Famous Irish PersonalitiesBy the Pupils of 4th class

CBS Primary School Tralee

Co. Kerry

This is Edmund Rice. Our school is an Edmund Rice school. He started a school for poor boys in a converted stable.  

In 1802 he started building a monastery in Waterford City.  The building was big. There was living accommodation for Edmund and the

group of men who had joined him in his work.  There was also a school. There were two classrooms on the ground floor and,

overhead, seven bedrooms.  The school at Mount Sion was built to accommodate about one hundred boys in each classroom. The boys brought books home to read them to their parents who were often

unable to read. In this way their parents received some education as well.

At Mount Sion Edmund built a bake house and tailor’s shop. On arrival at school each morning the boys were given freshly baked

bread. This gave them the energy necessary to do their school work properly. The tradition of feeding and clothing the children was

carried out in all of the Brothers’ schools.

Edmund Rice Prayer O God, we thank you for the life of Edmund Rice. He opened his heart to Christ present in those

Oppressed by poverty and injustice. May we follow his example of faith and generosity. Grant us the courage and compassion of Edmund

As we seek to live lifes of love and service. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen

Mary Robinson, the first woman President of Ireland (1990-1997), former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997-2002), and founder and President of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative (2002-2010), has spent most of her life as a human rights advocate. Born Mary Bourke in Ballina, County Mayo in 1944, the daughter of two doctors, she was educated at the University of Dublin (Trinity College), King’s Inns Dublin and Harvard Law School to which she won a fellowship in 1967.

In 1988 Mary Robinson and her husband founded the Irish Centre for European Law at Trinity College. Ten years later she was elected Chancellor of the University

Tom Crean was an Antarctic Explorer Annascaul, Co. Kerry born on the 20th July 1877. After a fight with his father, at age of fifteen he decided to leave home. He served in the Royal Navy and took part in many Antarctic expeditions. .

He returned to his home town in Annauscaul where he opened a pub called South Pole Inn. He died in 1938

DeValera was Taoiseach of Ireland and on 25th June, 1959 he was inaugurated as President of Ireland, a position he held for 14 years. He retired in 1973 and died shortly afterwards, on 29th August 1975 at the age of 92.

Eamon DeValera was one of the most important figures in the history of Ireland. His relationship with the people of the country was often strained. However, without his involvement in the Irish Nationalist movement the course of Irish history would have been radically different

Páidí Ó Sé was an Irish Gaelic footballer and Manager who played for Kerry. With ten All-Irelands to his name as a player and two All-Irelands as a manager, in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, he was one of the most decorated names in the sport and was one of the most recognisable faces in the country.

He was one of five men to win eight All-Ireland football medals and one of two men to win multiple All Irelands as a player and a manager. He died in 2012 aged just 57.