Ballinamore CS took part in the National Flag raising ceremony on the 16th March as part of the Thomas Francis Meagher Foundation Initiative. Schools around the country, both primary and secondary could partake in a variety of activities related to our National flag.

In preparation for the event students learned about the history of the Flag and Thomas Francis Meagher, who was the first person to raise the tricolour, as far back as 1848.

Students in Junior classes made flags on A4 pages representing Nationalities in our school. Our Principal, Mr McCaffrey presided over the flag raising ceremony which took place in front of the school, with all students and staff in attendance. There were speeches made by Mr.McCaffrey, Paddy O Rourke (Chairperson/Mayor of Leitrim County Council) and Mr Mullen, who represented the History Department in our school.

Our National flag was introduced by two representatives of the Student Council, Emmanuel Talabi and Lorna McKiernan. This took place while the National Anthem was played on the PA system, thanks to Mr Duignan. During the course of his address Mr McCaffrey announced that a sizeable sum of money (€603) had been raised for the Red Cross appeal to help Ukranian refugees. This was done through a Lá Glas event where students and staff wore in green, with proceeds going to the Red Cross appeal. Mr McCaffrey thanked all concerned for their efforts and a minutes silence was observed for the war victims of Ukraine.

The event was a great success and we would like to thank Willie Donnellan for taking pictures of the event, BAM staff, Tara & Eamon for facilitating the event and assisting with the flag raising. A special mention also for the students, who behaved impeccably throughout