The summer break is, as ever, racing past and preparations are well underway for the new school year. There has been plenty of work undertaken around the campus in the ongoing effort to maintain and improve our facilities.
Next week sees the publication of the Leaving Certificate results and hopefully the class of 2011 will have reason to be pleased on receipt of these. Students are encouraged to collect their results in person at the college from 10am onwards as there will be staff present to offer advice and help in relation to any queries or issues that may emerge.

On Monday, Tuesday,Thursday and Friday of next week, registration takes place from 9am to 10.30am and from 11.15 am to 1pm. Timetables, student journals etc can be collected upon registration.

School resumes for 1st years on thursday, August 25th with other year groups returning over the following 2 school days.
In the meantime, enjoy the remainder of the summer break and hopefully we might get a few days of sunshine for good measure. Continue Reading...

While another school year comes to a close for 1st, 2nd and 5th years, there is still the matter of Junior and Leaving Certificate exams to be undertaken by others. Starting on Wednesday, June 8th the exams run until the 24th. We wish all those students sitting these tests the very best of good luck.
There will be mass celebrated in the college church at 8.30am each morning of the first week of the exams, Wednesday to Friday inclusive, for any students and/or their parents who wish to attend.

On Friday, May 27th, the college church was the scene of a very special occasion as Bro. Colm O'Mahony was ordained a deacon by Bishop Denis Brennan. Bro. Colm, a native of Cork,  has been a wonderful addition to the staff of Good Counsel over the past year and we wish him the very best for his future ministry.

One of the most popular events on the school calendar is the annual Parents' Council barbeque for 6th year students and once again this year the parents pulled out all the stops to provide a wonderful array of food for the Leaving Cert. cohort. The aroma which wafted across the school campus had many junior students salivating for the fare on offer and a few brazen but vain attempts were made to infiltrate the proceedings. Many thanks to the parents for the huge amount of work put into this event and I know the boys were equally appreciative of their generosity.
The awards for footballer and hurler of the year were presented on the occasion of the barbeque to Colm Foran and Jack Guiney respectively while the Ryan Family cup for most improved rugby player went to Hugh Keenan.Congratulations to all.

Recent past pupil, Jack Harte, made the headlines this week winning the People's Choice award at the Blooms Garden Festival in the Phoenix Park last weekend. This was in addition to winning thesilver medal in the small gardens category for his creation,' An Adventure with Thumbelina' . You can see an interview with Jack in his garden creation by clicking on the link below. Well done Jack!                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHPQjjxRsh4

Our school was represented in the Leinster track and field athletics finals in Santry recently and wonderful performances saw Eoin Power take gold in the Senior boys 110m hurdles, Paul Manning winning the Minor boys 500m and Jordan Byrne throwing a personal best in the Javelin.
Since then Eoin Power has gone on to claim the All Ireland title with a brilliant performance in the Tullamore Harriers club on Sunday last. It is difficult to overstate the significance of his achievement in an event which requires suchspeed and technical precision especially as he is still quite young and all in Good Counsel are extremely proud of his success.

Paul Manning, Eoin Power and Jordan Byrne

In addition 1st year student Joe Mooney who won the South Leinster Junior boys walk finished 4th in the Leinster final of the event and given that he is under age for this event again this was another fine achievement.

Joe Mooney, South Leinster Junior Boys walk champion

Another group of 1st year students recently went down to play Bridgetown V.S in a Basketball Friendly and they put up a tremendous performance scoring freely and looking like a team who had spent a lot of time together in preparation. the opposition had no answer to the power and skill of players such as Vyto, Leonardo and Kamil with equally impressive performances from Paul, Liam and Calem. In truth it was a real team success and well done to them and to Mr Bates for organising and taking care of the event.


1st Year Basketball Team who played Bridgetown V.S.

Finally, may we wish all staff, students and parents a very pleasant and safe summer, hoping that all will return refreshed for the new school year in August. Continue Reading...

The Sports Hall transformed for the Graduation Mass. (pic - Ms Wessley)
The 6th Year Graduation mass took place on Thursday night last and as ever was a wonderful evening of reflection, music and celebration of the time this current group has spent in Good Counsel. Fr Hennebry celebrated mass along with Fr Collander and Bro. McGerailt. In his homily he reflected on the journey undertaken by these young men thusfar and the great possibilities which lie ahead of them in the future.
There was a poignancy about the ceremony as John Joe Galvin was fondly remembered in the presence of his mother,Catherine and brother, Leon.
Each student was presented with a certificate and a class photograph signed by every class member.  School prefects received a token of gratitude for their work throughout the year and the Bob Quinn trophy for Student of the Year  was presented to Clive Moylan, a most popular choice. The Sportsman of the year award went to Adamstown man, Shane O'Gorman.

Student of the Year, Clive Moylan, with his parents, Mr O'Brien and Fr. Hennebry. (pic -Ms Wessley)
During the week the Leinster Track and Field finals were held in Santry and Good Counsel College students excelled with Eoin Power, TY, taking gold in Intermediate 100m hurdles and Paul Manning winning the minor 500m after taking silver in the 80m. In addition Jordan Byrne finished 7th in the Javelin with a throw of 27m90cm. Well done to all of them and many thanks to Mr Bates for his work with them.

The 2nd annual Tom Walsh memorial 1st year hurling blitz took place in the school on Tuesday with teams from Lismore, De La Salle, Waterford, St. Kierans, Enniscorthy CBS, St. Peters and our own school taking part. After a feast of excellent hurling, St Kierans and 'The Counsel' qualified for the final with the host side coming out on top with a powerful performance. Ms Denise Bolger presented the trophy to the winning captain, Darragh Joyce who thanked all those who helped organise the day, especially Mr Wall, Mr Purcell and Mr. Leigh O'Brien.

Last week I mentioned the burgeoining music career of past pupil, Michael Stafford who performs as Maverick Sabre and tonight, Friday, he will perform on the Late Late Show, further testimony to his growing reputation. Best wishes to him. Continue Reading...

On Thursday morning a mass in memory of the late John Joe Galvin was held in the college church. The mass was attended by all 6th year students, friends of John Joe from other classes and many of the school's staff. John Joe was remembered through music, readings, photographs and a moving powerpoint presentation recalling the fun loving, good natured young man who was a devoted son and brother, who had a large coterie of friends and who had a great zest for life. May he rest in peace.

Those 6th years studying Art were busy on Thursday and Friday as the practical section of the examination took place. A variety of techniques and materials were put to use as some welded, others sketched and more worked with clay and made lino cuts. Good luck too all of them.
On the subject of art, well done to Mark Mansfield who received a Certificate of Commendation for his entry to the prestigious Texaco Art competition.

A group of students with a particular interest in equestrian sports were priveleged to visit the hallowed Ballydoyle on Tuesday afternoon where they were treated to a tour of the facilities of what is perhaps the premier horse training facility in the world. Currently housing such stars So You Think, Fame And Glory and leading Derby contender, Recital, the place is seeped in tradition and is spectacular in its lay out and scope. Many thanks to the staff there for accommodating our visiting party. 

1st years Kenneth O'Connor and Donagh O'Connor in Ballydoyle.
The U-14 hurlers put up a brave display in the Leinster semi final on Wednesday before succumbing by 1 goal to a strong Kilkenny CBS side. A huge effort has been put in by players and mentors, Mr Purcell and Mr Wall, and no doubt the fruit of their labours will be seen in the years to come.
Another group of young hurlers took part in a St Kierans College blitz on Tuesday with one team emerging top of their group and the other second. Well done and thanks to all the Juvenile hurlers and coaches.

And finally a mention of a past pupil making waves in the world of music, namely Michael Stafford aka Maverick Sabre who recently appeared on 'Later with Jools' and who next week plays support to Snoop Dogg on his British tour. His recent album release is available to buy on itunes while his 'Jools' appearance can be viewed on youtube. Best of luck to him. Continue Reading...

We are now into the final term of the year with only 4 more weeks of class time remaining. Project work, field studies, orals are all completed for the exam classes while on Friday, the Junior Cert. Art practical was completed.
The 6th year Graduation Mass will take place on Thursday, May 19th with the Transition Year presentation night on Monday, May 30th.

A guest speaker from NUIG spoke to the 5th years about third level experience in the City of the Tribes on Thursday.

Among past pupils in the news recently were Eddie O'Connor who berated the GAA hierarchy over the payments to managers issue. Eddie certainly doesn't pull his punches or temper his language when offering his views.
At the Punchestown Racing Festival this week another past pupil Tom Doyle rode the winner of the Guiness Gol Cup when steering Follow The Plan to a great success. Well done to him.

Below is a photograph of Matthew Murphy, Graignamanagh, who represented the school in the recent national, schools rowing regatta in Cork where he performed very well.
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The current beautiful weather is most welcome as the school closes for the Easter break. With only 5 weeks of class on return the exam classes will be trying to get some study done over these 2 weeks. For Leaving Certs. the orals are now behind them and with project work generally finished off, it is full steam ahead for the June examinations.

The spring weather has also meant a return to the garden for Fr. Michael and his willing assistants as they cultivate the vegetable plot, so bountiful last year, once again. The TY students, under the guidance of Mr Purcell, have also put up a greenhouse as part of their horticulture module and while it will hardly lead to the school becoming a self sufficient community just yet, the enterprise does seem to be expanding.

Fr. Michael with some of his co-workers planting the flower boxes at school entrance.

We had a visit from a group of Mercyhurst College students who are currently studying in Dungarvan as part of an outreach type initiative on Friday last. We, of course, have a number of past pupils currently studying in the Pennsylvanian University and indeed have had many distinguished graduates there over the years. 

Well done to the track and field team who were very successful in the South Leinsters last week picking up gold medals in 4 gold medals. Joe Mooney, 1st year, won the U-`15 2000m walk, Jordan Byrne, 2nd year, the U-15 javelin, Paul Manning, 1st year, the U-15 100m and Eoin Power, TY, the Senior 400m hurdles. Thr team now go on to the Leinster Finals in Santry next month where we wish them the best of luck. Many thanks also to Mr. Bates for his work and to the parents who travelled up to Kilkenny with the boys.
Congratulations also to Kieran Butler who travelled to France with the Irish Youths rugby team where he scored a try in victory over the host country.

A fresh drive to keep our school environment clean and to encourage recycling of waste was launched last week and already there is significant improvements noticeable. The TY students have been a great help in getting the initiave up and running and the cleaning staff have been particularly grateful for the improvement in the litter situation over the last week. The challenge is to keep the effort up and to ensure that we have a clean and aesthetically pleasing environment for all who work and visit Good Counsel.
In the hope that the beautiful weather continues, may we wish everyone a happy and peaceful Easter. Continue Reading...

The Irish Orals took place throughout the week so another box on the Leaving Cert. checklist is ticked. In the coming week European language oral examinations will take place so our students of French, German, Spanish and Russian will be busy preparing for those. The school year is hurtling on and with the Easter break coming up at the end of next week, only 5 teaching weeks will then remain until the end of term - something to concentrate the minds.

Captain John Tubritt with the Leinster U-16 A Football Trophy

On Tuesday last the school's U-16 football team added the Leinster 'A' title to the U-14 one lifted only weeks earlier. To hold 2 of the 3 provincial titles at once is fair testament to the talent of the boys here and to the work put into preparing the teams by their teachers. The Counsel won this one comfortably putting up a stunning display of fluent accurate football. Captain John Tubritt received the cup on behalf of the team and paid tribute to the work of Mr Kehoe and Mr Moran while also thanking all the supporters who travelled. (A full report will appear in the Sports News section of this website.)

When the Wexford U-21 footballers took the Leinster title for the first time on Wednesday night last in Portlaoise, Good Counsel College was especially well represented. 8 of the starting 15 were past pupils with another coming on to play in the second half. In addition the team is managed by Mr Kevin Kehoe,a teacher here in the school while another past pupil, Brendan Kehoe is the team trainer. Many congratulations to all of them on an historic achievement and best wishes to them for the All Ireland semi final.


The U-14 Badminton team travelled to Gormanstown College for the All Ireland 'A' final on Wednesday last and lost out agonisingly on a countback in the final. It could not have been any closer and it was a shame that the boys had to lose out in such heartbreaking fashion. Nonetheless, they did themselves and the school proud and huge thanks must go to Ms Byrne for all her work with the team, to Mr Wall who travelled up with them, to Nicholas Murphy, TY, himself an international player who also helped with the coaching and to the boys' parents for their help and support.

Well done to Matthew Murphy, 3rd year who became the first student to represent the school in the national schools rowing regatta in Cork last weekend. He finished 3rd in his heat narrowly missing out on a place in the final. Continue Reading...

Shane O'Gorman, 6th Year, M.C. for the Talent Show.
The 2nd annual 'Good Counsel's Got Talent' took place on Thursday night and what a lot of talent Good Counsel's got. There were solo acts, duets and bands performing music from a variety of genre, rock to classical.and also a very impressive street dance act featuring Dylan Chapman and Ahmed Yousif who finished up in third place.
Rory Furlong and his band, with Rory Cooper on bass, made certain the audience were whipped in gear right from the off with a no nonsense version of the Thin Lizzy classic, 'The Boys are Back in Town'. The pace may have slowed and quickened for the rest of the evening but the quality of the performances was relentless. Aidan O'Leary, who picked up second prize, and Eoghan Brennan both delivered extremely polished acoustic numbers while Mike Waters clearly still touched  by Paddy's Day fever played a wailing electric instrumental version of Amhran na bFhiann which was met with great patriotic approval as if the ball was about to be thrown in to start an All Ireland Final.
Subsequent acts included Frank Lawlor giving a crystal clear rendition of Barry Moore's 'City of Chicago', Rory Cooper playing a  piano piece and Conor Dempsey getting carried away in a frenzied account of Tenacious D's, 'Tribute' . Another prize winning duo were Jon Reville and Michael Martin playing Banjo and Bodhran respectively who won the Eanna O'Broin award for emerging talent. The award named after a wonderful teacher of Good Counsel who tragically died 15 years ago went to the 2 Bannow men who had the audience foot tapping to their infectious rhythms and who showed why they have been to the All Ireland Feile finals previously. New ground was broken when the joint Good Counsel/St Marys orchestra performed an Elton John number, with Amy O'Brien and Helen Ryan on vocals backed by a range of instruments including violins and saxophone.
The final act proved to be the winning one as Simon Dunphy on viola Seamus Sutton on mandolin/guitar and Padraig McGrath on banjo /violin were accompanied by Amy O'Brien on accordion as they played a couple of songs including Mumford and Sons, Little Lion Man.
The night was really a celebration of the talent among the young people in our school and it was an opportunity to bring that talent to the attention of peers, parents and teachers alike. it is always a most pleasant surprise to see young students who one sees about the school on a daily basis display remarkable talent that had been kept secret and undisclosed.
Well done to all the artists and to the senior prefects - a word of mention for most entertaining M.C., Shane O'Gorman - and to Mr Younger for all the work involved.  
The proceeds of 1,500 euro raised on the night will go to the Goal charity.

Well done to Brian Grace, 1st year and Michael Walsh, 2nd both of whom won Leinster boxing championship titles in Newbridge last weekend and who go on to contest All Ireland titles at Easter. Best of luck to both of them - not men to be messed with clearly.

On Wednesday next the U-14 Badminton team compete in the All Ireland 'A' finals in Gormanstown College. Good luck to the team of Ian Carthy, Jack Dunne, Noel Dunne and Stephen O'Gorman and to their coach Ms Byrne.
Also next week the Junior footballers hope to add the U-16 Leinster 'A' title to the one already lifted by the U-14's. I don't believe the college ever held both titles at once previously although we have won Senior and U-14 in the same years on a few occassions. Good luck to all involved.

And finally, best wishes to Paul Murphy, 1st year, who has trials for the Leinster U-18 golf team this weekend. For one so young to even be in this position is a fine achievement; hopefully things will work out on the fairways and the greens. Continue Reading...

On Monday last John Joe Galvin, one of our 6th year students was laid to rest in Ballymitty having lost his life in a car accident the previous Thursday night. A large cohort of students from the college attended the funeral while prayers for John Joe and his family were also offered in school. His death cast a long shadow over the past week but there was great support among all members of the school community for each other. Again our thoughts and prayers are with John Joe's mother, brother, other family and friends.

On Thursday night the second 'Good Counsel's Got Talent' show takes place in the school at 7.30pm. It promises to be a wonderful evening's entertainment with an array of student talent on display. Tickets for the event, available on the night are 5 euro with all proceeds going to the charity, Goal. A lot of effort has been put into organising the event by senior prefects, in particular Seamus Sutton, so all support would be most welcome.

On Saturday March 19th Good Counsel hosted the All Ireland Inter Schools Hunter Trials in Moorefields Kennels, Old Ross. Over 500 competitors took part in what was a very large scale operation. Thankfully the weather was dry until late evening which made life considerably easier for all involved. A huge debt of gratitude is owed to a great many parents, terachers, students and local people who put in an enormous amount of voluntary time and effort to ensure the smooth running of the event. We are also very thankful to all those competitors, their parents and schools, who travelled from as far as Clones, Portumna, Kinsale and many other places to take part.

Kieran Butler, 6th year, flew to Germany on Thursday last with the Irish Youths rubgy team to play an International against the home side. Ireland won the game comfortably with Kieran scoring a try. Well done to him on his fine achievement. Continue Reading...

The whole community in Good Counsel College, Augustinians, teachers, students and all others are deeply saddened by the tragic death of our student and friend, John Joe Galvin.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his mother, Catherine, his brother, Leon and all those who love and now miss him.
John Joe was a wonderful student in Good Counsel, so loved by his classmates and teachers alike.He was the most pleasant young man you could ever hope to meet who never passed you without a heartfelt greeting.  His smiling face will be missed about Good Counsel.
As a close knit community here in the school we will support each other through these sad times while our prayers and thoughts are for John Joe's eternal rest and the consolation of all who now mourn for him. May he rest in peace.

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