The very best and brightest young minds were rewarded for their hard work at the annual Deele College prizegiving ceremony on Friday afternoon.
The annual event is one of the biggest on the school’s calendar, and saw a large crowd gather to celebrate the year’s achievements.
Former Finn Harps player and current Irish U-19 manager, Tom Mohan was the guest speaker on the day as the school community came together to celebrate the outstanding achievements of its students both inside and outside of the classroom.
It was fitting that Mohan, who played for seven seasons at the Navenney Street club, was there to present awards to the schools U-15 soccer team, who were recently crowned All-Ireland Champions and became the first team from the school to lift a national title.
The team along with their manager, Mr Peadar Mogan and team Captain, Luke O’Donnell were honoured on stage and they have certainly done the school proud over the past number of weeks. Four goal hero, Odhran McHugh was presented with the U-15 Player of the Year award for his exceptional performances throughout the campaign.
It was noted during the ceremony that the school has diversified in terms of extra-curricular activities, with a Darts team, Golf team and a Volleyball team representing the school for the first time in 2025. Not only did they represent the school for the first time but the teams achieved great success in their respective sports, with the Darts team winning the county title and the golf team winning the School’s Shield Final. Talan Mitchell and Jason McLaughlin won the individual awards in the Darts section, while Ben Harkin and Liam Curran won the golf awards. Conor Callaghan was rewarded for his contribution to golf for the magnificent job he did in organising the Deele College Golf Classic this year.
Other sports stars that were honoured throughout the ceremony were; Kerry Brown for her boxing exploits, winning an All-Ireland title in March, Luana Simms for Hip-Hop, Michaela Gallagher for her success in musical theatre and Katie McIlwaine, who came 3rd in the Irish Dancing World Championships in Killarney. Ruairi McBride was acknowledged for his success in Fishing, Dylan Crawford for his exceptional performance in Computer Science, Cliodhna Kelly for representing Donegal and Finn Harps in soccer and Stephen Slevin for his success in the High Jump. Rhianna McGinley continues to lead the way in Jiu Jitsu, while Eamon Pyne was rewarded for his success in Javelin and Shot Put. The Overall Sports Personality of the Year was awarded to Kyle Martin, who has represented the school with distinction in a range of sports and he received the PJ McGowan Sports Personality of the Year Award for 2025.
In the classroom, it was another successful year for the school as the standards in academia continue to be raised year on year. Last year’s Leaving Cert results highlighted the continued success of the school in terms of academic performance. Connie Campbell, who did her Leaving Cert last year was awarded the Caitlin O’Donnell Shield for an outstanding student who is studying Irish at third level. This award also comes with a bursary and is sponsored by the family of the late Kathleen O’Donnell.
Muireann McBride received the prestigious 6th Year Student of the year award, which is kindly sponsored by the Porter family in memory of their father, Joe Porter. Well done to Muireann on this brilliant achievement.
Addressing the assembled audience, school principal, Mr Joe Boyle said that he was very proud of the students of Deele College for all they had achieved throughout the academic year. He said that the list of awards highlighted the broad range of skills and talents that are on display within the school and how it is widening each year. He paid special tribute to the parents of the students for all their hard work and support and to the prize winners for their success in their respective fields. He also acknowledged the hard work of teachers, SNA’s and support staff within the school who do their best to ensure that all students have the opportunities to succeed.
Academic Award Winners:
First Year Student of the Year: Skyler Murtagh
Second Year Student of the Year: Ben Farrell
Third Year Student of the Year: Darcy Brogan
Fifth Year Student of the Year: Ella McCarron
6th Year Student of the Year: Muireann McBride
Other Award Winners were:
The Anne Roulstone JCSP Student of the Year: Heidi Dillon
The Maureen & Brian McGivern Award for Home Economics: Anne Neeson
The Pat McFadden Business Student of the Year: Lily Ella Dillon
The Grainne O’Donnell Science Student of the Year: Peace Ativie
The Mick Hogan Student Voice Award: Aoife Tinney
The Gearoidin Brady Ethos Champion Award: Barry Lafferty
The Annette Cunningham Public Speaking Award: Peace Ativie
The Marita Bonner Award for IT and Innovation: Iwo Wozniak & Zaviyar Azeem
The Damien McDevitt Award for most effective prefect: Joel Cullen
The Noelle Ryan Modern Languages Award: Niamh Toye
Senior Art Award: Ellie Rose Henry
PJ McGowan Sports Personality of the Year Award: Kyle Martin
The Noel Rodden Award for Community Involvement: Amy Neeson
The Danny Connaghan Award for School Spirit: Conor Callaghan
The Student Empathy Award Sponsored by the Brogan family in memory of Eoin Brogan: Heidi Dillon
The Dessie Griffen Award for Best Junior Cycle Results: Freya Hamilton-Penrose
The Mary Gibbons Senior Maths Cup: Joel Cullen
