Huge congratulations to our First-place winners of the Irish Science Teachers Association annual ThermoFisher Scientific Junior Cycle Science Quiz. The team members were Aaron Currane, Daithi Kidney and David Kelleher and the students were accompanied by Ms Rachel Hannigan and Ms Ellen Walsh.  The competition was held in UCC this evening.  This a very prestigious competition for our Junior Cycle Students, and thanks to all their teachers for their help and encouragement.

We were delighted to welcome  Richie Sadlier back to PBC Podcast on Friday last for a wide ranging chat with Brian O Leary and Sam Hernan. He was in school as guest speaker to address our 6th years as part of PBC’s transition programme to support our students in their move from school to 3rd level education.

Richie is an RTE football panellist who has covered 4 Euros and 3 World Cups as a pundit and who also wrote Irish Sports Book of the Year 2019: his autobiography, ‘Recovering.’ 

He works as a psychotherapist specialising in working with teenagers and regularly contributes to television and radio on adolescent development and issues relating to young people.

With our TY crew on work experience, 6th years Brian and Sam, former podcasters themselves, returned to the mics for a sometimes lighthearted, sometimes serious conversation. 

Naturally among the topics were soccer and Richie’s move from home to pursue a professional soccer contract after doing his Leaving Cert; his curtailed professional career and the impact on his mental health; his views on the modern game and his experience as a pundit including his early days alongside John Giles, Liam Brady and Eamon Dunphy. Mobile phones and social media in school are also a hot topic and it’s interesting to hear our 6th years give their perspectives on our recent no-phone day in Pres. 

Click below to listen to this  compelling conversation and as ever thanks to PBC management and all the teachers for their support and big thanks to Brian O Leary for editing this episode and to Elaine Smith for post production. Tune back in May as we welcome the TY crew back for the season finale. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/pbc-podcast/id1550646073?i=1000703762994

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3aUazbnB5vtIPgF6n4uXBz

https://shows.acast.com/the-pbc-podcast

Our enthusiastic first-year science students from 1B and 1D brought science to life this week as they learned about the structure of the atom and created atomic structures of different elements from the periodic table using a variety of creative materials!

We had absoultely fabluous weather on Wednesday for our trip to Lynchs' Buffalo Farm near Macroom.  It was a great trip, watching the buffalo lying out in the sunshine and meeting the wonderful calves.  The experience, hosted by Dorothy O'Tuama, gives a fantastic oversight of the farm to fork experience provided by Irish Agriculture.  The students enjoyed learning about the buffalo and tasting the buffalo milk products too.  

Fáilte isteach go Caibidil 4, Séasúr 5 do Phodchraoladh PBC! ‘Siad Conor Barry agus David O Leary bhur láithreoirí ar an gclár seo! 

For any of our students prepping for the Irish orals next week it’s well worth a listen as we’ve a wonderful, jam-packed special to celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge! 

Opening with our vox pop segment, the boys head out on the streets of Cork to check out the public’s opinion on compulsory vs optional Irish in our education system.

The famous lexicographer Fr Dinneen once claimed Munster Irish was like ‘pure mountain butter, rich and unadulterated’ whereas Conamara Irish was just ‘ clever margarine!’ Well, we’ll let you decide dear listeners which canúint you’d butter your toast with!

Teacher Shóna Ní Shé, a native speaker from An Cheathrú Rua flies the flag for Connacht in conversation with TY Conall McBride, himself a hybrid of  Donegal/ Munster canúint, while teachers Mr Brian McMahon (Luimneach), Ms Orlaith Nugent (Gaeilge na nDéise) and Mr Micheál Jones, (Gaeilge Uíbh Ráthaigh), also in conversation with Conall, discuss their favourite poems as Gaeilge in their best Munster blas! 

Some music also in this episode with first years Charlie McKibben on concertina, Sam Dennehy on tin whistle and Harry O Callaghan on ukulele accompanying Shane Fitzgerald singing ‘Grace’ with a cameo from Mr David O Riordan! 

World Book Day is celebrated as we interview Pres school librarian, Michael McCormack, while TY students Ailbe Keane-Kelleher, Daniel Horgan, and Loughlain Cashman discuss both their favourite books and books that inspired their parents and grandparents. 

We round off the episode with a review of 1974 classic neo-noir film, Chinatown, ‘ by movie buff and co-director of the PBC film module production, ‘Caught Purple-Handed,’ Adam Wieczorek. 

Our thanks, as ever, to PBC management for their continued support and to all Pres teachers for their patience and goodwill in the making of the podcast. Kudos to TY Billy O Connell on sound and editing and special thanks to 6th Year Brian O Leary for extra editing duties at the last minute! 

Click below to access podcast and enjoy the listen!

https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/pbc-podcast/id1550646073?i=1000702732942

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2dTdUAjFfGbsPwYGr8JsYr

Pres put in a great performance in the National Final of the Applied Maths Team Quiz in Athlone recently. Having come first and second in the regional competition, two PBC teams Devin Giltinan, Raghav Rashgotra and Michael Doyle and also Adam Bogue, Sam Harley and James O’Regan, competed along with 22 other teams from across the country.

Devin Giltinan, Raghav Rashgotra and Michael Doyle finished on the 3rd highest score and eventually ended up in 4th place.

 Congratulations also to the PBC team who competed in the National Final of Team Maths in Portlaoise on recently.  Adam Bogue, Devin Giltinan, Raghav Rashgotra and Andrew Stack put in a brilliant performance finishing on the 2nd highest score and in 4th place out of 40 teams following tiebreaks. On the day, they were presented with a trophy for achieving 1st place in the regional part of the competition in February where 71 teams from the Cork city and county participated.

We were delighted to welcome Pharmacist Ms. Aoife Barry to speak to our senior cycle students about the diverse career paths in pharmacy today.  She provided a fantastic insight into the four key areas – community, clinical, pharmaceutical industry and academic pharmacy.  She gave us all a much deeper understanding of the profession.   Ms Barry has had experience in all areas over the course of her career. 

We were captivated by her wealth of knowledge and experience, and were left with a greater appreciation of the vital role pharmacists play in healthcare and patient well-being.    

A huge thank you to Ms  Barry for her time and expertise. 

An eager group of 4th and 5th year history students set off to Dublin to experience the origins of cultural nationalism on the sporting field. Where better than HQ itself, Croke Park. Here the boys were openly welcomed and enjoyed a thorough tour of behind the scenes at the stadium. They sat in the Garda Press office room and listened about how 2000 staff operate All-Ireland day.  A visit to the dressing rooms and the warm up room provided first-hand experience of how teams are organised on big match days. Then a wander through the corporate areas and an adrenaline filled run down the infamous tunnel onto pitch-side. The boys were delighted when they got to sit in the VIP seats in the Hogan stand, they even got to occupy President Higgin's seat. From here, they were shown where hawk eye was positioned and where the TV crews and guards are based during a game. A depiction of Bloody Sunday was revealed as the boys learned about "Michael Hogan" the Irish Volunteer and Tipperary player who lost his life on that day in 1920. They then made their way to the very top of the Cusack Stand and heard about Michael Cusack, founding member and secretary of the GAA in 1884. 

To finish, a wander through the GAA museum saw the original Sam Maguire and Liam McCarthy cups displayed along with a signed glove and shorts from Muhammad Ali when he fought in Croke Park in 1972. 

From there we continued our journey of cultural nationalism onto O' Connell Street to the GPO museum where the Easter Week of 1916 was on display. A wonderful selection of memorabilia to view,  finishing with a short film that captured the events of the week.  A trip to MacDonalds and a safe journey home completed the day. Thanks to Ms. E. Walsh for accompanying us on the tour for the day.

Grace Fitzgerald 

History Teacher

A huge congratulations to Andrew Hinds, one of our TY students, who made his international debut in March.

Andrew delivered a fantastic performance at the SIAB school International cross country in Falkirk, Scotland, captaining Ireland to an impressive second place finish in the intermediate boys team standings! Despite being in 15th place with a lap to go, he showed incredible determination to surge through the field and secure a superb 9th-place finish overall in the 6km race, finishing ahead of all Scottish and Welsh competitors. While England displayed a dominant performance,Andrew’s strong finish played a crucial role in securing Ireland’s silver medal.

Everyone at Pres is incredibly proud of Andrew, whose hard work and dedication continues to take centre stage.

A huge well done to all our athletes on an outstanding performance at the Munster Championships!

Our Minor Boys Team put in a great effort to secure 3rd place in Munster, an impressive achievement for our youngest competitors.

In the Junior Boys Race, we had a dominant showing, with Euan Wolfe and Eoghan Looney leading the team home in 3rd and 4th place, respectively. Thanks to strong performances across the board, the Junior Boys secured 1st place, claiming the Munster title!

The Intermediate Race was another thrilling contest, with Andrew Hinds delivering a fantastic run to win the race outright. Conor Looney also had a brilliant performance, finishing 7th, and with the rest of the team running strongly, they finished in 2nd place just one point off the win.

Overall, it was an incredibly successful day for PBC Cross Country with all three teams qualifying for the all Irelands. On top that PBC won best overall school in Munster, the first time in the schools history.

To follow up the crosscountry season  the boys travelled to Galway with the opportunity of competing at the National schools championships. The boys did the school very proud showcasing some of the talent we have in our school PBC.
The minor team made up off Conor Graham, Jon Guerenabarrena, Michael Mullins, Michael Dillon and Ethan O’Connell set the tone for the day with a great race. Showing grit and determination as the first team on the course.

Our junior team, led home by Euan Wolfe, put in a fantastic effort, narrowly missing out on a podium finish with a 4th place team result.  An outstanding performance that shows the depth of running in PBC backing up there brilliant win at the Munster championships.

The intermediate team also delivered a strong showing, finishing in a respectable 7th place in a highly competitive field. The team was made up of Andrew hinds, Conor looney, James O’Regan, Conor Minogue and Jack Crowley.

On top of that congratulations to Andrew Hinds, who ran an incredible race to claim 2nd place overall in the intermediate category. His performance has earned him the honor of captaining Ireland in the SIAB International in Scotland. We wish him the very best as he represents his country on the big stage!

Brilliant performances across the board well done to all our athletes and thank you Mr Lynch for going up with the boys.