WORLD SKILLS MEDAL WINNERS HONOURED
Fermoy Town Council hosted a civic reception on Monday night last to honour the outstanding achievements of two local young men in last September’s World Skills Competition in Calgary, Canada.
Barry Dennigan won the gold medal for carpentry in the competition, while Gerard Roche won the bronze medal for metal fabrication. It is remarkable that both men hail from Glanworth and attended Colaiste an Chraoibhin, Fermoy.
Even more remarkable is that Barry Dennigan comes from a long family tradition in the business, with his uncle, Darragh Dennigan having won the gold medal in the trade on the world stage years ago and his father also a master of the trade.
A festive atmosphere prevailed at an event that was attended by both the Dennigan and Roche families along with Mayor of Fermoy, Noel McCarthy and councillors of the Fermoy Town Council, local TDs, Ned O’Keeffe and David Stanton, Cllrs Kevin O’Keeffe and Frank O’Flynn and the principal of Colaiste an Chraoibhin, Fermoy, Christy Healy.
All parties present acknowledged and commended the two young men for their excellent achievements and wished them the best for future.
David Stanton addressed the parties present on the special occasion; “We are not very often in the presence of world champions. I would like to congratulate both of you on your achievements.”
Cllr Frank O’Flynn added that both Barry and Gerard have brought “great honour to their families” and that it was a “tremendous achievement” for a small country like Ireland, for their families, school and town.
“They put Fermoy on the world stage,” he said, while Cllr Patrick O’Driscoll pointed out that Ireland has been competing in the World Skills Competition since 1958 and last year has brought back two gold and two bronze medals.
“I am delighted that Fermoy Town Council is recognising their achievement,” he concluded. “It is a great pleasure to be here tonight,” continued Cllr Aileen Pyne.
“This is the highest honour that Fermoy Town Council can bestow on any person. It is a great honour for both of you. For me it is very special as I spent six years of my teaching in Colaiste. Your achievements are bringing a particular accolade to Colaiste, which is very dear to my heart. You brought us great honour. We honour you and wish you the very best in the future,” she concluded.
The important role that Colaiste an Chraoibhin, the Fermoy school that the boys attended, was also highlighted by Cllr Tadhg O’Donovan who noted, “The importance of where it all started. The school played a fundamental role. It was a good foundation. It is not by accident that this school was successful at international level.
"It is a unique situation. It is something the Dennigan and Roche families should be very proud of. The recipients and their families should realise that there is a lot of support out there. I have no doubt that they will have a very fulfilling future,” the councillor concluded.
The evening drew to a close with the fitting comments of the school principal, Mr Christy Healy, who emphasized the huge support the two youth received from their families.
“It takes tremendous mental and physical preparation. It takes years and years of hard work. In ten years Colaiste an Chraoibhin was represented in the competition five times, winning a gold, silver and bronze medal.”
Mr Healy closed by congratulating the two young men and their families. Barry Dennigan is now working for the family business DNA Carpentry, based in Fermoy, while Gerard Roche is working in Charleville for BCD Engineering.
Published:
Thursday 4th February 6:56pm
