Well done to Jennifer McCarthy (3rd year) who put in a strong performance at the Connacht Schools Cross Country last week in Loughrea, securing 5th place. Her impressive finish earns her a spot in the All-Ireland Schools Cross Country, where she will represent her school in Ballybrit this coming Saturday.

Well done to our equestrian team who represented Taylors at the Ower Interschools competition last week.

Ava Joyce (TY), Gracie Allison, (2nd) and Lily' O'Keeffe (1st) all had clear rounds in their first competitions. Gracie was unlucky not to feature with her pony Scarlett in this timed event despite jumping brilliantly. Ava jumped superbly on Heroes Silver and came away with a 5th rosette in the 80's. Lily had great final competition on Currachmore Imp resulting in a 3rd place rosette.

Well done to each of the girls. We are very proud of them.

Athletics season is up and running in Taylors, and our students have been doing us proud on the track and field!

Last week, the South Connacht Cross Country event took place, and three of our athletes have qualified for the Connacht Finals in February. A huge congratulations to Mae O'Halloran, Jennifer McCarthy, and Laura Campion on their outstanding performances!

Meanwhile, our track athletes also impressed at the County Galway Indoor Athletics Championships, where several Taylors girls earned medals representing West Coast AC. Well done to Angela Cielecka, Inga Cielecka, Michelle Nnadi, Princess Ehigiamusoe, and Praise Limbila on their fantastic achievements!

Best of luck to all our athletes in their upcoming events—keep up the great work!

Photo credit: West Coast AC on Facebook

Congratulations to Ailbhe Drimbarean and Maimuna Haque from 2nd year who were winners in the 14 and Under section of the Christmas Art Competition in the Galway Advertiser, and recently attended a prize giving ceremony with the Mayor of Galway, Mr. Peter Keane.

The theme of the competition was ‘Christmas in Old Galway’. The winning entries were on display in the Galway City Library over the Christmas holidays, and can be viewed on The Galway Advertiser Facebook page here: Galway Advertiser Facebook - Christmas Art Competition

On Wednesday, January 15th, the Dominican College VEX Robotics team competed in the VEX V5 High Stakes competition at ATU Galway. This marks the second year the school has participated in the VEX V5 competition, where students design, build, and code robots to take on a new challenge each year. This year's game involved maneuvering plastic ring doughnuts onto stakes.

The team began their preparations in September, refining their robot design through a practice event, or Scrimmage, held in ATU last November. With improvements made, they were ready for the main event.

Each school competed in seven qualifier matches, with two robots from different teams forming alliances to face another pair in a red vs blue setup. After all 26 qualifier matches, Dominican College emerged in the top position.

This achievement allowed them to choose St. Colman’s, Claremorris, as their partner for the finals. Dominican College performed exceptionally well, securing victories in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Unfortunately, they were narrowly defeated in the final by a strong alliance led by a school from Kildare.

The day ended on a high note as Dominican College received the Robot Skills Champion award for driver Cristina Prieto and the prestigious Excellence Award for the best overall team.

Congratulations to all team members, including driver Cristina Prieto, coder Leah Curran, builders Lara Curran and Erinlee Diviney, and reporter Aoibheann Reid, whose Engineering Report was a key part of the judging process.

The team now looks forward to competing in the National Final in Cork this February.

Photos and videos from the event are available on the school website here: News article on school website.

Last week, Dominican College’s Claire Leuridan-Selvin and Leah Curran participated in the second annual Leaving Certificate Hackathon at The PorterShed2 in Galway. Representing their school with distinction, both students took on leadership roles in their groups, demonstrating exceptional collaboration and innovation.

Claire’s outstanding creativity and leadership earned her the MVP award from the panel of judges—a fantastic achievement she can be very proud of.

The event, which brought together 6th Year Computer Science students nationwide, included workshops, industry mentoring, and talks from experts in AI and UX/UI design. Students developed coding projects under the theme of "Computer Science and Wellbeing," culminating in team presentations.

Well done to Leah, Claire, and all participants! For more, check out the RTÉ coverage: RTE Hackathon Video | RTE Hackathon Article. This app post can also be found on the school website news section.

Today, our 6th Year's presented a cheque to COPE Galway with funds raised from our Christmas Jumper Day! COPE Galway were in to give a talk to the 6th year students. Pictured here are our head girl Isabelle Barton Murphy and deputy head girl Eabheann Conneely along with representatives from COPE Galway. A huge thank you to COPE Galway for their inspiring talk and to everyone who contributed to this great cause.

The Christmas season at Taylor’s was filled with activities, and celebrations that brought the school community together.

Exciting Trips and Activities
On Monday, December 11th, the 5th Years enjoyed a day of ice skating at Galway on Ice at the docks, while the 6th Years attended a screening of Wicked at the Palás Cinema. Midweek, the festive fun continued as 1st and 2nd Years gathered for a movie afternoon on Wednesday, watching the classic Home Alone.

Thursday was a busy day for the Transition Year (TY) students, who hosted their annual Christmas Enterprise Fair in the morning. The event showcased their creativity and entrepreneurial skills (check out the Enterprise photo gallery on the school website for highlights). Later, they joined in the ice-skating fun at Galway on Ice.

Choir Highlights and Performances
Ms. O’Boyle and the school choir spread festive cheer with a series of performances across Galway. On Thursday, December 12th, they participated in the Live Crib at Galway Cathedral. The choir also visited St. Joseph’s Special School on Saturday, December 14th, where they performed a selection of Christmas songs.

A highlight of the season was their participation in the Le Chéile Galway Schools Carol Singing. This unique event brought together the choirs of the three Le Chéile schools—Taylor’s, The Bish, and Salerno—for a day of performances across all three schools.

The term concluded with the annual Carol Service, which celebrated the spirit of Christmas with the entire school community and the Dominican Sisters.

Thank You and Holiday Wishes
A huge thank you goes to everyone who helped make this festive season so special. Special thanks to:

• Ms. O’Boyle and Ms. Clarke for their work with the choir.

• The Religon Department, teachers and students involved in the carol service.

• Year Heads, tutors, and supervisors for organising and coordinating events.

• Johnny, Karen, Helen, Stephanie, Mary Clifford & Mary Doheny for their ongoing support.

• Our Head and Deputy Head Girls, Isabelle Barton Murphy and Eabheann Connelly.

• Mr. Kinsella, and Mr. O’Doherty for their assistance throughout the activities and the year.

Be sure to visit the Christmas photo gallery on our school website for snapshots of these memorable events!

Wishing all our students, staff, and families a joyful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy the well-deserved break!

This news item has also been posted on the school website and can be viewed here. 

TY Christmas Enterprise Fair 2024

The Transition Year Christmas Enterprise Fair took place today, creating a wonderful festive atmosphere in the school. TY students showcased and sold their products, raising funds for their mini-companies in this Christmas-themed event.

A gallery of photos capturing the day is available to view on the school website, link here.

A big thank you to Ms. Callanan, Ms. Kennedy, and Mr. Collins for their hard work in facilitating and organising this fantastic event!

This week, our 6th-year students attended an informative and practical session with some of last year’s Leaving Cert class, who have since moved on to further education. The event was a great opportunity for students to hear real-life examples and stories about transitioning to college life, helping them make informed decisions about their CAO applications and future options.

The session was interactive, with students able to ask questions and engage directly with the speakers. A huge thank you to the former students who took time out of their busy schedules to return and share their experiences:

• Oliwia Senkowska – Biotechnology, University of Galway

• Hannah Feeney – Creative Writing, University of Galway

• Laura Tuczynska – Arts (English, History & French), University of Galway

• Lucy McDonagh – Business Accounting, ATU

• Dasha Delos Santos – Biomedical Engineering, ATU

• Frances Hardy – Science, University of Galway

• Anni Chen – Pre-University Arts, GTI

• Poppy Johnson – Computer Science, University of Galway

• Allijah Tijani – Applied Social Studies, GTI

• Kaelah Tobin – Sports Coaching, ATU

A special word of thanks to Ms. Louise O’Callaghan, our Careers Teacher, for organising the event and ensuring its success.

It was great to see past pupils giving back to the school community, and their advice was both practical and encouraging. Events like these provide real insight and will no doubt help our current 6th years as they plan for the future. Well done to all involved!

This article has also be published on the school website along with more photos of the event and can be found here.