€10,000 presented to St Finbarr’s and €10,000 presented to their nominated charity of CoAction West Cork

Dublin, 19th May 2009: Folens, Ireland’s leading educational publishing company, has today announced that St Finbarr’s Boys National School in Bantry, Co. Cork, has won the Folens Golden Anniversary Schools Competition. St Finbarr’s will be presented with a cheque for €20,000: €10,000 for the school and €10,000 for its local charity, CoAction West Cork. The prize is being awarded to St Finbarr’s for its many years of tireless work with CoAction West Cork in Bantry – fund-raising, charity walks, staff volunteering and facilitating special classes for the 105 children and 225 adults with intellectual and physical disabilities.

On accepting the award on behalf of her school, Peggy Hurley, Principal of St Finbarr’s Boys National School, said, ‘We at St Finbarr’s Boys N.S. Bantry are thrilled, excited and over the moon that our dream project of an adventure playground is about to become a reality, thanks to Folens Golden Anniversary Competition. We are delighted that our designated charity, CoAction West Cork, with whom we have a long tradition of involvement, will benefit from this new playground project in that it will be available to their children with physical and sensory disabilities, outside of school hours.’

Folens also announced the four regional winners of its Golden Anniversary Schools Competition, each of which was awarded €5,000 for the school and €5,000 for its chosen charity. The winners were:

• Dublin:  Loreto College, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin (St Vincent de Paul)
  
  
• Munster:  Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra, Co. Kerry (Social Action Group)
  
  
• Leinster:  St Joseph’s Academy De La Salle, Kildare (Best Buddies)
  
  
• Connaught/Ulster:  Jesus & Mary Secondary School, Salthill, Galway (Cystic Fibrosis)
  

Folens received an enormous number of entries from schools around the country for the competition, which was launched to encourage and promote the culture of volunteering by students, while assisting the less fortunate in communities across the country.

‘It is so rewarding for us at Folens to be able to help such worthy schools and charities in these economically challenging times,’ said John Cadell Managing Director of Folens Publishers. ‘I know the competition’s independent judging panel had an extremely difficult time in choosing all of our winners and especially trying to choose one out of all these worthy entries for the main prize recipient. We hope that this prize money can go some way to assisting St Finbarr’s in continuing the good work it has carried out to date and that the €10,000 for CoAction West Cork will enable them to provide further much-needed aid to their members in their local Cork community,’ he added.

In conclusion, Peggy Hurley, Principal of St Finbarr’s Boys National School, said, ‘We applaud Folens on their vision and creativity in organising this competition, which we are sure has triggered off many new school and charity links throughout the country, which will last into the future. Heartiest congratulations to Folens on their golden anniversary from all at St Finbarr’s.’

Consolation prizes of €1,000 for each school and €1,000 for its nominated charity were also awarded today to: Breifne College, Co. Cavan; Carrigallen National School, Co. Leitrim; Coláiste na Trócaire, Co. Limerick; Davis College, Co. Cork; Educate Together, Co. Carlow; Fermoy Adair School, Co. Cork; Holy Faith Secondary School, Co. Dublin; Intermediate School, Co. Kerry; Kilmyshall National School, Co. Wexford; Knockanes National School, Co. Kerry; Muslim National School, Clonskeagh, Dublin; Offaly School of Special Education, Co. Offaly; Our Lady’s School, Templeogue, Dublin; Rathdown School, Co. Dublin; Salesian Secondary College, Co. Limerick; Scoil Barra Naofa Cailíní, Co. Cork; Scoil Naomh Éanna, Co. Sligo; St Joseph’s Primary School, Navan, Co. Meath; The Donahies Community School, Dublin, and Tullow Community School, Co. Carlow.

The Folens Golden Anniversary Schools Competition was judged by an independent panel of esteemed judges, including Senator Feargal Quinn of Seanad Éireann, Eileen Dunne of RTÉ and Tina Roche, CEO of Business in the Community Ireland (BICI). 

About Folens Publishing Ltd

Folens, Ireland’s leading educational publishing company, was founded in Dublin in 1959 by Albert and Juliette Folens. The company has grown into one of the foremost educational organisations in Ireland and the U.K., producing professional resources, as well as primary and secondary school curriculum materials. Folens Publishers is a wholly owned and funded Irish business with offices in Ireland and the U.K. The company employs 110 people at its offices at Hibernian Industrial Estate, Tallaght, Dublin 24.