Prof Mills guest speaker for prize giving event at Wilson’s
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Many congratulations to Edward Purcell, Matt Wiseman and Dimo Tate on all their work in their classes.Image 2 of 14
Three principals together at Wilson’s – acting principal, Mr Galligan, past principal, Mrs McShane and new principal, Mr Milling at the prize giving.Image 3 of 14
In the School Chapel, new appointed head girl, Isobel Clerk and head boy, Izaak Bannister, presented past principal Mrs McShane with a gift from the past Pupils Association.Image 4 of 14
Clodagh Ramsey, Olwyn McCann Hunt and Dimo Tate received the award for Creativity in Art from Art teacher, Ms Carol Wade, who also got a special award for teaching in the school for more than 25 years.Image 5 of 14
Well done to Rillon Rughoobur, who was delighted to receive the Dr Winckworth memorial award for music.Image 6 of 14
Three scholarship winners at Wilson’s are Heather Kennedy, Elisabeth Widmann and Zara Delaney.Image 7 of 14
Congratulations to Aran Cahalan, Charlotte Farrell and Aoife Ralph, who were class winners this year.Image 8 of 14
Graham Duggan, Sarah Webster and Éabha O’Mahony received academic endeavour prizes this year at WHS.Image 9 of 14
Great work from Hannah Hogan, Lochlann O’Reilly and Akosua Asante all year!Image 10 of 14
Niamh Grier, Juliet Hunter and Jane Duggan collecting their academic prizes at Wilson’s Hospital School.Image 11 of 14
Past students Anna Wright, Eoin Cawley and Rachel Crowe from the Class of 2022 back in school to receive prizes for their success in the Leaving Cert exams.Image 12 of 14
Professor Kingston Mills presented Joel Gillanders and Niamh Grier the award for Transition Year Endeavour.Image 13 of 14
Acting principal Mr Galligan presented past pupil Professor Kingston Mills with a special Wilson’s Hospital School medal for his dedication and contribution to science and athletics.Image 14 of 14
Congratulations to Daniel Farrell, who received the Dr Kathy Finnegan Award for success in French from Professor Mills at the WHS prize giving ceremony.Prize giving at Wilson’s Hospital School took place on Friday 7 October, when the guest speaker was Professor Kingston Mills. Acting deputy principal Ms Malone was MC for the afternoon, and the Weafer Hall was packed with students and teachers, families and school board members.
Acting principal, John Galligan, started the speeches by thanking everyone connected to the school. He congratulated the prize winners and said it is also important to learn how to respond when things don’t go as well as we might hope. He had four tips to avoid failure – aim high and work towards that goal; be positive; do the simple things well; and finally, embrace responsibility without doubting yourself.
He then introduced the guest speaker, Professor Mills, is a past pupil of Wilson’s Hospital School. He is professor of Experimental Immunology, School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin. He is also academic director of Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute and TCD Research Theme Champion for Immunology, Inflammation and Infection.
Professor Mills explained that he started Wilson’s in 1966, when it was an all-boys boarding school with about 110 students. His family home was only about four miles away, but he only saw his family once a month. He missed them terribly.
Everything changed in 1969 when some students from Preston School (which was closing in Navan) came to Wilson’s – including some girls!
He remembers being inspired by Tommy Johnston, his science teacher, and from that a deep passion for science grew. He was the first student in Wilson’s to sit higher level maths for the Leaving Cert.
He was also passionate about sport – he played rugby and ran marathons and cross country for Ireland.
He was torn about which path to follow after school – PE or science – and he eventually chose science, while continuing with sport.
He attended Trinity College, where he loved meeting like-minded people with a passion for science and athletics. His studies and his sport have meant a lot of international travel – which he loved.
To this day, he still loves his work. He concluded by encouraging everyone to follow their passions and have ambition. He congratulated the prize winners on attaining their goals.
Everyone present enjoyed the various musical interludes during the event from a variety of students throughout the school showing a wide range of talents and gifts.
The presentation of prizes started with the Academic Endeavour and Academic Effort awards for each class. There are also a number of subject specific awards, and they were followed by Prefects Badge Presentations, Gaisce Awards and presentations to scholarship winners.
Current transition year students have not received their Junior Cycle results yet. They will have a celebration later when their Junior Cycle Profile of Achievements are awarded.
During the ceremony the head girl and head boy were named, and Isobel Clerk and Izaak Bannister’s first official duty in their new roles was to make a presentation to Mrs McShane, who has just left the role of principal and warden in Wilson’s to take up a position of principal in Bandon Grammar School.
One unique feature of the day was when acting principal, Mr Galligan, the past principal, Mrs McShane and the new principal, Frank Milling were all together in school.
Mr Milling will officially start as principal and warden in November.
Mr Galligan had three special presentations to make; two were to staff who have been working in the school for 25 years – Ms Evelyn Noone and Ms Carol Wade, who he thanked for, and congratulated on, their service to the school. He also presented a Wilson’s medal to Professor Mills to acknowledge his achievements over the years in science and athletics.
The prize giving ceremony is one of the main events in the Wilson’s calendar, as it celebrates great achievements and talents. As is traditional, the event ended with tea in the school dining room.