Irish Navy commander returns to Tullamore College for special occasion

Tullamore College recently welcomed families of its 2026 Gaisce President's Award recipients to a function at the school, where past pupil and Irish Navy Commander Brian Sweeney returned to his alma mater to mark the special occasion.

The Offaly school used the occasion to celebrate the achievements of its fifth-year students who completed the Bronze President's Award during Transition Year, and the sixth-year students who completed the Silver President's Award while in fifth year.

School principal Mr Edward McEvoy congratulated the awardees on the achievement, praising the students for completing the challenge which shows 'strength of character and integrity'.

The Guest of Honour at the event was Commander in the Irish Navy and past pupil, Brian Sweeney.

The college said it was inspiring to hear Commander Sweeney speaking about his experiences in the Irish Navy. He quoted Franklin D Roosevelt: "Calm seas never made a good sailor" to show the awardees his admiration of their perseverance in completing the challenge even in the face of adversity.

Tullamore College also thanked Gaisce Development Officer, Mary Yore, for speaking about the next steps for the awardees. The school said it was thrilled to also have Gaisce Youth Ambassador and current sixth-year student Isabel Brown share her experiences from the past few months.

The school further thanked President Award leaders, Ms Burke, Ms Byrne, Mr Connell, Ms A Dunne, Mr Fallon, Ms Guilfoyle, Mr Joyce, Mr Mc Dermott, Mr A Moran and Ms McEvoy for their hard work throughout the year.