Green Flag celebrations at Ballyclough N.S.

Staff and pupils at Scoil Eoin Naofa, Ballyclough, welcomed renowned explorer and adventurer Pat Falvey who raised the school’s second Green Flag on Tuesday June 12th. The flag was awarded for work done by the pupils on the theme of Global Citizenship. Pat entertained us with great stories and accounts of his various expeditions and adventures from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The senior pupils enjoyed the unique opportunity of experiencing the challenges and dangers of these treks, by viewing a slide show which was both informative and captivating. Pat was very willing to engage with the pupils, answering an assortment of questions about climbing, the freezing temperatures, the hazards of frostbite, avalanches and blizzards. The pupils were fascinated by a huge polar bear pelt called ‘Nanook’. He also showed them a fossil which was 220 million years old, and a human shin bone which was presented to him by a member of the cannibal community in Papua New Guinea! He informed us that he placed an Irish flag on Mount Everest and he also hit a sliotar from the top of the world, creating a record for the highest ‘poc fada’ on the planet. Pat stressed the need to safeguard the future of society and that is why he established the Pat Falvey Foundation to focus and inspire people. As he said himself, “Our future is in the hands of our youth. Through mentoring, education, science, and travel we can help future generations around the world to work together in unity to solve planet earth’s problems”. By emphasising these sentiments, Pat is echoing the theme of Global Citizenship, namely to realise the consequences of our actions and to act responsibly. We thoroughly enjoyed Pat Falvey’s visit and we wish him well on his various exploits throughout the world. Pat’s parting words were; “Aspire to dream as high as you can climb”. Ní dheanfaimid dearmad ar an lá sin go deo!