the project to begin, a frustration that must be multiplied in recent days during the inclement weather, and I sincerely hope this is the beginning of the end of flooding issues for these people. “I have been working …

FOUR Clare students have taken one giant leap by coming first in their category for a major international competition ran by NASA. The St Flannan’s students have come top in the senior small team category in the NASA/Ames Space Settlement Design contest. They now have a chance to present their ideas in front of an audience of scientists and those in the space industry at the International Space Development Conference in Puerto Rico next month. Some of the biggest names in space exploration will be at the five-day conference, including astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Eoghan Keane, Kieran Maher, Sean Donnelly and Jason Herbert designed a settlement for thousands of people in the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter. Their innovative design, orbiting around the dwarf planet Ceres, features agricultural, residential and industrial areas to support 10,000 people. The students worked with teachers John Conneely and Grainne O’Brien, with support from Michael Horgan, on the project. As well as facing …