December 2023
Newsletter
Our term has ended in a flurry of wonderful artistic and sporting events. The Advent Arts Festival and the
various recent sports fixtures have brought us all together in a wonderful celebration of our powerful
community.
It has truly been a most uplifting end to the year with such a rich range of activities – concerts for each year
group and the whole school concert which featured the Jazz Band and String Ensemble, as well as some
excellent solos; an excellent day’s Rugby at St Gerard’s in Bray; the whole school Christmas dinner and post
dinner show; the Art Exhibition featuring work from all years and also teachers; the end of term Awards for
Junior and Senior house; the visit to St Mary’s Cathedral for a lunchtime concert given by the Irish Chamber
Orchestra; our choir performing a Carol Concert in Kildorrery, Co Cork; the performance by incredibly
talented former students (Rory Moloney, Tim O'Grady Walsh & Harry Boland), the visit by the First Year to
Lime Tree theatre to see Aladdin; the Transition Year showcase event to the Third Years; a very enjoyable
whole school coffee morning; the vigorous Senior Debating Society debate and the two reflective Carol
Services lead by our Choir and Readers in the Abbey Church. Added to this, last week was crowned by the
U15 rugby victory – with our team winning the McCarthy B Plate! Congratulations to our successful
sportsmen on an excellent competition, and our thanks to everyone for their contribution and leadership in
making all these events so memorable. A very special thank you to Hazel O’Herlihy for convening everything
and to Fr Columba for preparing some very challenging accompaniments for our concerts and carol
services.
A word from the Headmaster
WINTER FROSTS IN THE WOODS AT GLENSTAL
IMAGE CREDIT: DENIS HOOPER OSB
Glenstal Abbey School
Thank you also to the school Captain, Leo Cuddigan and to the student council for organising a charity
soccer tournament for Advent. Thank you also to all those who have contributed to the collection for th
e work of the Sisters in Istanbul whom Sixth Years met during their recent visit: the Sisters are involved
in educating refugee children in very difficult circumstances and it is fitting that we are able to support t
his important work.
Everyone in Sixth, Fifth, Third, Second and First year has received their report, with Fourth year reports to
follow in January. These also offer much to praise and celebrate. I hope that families will take some tim
e towards the end of the holiday to speak with their son to listen to the important messages from teache
rs about how to take the next steps to improvement and further success.
Whilst we have had a wonderful end to term, but we are all too aware that there is much darkness in the lives
of many people around the globe at present. In his address to the Roman Curia this week Pope Franci
s urges us to recognise the light giving presence of God in our lives.
May I wish everyone every blessing of Christmas, and a very Happy New Year 2024.
The mystery of Christmas fills our hearts with awe – a key word – at an unexpected message: God has come, God
is here in our midst, and his light has forever pierced the darkness of the world. We need to hear and accept thi
s message anew, especially in these days tragically marked by the violence of war, by the momentous risks posed
by climate change, and by poverty, suffering, hunger – there is hunger in the world! – and all the grave problems
of the present time. It is comforting to discover that even in those painful situations, and all the other problem
s of our frail human family, God makes himself present in this crib, the manger where today he chooses to be
born and to bring the Father’s love to all. This he does in God’s own “style”: with closeness, compassion, tenderness.
Marius Carney
Headmaster
Marius
HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS | 21 DECEMBER 2023
Glenstal Abbey School
School News
Welcome to new Deputy Principal
Gráinne Foley
SPHE Department of Education Inspection
The Department of Education Inspector visited our SPHE (Social, Personal and Health Education)
department in October. The report is extremely positive about the experience of SPHE educatio
n here , notin g tha t outstandin g learne r experience s wer e observe d i n lessons , tha t teache
rs appropriate ly challeng ed studen ts - encourag ed a nd prais ed th em - a nd demonstrat ed empa
thy w ith studen ts. The inspec tor sta ted t hat the S PHE classr oom at Glens tal i s a s afe spa ce,
with positive teacher-student relationships observed.
Our thanks and congratulations to Ann Aungier and all our SPHE teachers.
A very warm welcome to Gráinne Foley who
recently joined us as our new Deputy Principal.
Gráinne was greeted on her first day by Abbo
t Brendan Coffey OSB and has been enjoying getti
ng to kn ow Glensta l, t he staf f, studen ts a nd pare
nts over the last four weeks.
Glenstal Abbey School
Alumni Event
Irish Embassy in Berlin
School
News
Friday 9 February 2024 at 17.30
The Irish Embassy in Berlin will hold a
networking reception for Germa
n students who attended boardi
ng school in Ireland.
Those interested in attending should
RSVP by email to eventsberlin@dfa.ie
Glenstal Abbey School
Key Upcoming Dates
8 January from 5.00pm: Boarders Return
9 January 8.30am: Class Recommence
11 January: Munster Schools’ Rugby Senior Cup 1st Round (Thomond Park)
19 January: Munster Schools Rugby Junior Cup 1st Round (Venue TBC)
2 February 12.40pm: School Closes for Exeat Weekend
THE FULL CALENDER OF EVENTS IS AVAILABLE ON THE COMPASS APP
Debating Team Success
Debating
Society
members
Oskar
Ó
hAoláin-Lindbaek, Ethan Tierney, Hug
o Phela n an d Christia n Kinaha n recent
ly compet ed in t he seco nd bo ut of t he fi
rst ro und of the UCC Philosophi cal Soc
iety Scho ols' Deba ting Competi tion u nde
r the gui dan ce of Br C ol mán O Clab aig
h. All sp eake rs won t hro ugh to th e nex
t roun d whe re th ey wi ll jo in five te amm
ates who have already qualified. This is the f
irst time all Glenstal speakers have advan
ced to the second round.
DECEMBER 2023
Delbarton
Exchange
Transition Year students Sonny McCartan, Logan
O’Connor, Dashel O’Donoghue, Oisin Rowan, an
d Charlie Mugan have enjoyed a most memorable vis
it to Delbart on Colleg e, N ew Jerse y, U SA we re t
hey h ave b een gi ven an extrem ely w arm welc om
e by Delbarton school and their host families.
On their first weekend the boys attended the
school’s Sophomore Dance and settled in at hom
e with their host families with activities including cl
ay pigeon shooting, an ice hockey game and Ameri
can footb all ga me. The follow ing Mon day t hey sta
rted class at Delbarton School.
During the trip they also toured the sites in New York
City and visited Washington DC, including th
e Lincoln Memorial, the African American Museum
of History and Culture, the Washington Monument
and Capitol Hill.
A special thank you to Fr. Edward Seton Fittin OSB,
Prior of Saint Mary's Abbey for coordinating th
e exchange and to Kieran Sparling for accompanyi
ng the boys.
Advent Carol Services
Choir Carol Service
at Kildorrery
Following a triumphant tour to London in
October, the choir turned their attention t
o learning music for Advent and Christmas.
At t he Christm as car ol servi ce f or paren ts
on Sunday 17th and for the school on Tue
sday 1 9th, the boys sang some very dema
nding p iec es by celeb rated compo sers, inc
luding J.S. Bach’s Zion hört die Wächter sin
gen a nd Je su Joy; Harold Dar ke’s In t
he Bleak M idwi nter a nd Peter Co rneliu s’ Th
ree Kings from Persian Lands Afar.
Our thanks must go to Fr Columba McCann
for his superb accompanying of the choi
r each week.
Music
& Choir
Glenstal Abbey School
Our School Choir performed a carol
service in the Cork parish of Kildorrer
y o n th e 13t h December , wher e th
ey received a warm welcome and fantas
tic hospital i ty f rom Fr Kelleg her be
fore sin gin g to a pa cked chu rch. The
event r aised over € 4,00 0 fo r the chu rch’
s bell restoration fund.
Well done to all our choristers and
musicans.
Creativity@Glenstal
VINCENT VAN GOGH - TRANSITION YEAR ART CLASS
COLLABORATIVE COMPOSTION USING VARIOUS MEDIA ON MIXED STOCK
Glenstal Abbey School
Congratulations to Joe Hartigan
(First Year) who has bee
n selected for the U14 Limeri
ck Hurling Academy panel. W
ell done Joe!
The weather relented slightly in the
second half of term which enabled a
n almost full schedule of fixtures.
The GAA matches and blitzes were
hardest hit with the cancellations i
n Octobe r hopefull y thes e wil l retur n
in full in the new year.
SPORTS
NEWS
Congratulations to the U15 rugby team on winning the Mccarthy
B Plate competition, defeating Ardscoil Ris 28-12. It was a wel
l deserved victory with the squad playing very well in the final,
as they have done throughout the competition.
The SCT had a great win against CBC in their final pool match of
the Munster Senior Cup qualifying stages. Both the SCT and JC
T are awaiting news of their opponents in the preliminary round
of their cup competitions.
Soccer
The u17 soccer squad reached
the QF of the Munster Cup befor
e losing to Glanmire from Cork in
a high quality match.
The team played some excellent
football and should be please
d wit
h thei
r progres
s i
n th
is competition.
GAA
Glenstal Abbey School
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
HOW TO
MAKE SOIL
FERTILE
The Transition Year closed out 2023 with a festive ice skating trip
Forensics Workshop
The fascinating Forensic Fun workshop challenged
students think critically about the JFK assassinatio
n b y gatherin g clues , analysin g ballistic s & gu n sh
ot resid
ue evidenc
e, fingerprint
s, autop
sy
and photographic records.
TRANSITION YEAR
Drum Workshop
Dave from Groovy Hands is expert at drawing on the
a group’s natural enthusiasm for music and rhyth
m and is an advocate for the many benefits of listenin
g, learnin g, playi ng a nd participati ng in mus ic a
s a group and of music as a universal language for all.
Glenstal Abbey School
Student Christmas Dinner
19th December 2023
Glenstal Abbey School