📣Welcome Back!

Vol 31 No 01 29 Aug 2025

Welcome Back!

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all back to school as we begin a brand-new academic year. A new school year is a fresh start - a chance to learn from what has gone before and to look ahead with renewed energy and optimism. Together, we will focus on new opportunities, new achievements, building a year filled with positivity, progress, and success. For our pupils, whether you are returning or just joining us, remember that every day here offers you the chance to learn, to grow, and to make a positive impact. Take pride in your efforts, support one another, and know that your teachers and staff are here to guide and encourage you along the way.

This year we are especially focused on building a strong, supportive community where everyone feels valued and respected. Together we will foster curiosity, creativity, and resilience. These qualities will not only help pupils to succeed in the classroom but will also prepare them for life beyond school. Parents and guardians, thank you for entrusting us with your children’s education. Your encouragement and partnership are vital as we work together to help each pupil reach their potential. We look forward to sharing the benefits of another happy and productive year with all of you during 2025/26.

Mr G A Forrest
Principal
The High School

Cricket Ireland Series Award

Congratulations to Orla Prendergast (HSD, 2014–20) who played a central role in Ireland’s recent T20I series victory over Pakistan, showcasing her outstanding skill, determination, and composure on the international stage. Her excellent performances throughout the series not only contributed to Ireland’s success but also earned her the well-deserved honour of being named Player of the Series. She is currently playing in the World Cup Qualifiers in The Netherlands. We are immensely proud to see a past pupil of The High School representing her country with such distinction, serving as a wonderful role model for our current pupils.
Mr Barnard

Ireland U19 Cricket Selection

We are delighted to announce that two pupils of The High School, Robert O'Brien and Gethin Kelleher, have been selected to represent Ireland in international cricket. They departed for England this week as part of the national squad competing in a tri-series against England and Bangladesh. This is a tremendous honour and a testament to their talent, commitment, and hard work on and off the field.

The tri-series provides an exciting opportunity for our pupils to test themselves against some of the strongest young cricketers in the world and to gain invaluable experience at international level. Their selection reflects not only their individual achievements but also the strong tradition of cricket at The High School.

Looking ahead, this series is an important stepping stone towards the ICC U19 World Cup which will take place in Zimbabwe in January 2026. To have current pupils involved at such a prestigious global event is a source of immense pride for the entire school community.

We congratulate our players on their selection, wish them every success in the current tri-series, and look forward to supporting them as they prepare for the World Cup in the New Year.
Mr Barnard

U18 Leinster Rugby

This summer I played Leinster U18 Schools rugby. Training began on 25 June at Energia Park and continued until the end of August. In July, we completed an unbeaten tour of England, securing back-to-back wins in a Rugby Union Academy tournament hosted by Malvern College, before finishing in London with another victory against Saracens. Finally, on 27 August Leinster capped off the summer by winning the PwC U18 Interprovincial Series.
Ury Spain

Leinster Hockey

We are delighted to congratulate Fionnán Coyle on his selection to play with Leinster in the upcoming Hockey Interprovincial Tournament, which takes place this weekend from 29–31 August at Lisnagarvey Hockey Club.

The tournament is a showcase of some of the best young hockey talent in Ireland with Leinster, Ulster, and Munster competing across age grades. Both Leinster squads will begin their campaigns on Friday, facing Ulster in their opening fixtures. The U16s take to the pitch at 2.00 pm, followed by the U18s at 3.00 pm, promising an exciting start to the competition.

Representing one’s province is a tremendous honour and reflects Fionnan’s hard work, dedication, and passion for hockey. His selection is a wonderful achievement and a source of great pride for The High School community. We wish Fionnán and his teammates the very best of luck as they take on this weekend’s challenges and we look forward to celebrating their successes on the pitch.
Mr Fitzpatrick

Form 4 English and Construction Studies

At the end of last year pupils from Ms Burrowes’s Form 4 English class and Ms O’Sullivan’s Form 4 Construction Studies class worked together to create a Tiny W.B. Yeats Library. They were inspired by the celestial symbolism of Yeats’s poetry from the Celtic Twilight period: “The silver apples of the moon, the golden apples of the sun.” The project is now complete and is located in the Millenium Garden.

Pupils upcycled an old bathroom cabinet, removing the mirrors and replacing them with Perspex, before covering the box with mauve, green, and gold decoupage. The Tiny Library now holds a collection of donated second-hand books for our pupils to enjoy, helping to promote literacy for all.

The Tiny Library initiative encourages users to "take a book and leave a book", thereby recycling paperbacks in a way that supports our Green Schools ethos. If you have any excellent secondhand books, in very good condition, that you think our pupils might enjoy, please get in touch with me.

I would especially like to thank all the artists and who worked on this project, and especially Ms O’Sullivan and Mr Langrell for their invaluable help. We hope all our pupils enjoy using the Tiny W.B. Yeats Library as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Ms Burrowes

Gealán Quartet

We are delighted to share the news that past pupil Fiachra de hOra (HSD, 2011-17) will be performing with the acclaimed Gealán Quartet on their upcoming Irish tour which runs from 10–14 September. The quartet will perform in Listowel, Tullamore, Cahir, Cork, and Dublin bringing world-class chamber music to audiences across the country.

The Gealán Quartet is made up of Gina Maria McGuinness (violin), Eoin Ducrot (violin), Fiachra de hOra (viola), and Paul Grennan (cello). Their programme promises to be a rich and varied experience, including Mozart’s String Quartet in B-flat major K.589, a timeless and elegant masterpiece; the first performances of Michael Doherty’s Ode to Punta Nati (2025), a newly commissioned work by the Dublin composer; and Grieg’s String Quartet in G minor (1878), a lesser-known gem of the chamber music repertoire, full of vivid colour and lyrical beauty.

This tour represents an exciting opportunity to see a talented HSD past pupil performing at the highest level of classical music in Ireland. The quartet will perform at the National Concert Hall on Sunday 14 September at 3.00 pm.
Ms Bourke