Presentation Senior School welcome Ray D’arcy to Mullingar
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Ray with the pupils and staff of Presentation Senior School.Image 2 of 7
Regina Glynn, HSCL; Chris Fox, sixth class teacher; Claire Dorr, deputy principal; and Frank Greally, Daily Mile ambassador.Image 3 of 7
Deirdre Shaw, Bevan Murphy and Tilly Eivers with Kevin McGillicuddy of Westmeath Sports Partnership.Image 4 of 7
Ray Darcy arriving at Presentation Senior School last Wednesday morning. • Photos and news from Run with Ray in Mullingar on pages 46 and 47.Image 5 of 7
There was a full house for Ray on Wednesday morning.Image 6 of 7
Amber O’Loughlin was selected to talk to Ray.Image 7 of 7
Declan Fry (school principal) chatting with Ray.Ray D’Arcy was in Mullingar on Wednesday of last week for the outside broadcast of his show on RTÉ Radio 1 followed by his 5km Run with Ray on the Old Rail Trail Greenway.
He began his visit at Presentation Senior School, where he and the students had planned to run a mile on the nearby Royal Canal path – the Daily Mile.
The rain was heavy, so they made a collective decision not to go outside, and instead, they did a bit of jogging on the spot.
The school had laid on a great reception for Ray and the mood was buoyant there as everyone looked forward to the start of the summer holidays the next day.
Pupils at the school have been taking part in the Daily Mile programme promoted by Athletics Ireland and supported by Healthy Ireland. It aims to get children out of the classroom for 15 minutes every day to run or jog, at their own pace, with their classmates, making them fitter, healthier, and more able to concentrate in the classroom.
Ireland is one of 90 countries that took part this year and more than 1,200 schools are taking part. Presentation Senior School were one of the many schools that embraced the programme and were commended for their efforts by the for the Athletics Ireland Daily Mile ambassador, Frank Greally who was there on Wednesday.
He said: “Ray asked me to select a school from each of the towns he was visiting during the week [for Run with Ray]. I was here at the school before and I saw the brilliant work they had done. They wholeheartedly embraced the programme so I recommended the school to Ray,” said Frank.
“We have a problem in this country that we are ignoring, particularly the bottom 25% of people who take little exercise or have a poor diet – they are already in trouble. Fifteen-year-old boys in that category have already been shown to have arteries of 60-year-old men, it’s that serious,” said Frank.
“It’s alarming that there’s a generation going to have big health problems in their 30s rather than their 70s or 80s.”
The organisers of the programme want every child to have the opportunity to do the Daily Mile at primary school and are now working to build the Daily Mile community with schools, local sports partnerships, local councils, sports bodies and other supporters in Ireland and beyond.