Mark Pollock is a truely insperational man. Ten years ago he became blind, over the course of just two weeks.

The fact he managed to come back from losing his sight and still live an extorordinary life is astonishing. He became the first blind man to walk to the South Pole.

Sadly, Mark's story did not end here. In 2010 Mark fell out of a second story window and became paralised from the waist down.

Contary to all expectations, Mark bounced back again. He  now gives inserational speeches to business people about how he handled the challanges that had been given to him. one of his main messages is that in life, there are always challenges. Some of these challanges are things you choose but others, choose you. Mark's ability to accept the reaility of his disabilities and make the most of what life he has is truely amazing. If you are ever stuggling withanything you can just think of what mark has had to cope with and then things wont seem so bad in comparison.

I feel very privalaged to have heard this man tell his story first hand.

Lecture on Autisim

Lasts Thursdays lecture was given by a man who has been directy affected by the desiese; his is the father of a serverly autistic man. He started by telling us how, over the last 150 years autisim has gone from affecting 1 in 500 to around 1 in 100 newborns in last year. People with autism

18 September Lecture - Chernobyl Volenteers

This is Siobhean nic Eochaidh, in 2011 she represented Dublin in the Rose of Tralee competiton. She told us of a trip she and a group of friends made to Belarus, where the chernobyl disaster took place. They visited an orphanige where severly disabled children where abondoned by thir pearents. She told us of the horrors these poor children face when the turn 18 and move to a mental asilum were they spend the rest of their lives.

This was another very moving and engaging lecture, we were all left felling sorry for these poor childern who were not getting the care they needed.

Holocaust Surviver Lecture

Last Thursdays lecture was given by a very intresting man, Zoltan Collis a surviver of the Nazi's concentration camps. He told us all his very moving story of how, when he was five yars old he and his family were taken away from their home in the peaceful Slovackian countryside to a German concentration camp. He is one of just four holocaust survivers living in Ireland at the moment, people like him are very rare. Zoltan had a good sence of humour which helped lighten the mood in the room as he spoke to us about this very dark subject. He played us part of a documentery half way through his talk to give us a sence of what the camp he was held capticve in was like. His story was very interesting but very sad. His mother died the day everybody in the camp was freed by the British. He came to Ireland as a refugee at the end of the war and has lived here ever since.

Aran Islands Trip

Just back from a trip to Inis Mór, one of the three Aran Islands. We met in school at 7:00 on monday morning and headed by coach to Galway where we took a ferry out to the island. When we arrived we went straight to our accomodation, Kilronan Hostel where we checked in. We then went on a walk, visiting some of the islands historic landmarks inclusing a church that is elegedly the smaillest in Europe.