On the 14th of March 2003 the Presidents secretary called our school ,and told us that the President would visit our school, Carrigeen National School. After that call there was a lot of excitement .We had lots of time to prepare because the President would not visit the school until the 15th of April.
There was a lot of preparation. The school was tidied, cleaned, the staff room was repainted, rubbish was collected and speeches prepared. We would be singing for her when she arrived so we had to practice. We practiced singing with Mrs Brennan.
Flowers were planted, pots were painted and
gifts were made ready. Outside in front of the school, flowers were
planted in clean pots, the ground was cleaned and a slope was made for
easy walking. There would be a guard of honour so we practiced for that.
At the top of the steps of the school, the
rest of the school would assemble.
The three flags at the front of the school were all cleaned and re-hung. These were the Kilkenny flag, the Irish flag and the European flag. All the guard of honour children and the rest of the schoolchildren would wave little small flags and cheer when she arrived.
A special boat was made for her as a gift.
Poems were prepared and flowers were to be presented to her . The
guard of honour would be children from each class. Food was prepared
such as tea and sandwiches.
Finally the 15th April came. She would arrive at 11 a.m. Police were everywhere and crowds of people swarmed to see her. Most of the people were locals and my parents were there.
We were all waiting at the front of the school when suddenly at 11.05 a.m, a helicopter appeared over the horizon. It flew over the school and turned. It came back and landed noisily and when it was coming down, there was a strong breeze from the helicopter. A pilot hopped out and got a step ladder so she could climb out of the helicopter.
Later she was introduced to the Board of Management and Parents Association. She was presented with flowers and planted a tree. She unveiled a plaque and then the Junior and Senior Infants sang her a poem. When she entered our classroom, I introduced the songs which we were to sing.
We sang songs. She made a speech and was presented with a model “cot” traditional fishing boat of the Suir. Mark Sullivan presented the President with a copy of the “Centenary Book” which was written by his father. On receiving the “Cot” she told everyone that she would return to Dublin by boat since her helicopter had already departed
It was a brilliant day and we had great fun.
I will always remember this day at Carrigeen
By
Conor Madden 6th Class
November 2003
