The school benefits from the services of Pauline O’Farrell, learning support teacher and Kay Corcoran, the Resource teacher.

Breege is from Ballina originally and is teaching in Timahoe since 1974. She has 10 in junior infants and 9 in senior infants. Breege says that she wonders sometimes who is actually learning the children or herself as she feels that she learns from them.

The parents need have no worries about their babies in Timahoe because they are loved by their teacher.

There are five lovely girls in senior infants according to teacher. Ciara Smyth who loves playing with the dolls at school/ Her favourite doll is called Nora and all the girls like Nora. After that Ciara likes playing with the doll’s dresses. She likes the news at school and she is going to be a nurse like her sister Sinead.

Aisling McDonald is five and likes school. Aisling said her eyes are brownish green because sometimes there is brown and sometimes there is green in them. Aisling likes her news copy. She was looking forward to shopping with Mammy who had a day off work.

Mary Anne McDonald likes playing with jigsaws and painting. She is going to be a nurse. Leona McEvoy from Kyle, Stradbally is six and has lovely blonde hair. She likes doing all her writing and doing her homework. Leona is going to be a doctor to help people.

Sarah Quigley is another girl with blonde hair and poor Sarah had a headache. She likes writing and playing and teacher said that Sarah is great at everything. She is going to be a nurse like her mammy Audrey.

Eóin Devitt likes to play outside and playing inside with the toys. he also likes to do his homework. Eóin wants to be a policeman, a milkman and a farmerman. Jason Miller was very keen to tell me that he had a new tractor at home. It is a big one a Massey 390 . He likes the computer at school and at home he feeds all the calves, cuts the hedges and mows the lawn for his mammy. Jason is excellent at communicating for a boy in junior infants. He is going to be a farmer like his dad Joe and uncle Edward.

James Lowry is five and he likes playing with the tractors and farm sets. He is going to be a farmer like Jim, John and Ger.

Donnchadh O’Connor is one of five O’Connors attending the school at present, a record says teacher. He likes to play with the leggo and jigsaws. He is going to be another farmer.

Seán Brown has lovely brown eyes. He likes to play with the toys best when he comes into school. The girls are a bit nice to him and he comes to school with Nicole, his neighbour. He wants to be a worker and a vet.

James Kennelly is the baby of six at home. He likes school and teacher said he is good at everything. He is good at painting and a lovely reader. he wants to be a worker and work with his daddy.

Kevin Delaney, five from Cullenagh was absent. Joseph Quigley is only four and the youngest of all the Quigley’s at home and he is also the youngest in the school. Joseph’s sister Ann Marie went “to America one day”. Joseph likes the calves but they are gone” to be trained as cows”. He is going to be a farmer.

Joseph may be the youngest but his grandfather Jack Quigley who is 91, was paying a visit to the school to talk to the children in fifth and sixth class about the history of the area., so in one day we had the most senior and the youngest of the Quigley clan represented in Timahoe National School.

There are eight boys in senior infants. Colm Lalor is six and tall for his age. He likes playing outside, particularly when they get stuck in the mud. He likes doing homework sometimes and writing. Teacher says he is an absolute joy to teach. Colm wants to be a racing car driver. Colm has a baby sister the only girl in two generations. her name is Noelle and she celebrated her first birthday on Friday December third.

Aaron O’Beirne likes school. He likes playing outside and doing his homework. Aaron is excellent at writing. he has the same ambition as Colm. His daddy Kevin has a new motorbike but it is too big for Aaron.

Adrian Doyle is a great speller. He likes reading and having a rest on teacher’s chair. He wants to be a farmer like his daddy Tom.

Paul Laffan likes playing and reading and writing. He is very aware of nature. He is going to be a mechanic.

It is obvious that teacher is mad about her baby infants. She has two very precious girls in baby infants. Nicole McGuinness is a tiny person with a huge personality according to teacher. She spends most of her day perched on teacher’s knee. Nicole is almost five. Nicole and her friend Olivia Foyle are teachers helpers. Nicole has two dogs, Rufus and Brandy. She likes baby born Susie.

Olivia Foyle is five and a great girl. She likes playing and doing her work. Olivia likes doing her English reading. She wants to be a vet to look after the little dogs.

First and second class are looked after by teacher Martina Mulhall. She has been in Timahoe School since 1985. She is a native of Stradbally and she thinks that her pupils are wonderful.

Martina has 12 in first and 9 in second .Both classes were in festive spirit and enjoying a visit from Fr. Breen who was giving the children an art class. There was great activity with heads bent over their drawings of the Nativity scene and lots of praise from teacher and Fr. Breen. Fr. Breen is a regular guest in the school and the children love his visits and the well stocked library.

Rachel Rafter thinks school is brilliant. She likes doing work like and maths and Irish. She is looking forward to Christmas and her First Holy Communion. Rachel wants to be a vet.

Sitting beside Rachel with a pink slide in her hair was Siobhan Delaney. Siobhan likes art best at school and reading. She is going to be a horse rider.

Gráinne O’Connor had her flying doll sitting on her desk to admire, but the doll is not allowed to fly in school but she looks pretty . Gráinne likes art and maths and she is going to be a hairdresser with the promise of free hair do for myself.

Michelle McEvoy is six and she is also looking forward to making her First Holy Communion. Maths are her favourite and is hoping to be a vet. She had her little soft, white puppy “penny” to keep her happy.

Daniel Culliton only likes playing outside. He wants to work on a digger and to cut the ditches. Joe Foyle thinks school is ok. He helped to paint the mural on the school wall and it was great fun. He likes playing army with the girls outside and watching videos. he would like to play for Manchester United and Celtic when he grows up.

Catherine Delaney has beautiful auburn curls. Catherine was a flower girl for her aunt Clare’s wedding and is going to wear her dress for her Communion. Catherine likes homework and games. She is going to be a doctor.

Mairead Ryan only likes school half of the time, she does not like homework but she does like games. Mairead is going to be a pop singer.

Katie Moriarity has been featured in the Sunday world newspaper for “Tree week and Book Fair” and was delighted to be included once more for “The Laois Nationalist”. She likes reading and maths and everything in school except the boys running after her in the yard. She wants to be an actress and is attending acting classes in Timahoe.

Gearóidín McEvoy likes art and does not like the boys. She is hoping that Santa will bring her a border collie and a teddy bear and a “ Rapunzel Barbie” for Christmas. Gearóidín is going to be an artist.

Damien O’Connor likes maths, art and football and he ants to play for Laois when he grows up. Robert Foyle is not too fond of school. Maths are ok but spellings are hard. He wants to be a mechanic.

Ruairí O’Connor loves the computer but says no to Irish and maths. His friends are Evan, Liam and Niall. Evan Downey does not like school as such except for friends and the computer. He is going to be a lorry driver like his uncle Enda and Aidan.

William Buggy is looking forward to Christmas and he has sent his letter. He likes art and the computer best. He is going to play for Laois. .

Liam Lalor likes school “a bit”. The bit he likes is art and the computer. He is going to be a mechanic like his daddy Sean.

Sinead O’Connor says no to spellings and homework and yes to art and computers. She is going to be a horse rider. She has four horses at home, Misty, Frisky, Beauty and the new horse has no name yet, so she has plenty of opportunities to become an excellent horsewoman.

Sarah Quigley has hair down to her waist. Sarah likes her teacher and her friends. There are only three girls in second class and Sarah thinks they are all special,. She is going to be a teacher or a pop star.

Emily Lalor has wonderful brown eyes. Emily likes games maths and reading and hopes to be a teacher or an artist.

Niall Kennedy likes maths and English reading. He was busy colouring his Christmas picture. he is going to be a “mechanic or something”.

Tomás Doyle thinks that second class is easier than first. He likes maths and wants to be a football trainer.

The teacher in third and fourth class Mrs Bernie Downey is no stranger to the school having retired earlier this year. She is back in a temporary capacity and she has seven in third class and 16 in fourth class.

Martin O’Connor likes school especially maths but not Irish. He is going to be a farmer because he likes tractors.

Ciaran McEvoy said school is not too bad. History is best. He is looking for a surprise from Santa. He is going to be a business man when he grows up.

Michelle Lowry likes art which she does nearly every day. Santa is going to bring a surprise and the board game risk. Michelle would like to be a teacher.

Anna Lalor had stars on her hairband. Third class is not too hard, the best time is break time and the computer. She wants to work with horses on a horse farm.

Sinead Ramsbottom says no to school. The only redeeming feature is art. She wants to be a horse riding instructor. Her horse is called Mindy.

Caroline Delaney and James Whelan were absent.

Thomas Delaney is not mad about school, art is best. He just wants toys for Christmas and what is Thomas going to be when he grows up? “a palaeontologist” and for those who would not be familiar with the term, Thomas assured me it was the study of Dinosaurs.

Eoin Ryan is another who has no time for school, he only likes art and computers. He would like to work with animals.

Sean O’Beirne was sporting a number two haircut. School is not too bad. The best time is spent talking to his friends. He is going to be a policeman. Darragh McEvoy does not like school. He only likes his friends, art and computers.

Paschal Foyle said school is middling. He likes playing outside and art.

Mannix Lawlor is looking for a play station for Christmas. He does not like school except for art

Aisling Quigley sort of likes school. Break time and friends are best. She wants to be nurse.

Helen Lowry thinks that school is ok, she like art and English. Sinead Kennedy likes lunch time best. She had her ears pierced for her Communion. Catherine McGuinness likes singing at school and her favourite singer is Brittany Spears.

Ita Doyle kinda likes school. She was wearing three rings. She likes her friends at school and wants to be a teacher. Martine Devitt is not fond of school. The worst thing for Martine about school is History. Computers and art are the best. She is going to be a hairdresser. Joseph O’Connor does not like school. The only good thing about school is art and football. He is going to be a farmer like his dad Joe.

Matthew Moriarty is another who does not like school. Computers and playing soccer outside make it worthwhile. He is going to join the army. Sean Ramsbottom does not like school. He likes computers and playing football outside. That’s not surprising as his daddy John used to play for Laois. Sean wants to be a farmer.

David O’Brien has 11 in fifth and 17 in sixth. The ethos of the school in David’s opinion would be to turn out students that are well rounded decent and strong. It was a very interesting listening to David talking to his pupils. What made it more interesting was that the children had been given an essay to write on “The Wild West” and in between cowboys getting stabbed and shot I managed to talk to the children.

Michael Keightley was absent in fifth class. Padraig Kelly says no to school. Fifth is not really hard. Homework is the worst, but he likes maths. He is going to be a farmer like his daddy Gerard. Patrick Brady thinks that school is “not good”. Homework is the worst but writing stories is the best. He wants to play for Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Strawberry Blonde Sharon Laffan does not like school. Art is best for Sharon. She wants to be a teacher. Katie Rafter with the brown eyes does not like school except for art and PE.

Elaine Brown had just broken her arm and was wearing a plaster with lots of autographs it. Elaine only likes maths and wants to teach.

Catherine Miller hates school. Its no to the work and writing and yes to art PE and lunch. She is going to be a hairdresser.

Joseph Foyle thinks it is all right. Friday’s are best. Break time, art and maths are ok and all he wants to be when he grows up is a famous footballer and hurler for Laois. Catherine Ramsbottom says definitely no to school. The work is the worst and break time and art are best. She thinks her class is great and she wants to be a jockey. Her pony is called Molly.

Caitríona Kennelly is another who dislikes school except for history, maths and PE. She wants to be a solicitor.

Karl McEvoy sort of likes school, particularly break time and PE. He wants to be an accountant or an architect.

Michael Keightley was absent but his friends volunteered that he likes sheep at home hockey and rollerblading. He wants to be a lorry driver.

Brian McDonald Donald finds sixth class easy enough. He likes science but his ambition is to be a D J. S Club Seven or Paradox are top of the pops according to Brian.

Pierce Bennett thinks that teacher is friendly. He likes history, maths and computers. He would like to design computer games.

Sarah Ramsbottom thinks school is good. Art makes her happy. Helen Delaney likes school. Her favourite subjects are religion and geography. She is looking forward to her Confirmation. She is looking for a new bicycle for Christmas.

Lisa Whelan has very nice handwriting. She likes PE and art. Her school is small and friendly. Paula Quigley is happy at school. She enjoyed writing her essay on The Wild West. She likes art PE and break time and wants to be successful in business and life.

Tony Loughnane likes school when he is doing maths. Irish is good and he is going to be an accountant.

Kevin O’Beirne said sixth class is not hard. His handwriting is beautiful. He likes maths, Pe art and history. He plays for Stradbally Gaels and the school. They won the Cumann na mBunscoil, defeating Newtown by three points. He is going to be an accountant.

Emma O’Connor thinks school is not hard. She likes holidays, PE and horses. Their new horse is called Pearl.

Niamh Kerr with the auburn hair thinks that school is all right, sixth is fun and teacher is cheerful. She likes art, and PE and would like to work in a bank or work with horses. Her horse Cookie is not broken and Tory is the pony.

Emma Dunne agrees that school is nice and not hard and teacher is friendly. She likes football and art. She wants to be a vet and her sister Karen will be a qualified vet in June.

Amanda Lowry’s Wild West was well illustrated. She likes teacher. school and art and PE are best. She is going to be an artist. Aidan O’Connor thinks that school is all right and so is teacher. He likes writing essays.

James Delaney likes lunch, art and PE. He wants to be a chef. Seamus Ryan likes PE and wants to be a computer engineer. Pádraig Doyle said school is ok and teacher is ok. Art is good and English is the worst.