Enda's Story, 31 May 2017

A Farewell Message from the Principal By the time you read this, I may have addressed my final assembly as your principal. I know it will have been an emotional occasion. There’s something about the sight of all those school uniforms that has always filled me with pride. And I’m sure that as I gaze… Read more »

Enda's Story, 17 May 2017

A message from the principal Yet another extraordinary week here at St Enda’s, where we had not one but two very important international visitors proving yet again how well connected the school (by which I mean the principal) is on the world stage. First we had Prince Charles, who demonstrated his hurling skills on our… Read more »

Enda's Story, 3 May 2017

A Message from the Principal For many generations here at St Enda’s, we have dreamed of the glorious day when our “Fourth Green Field” – the site on which Stormont Academy now stands – would be returned to us. So it was a very proud moment this week when, thanks to yours truly, that day… Read more »

Enda's Story, 19 April 2017

A Message from the Principal Just when we thought Trexit (see below) was the worst thing we had to worry about in this part of the world, now it seems we’re under threat of nuclear war, and that even our local, Trump-owned golf course, Doombeg, might be in the firing line. Everywhere you look around… Read more »

Enda's Story, 5 April 2017

A Message from the Principal: Another Easter is almost upon us and, as the immortal saying has it, there’s a grand stretch in the evenings. But of course, that’s not all there’s been a grand stretch in over the past few weeks. You may recall that as recently as mid-March, my days as principal seemed… Read more »

Enda's Story, 23 March 2017

A message from the Principal   Flying into the US last week, I passed the Statue of Liberty with its famous inscription: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” Americans seem to have forgotten that message lately. So in my own humble… Read more »

Enda's Story, 9 March 2017

A Message from the Principal By the time some of you read this, I may be on a plane to Washington for my meeting with the controversial Mr Trump. I will of course be working throughout the flight: marking exam papers, replying to emails and so on. But if I do find myself with a… Read more »

Enda's Story, 23 February 2017

A Message from the Principal As another Lent approaches, it’s time for us all to decide what, if anything, we want to give up this year. Obviously, in light of recent events, this is a bigger than usual question for me. Back home in Mayo during the mid-term break, I made a list of things… Read more »

Enda's Story, 9 February 2017

A Message from the Principal Meteorologists may disagree – and so may the weather. But February is upon us and, according to the old Celtic calendar, that means spring has sprung.Time for such ancient Irish traditions as whitewashing walls, letting cattle out to pasture and convincing ourselves yet again that this is the year Mayo… Read more »

Enda's Story, 12 January 2017

A message from the principal Well, I hope you all had a great Christmas and that your batteries are now fully recharged. But 2017 is already upon us, so it’s time to take down the decorations and recycle the tree. It’s also time to pack away the crib for another 12 months, not that my… Read more »

Enda's Story, 14 December 2016

A message from the principal: It’s hard to believe that, according to the latest school opinion poll, 30 per cent of you believe Mr Martin should be Principal. But even if this extraordinary figure is accurate, it needs to be considered in the context of another of the poll’s results: that a whopping 81 per cent… Read more »

Enda's Story, 1 December 2016

A Message from the Principal A dog is not just for Christmas, as we all know. But although that’s normally a warning issued to those planning to buy puppies as presents, it can sometimes apply to old dogs too. I know, because I am such an old dog. And for a while now, I’ve been… Read more »

Enda's Story, 3 November 2016

A Message from the Principal Well, thank goodness Halloween is over for another year. I don’t mind little scamps knocking on my door at all hours and demanding goodies, or else, in the name of fun. But is it my imagination or did they seem to be a little more menacing than usual this year? First… Read more »

Enda's Story, 20 October 2016

A message from the principal As you all know, I have repeatedly indicated my intention to step down as principal some time during the life of the current school enrolment: that is to say, before our present first years sit their Leaving Cert. It is also a matter of record that I have no intention… Read more »

Enda's Story, 5 October 2016

A Message from the Principal Another year, another heartbreak for my beloved GAA county.  Oh well.  Like so many of my fellow Mayo men, I attended the All-Ireland final replay full of hope after our spirited performance in the drawn match.  But alas, it was not to be.  As usual, we can only learn the… Read more »

Enda's Story, 21 September 2016

A Message from the Principal Yes folks, I’m back. And so, as you’ve probably heard by now, is my mojo. But what exactly, I hear the older and less “hip” of our readers asking, is a mojo? Well, according to the Urban Dictionary, a mojo is a sort of charm or magic spell, especially one… Read more »

Enda's Story, 7 September 2016

A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR (This week’s guest editor, in the continuing absence of the principal, is our maths teacher and school treasurer, Mr Noonan) Hello everybody, and welcome to autumn. It’s the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, as the poet WB Keats called it. And we all know fruit is a great thing…. Read more »

Enda's Story, 24 August 2016

Open-Topped Robe Parade planned for School’s homecoming Olympic Administrators: Full Story page 5 A Message from Mr Ross (The principal is on holiday, so this week’s guest editor is our PE teacher and bus driver, Mr Ross.) Phew, what a relief to get back to journalism for a while. Who knew, in all those years when… Read more »

Enda's Story, 10 August 2016

A Message from the Principal YOU KNOW, when you think about it, St Enda’s School and the Olympics have a lot in common. They’re both committed to the same general pursuit of excellence – to “Altius, Citius, Bendybus”, as the famous saying goes.  And of course, to one degree or another, both are also heavily… Read more »

Enda's Story, 28 July 2016

A message from the Principal News that the school’s income has risen by a whopping 26.3 per cent in the last quarter, while welcome in itself, should not mislead anyone into thinking that we don’t need money from students or their parents anymore. On the contrary, we will be writing to you all again shortly… Read more »

Enda's Story, 15 July 2016

A Message from the principal I understand there has been some confusion in the ranks about my stated long-term intentions vis-a-vis the school leadership. Even our normally sharp secretary, Miss Doherty, appears to have developed special needs in this area. So allow me to explain it again, speaking slowly this time. When I said I… Read more »

Enda's Story, 1 July 2016

A message from the principal It has been very difficult for us to concentrate here at St Enda’s this week thanks to the infernal racket going on next door at our neighbouring school, Cameron Comprehensive. As you will all have heard by now, the board of governors there have shocked everybody – including, it seems,… Read more »

Enda's Story, 15 June 2016

A message from the principal I write this on the plane home from Davos, where as usual I have been working hard on St Enda’s behalf, attending an exhausting series of champagne receptions with potential school donors. But I did also manage to get out on the piste (if you’ll excuse my Swiss) a bit… Read more »

Enda's Story, 1 June 2016

The fortnightly newsletter of St Enda’s Special School A message from the principal Well, the sun is shining at last and it looks as if we’re in for a heat-wave. Which can only mean one thing. Yes, students, it’s exam time! But look on the bright side. At least you have all the hard work… Read more »

Enda's Story, 18 May 2016

The newsletter of St Enda’s Special School A message from the principal So here we all are, again. After what seemed like an eternity, I am delighted to welcome everybody to our historic second term at St Enda’s. It may have taken a while to sort out our little enrolment problem. But now that we… Read more »