Loreto girls Ciara Murray from Cathedral Road, Cavan Town who received a superb 600 points in the Leaving Certifiacate and right is Orla Murphy, from Swellan, Cavan who attained a truly remarkable maximum of 625 points.

Six students hit leaving for 600

Sean McMahon

Published: Wed 19 Aug 2015, 4:22 PM

Last updated: Wed 19 Aug 2015, 5:30 PM

A 19-year-old Loreto student aced the Leaving Cert in style when she achieved the maximum 625 points on offer, including the 25 bonus points for higher level maths. Orla Murphy from Swellan in Cavan Town was among five Loreto students to hit that magic 600 point mark; while a St Mogue’s student also did the business.

A delighted Orla told The Anglo-Celt: “I could not believe my eyes. It took a while for it to sink in”.
The daughter of Dr Robert Murphy and Miriam Griffin, Orla attained seven A1s (Higher Level) in Irish, English, Maths, French, Physics, Chemistry and Biology and an A2 in Applied Maths. “I worked very hard over the two years – a lot of studying but also taking breaks as well – just spacing it all out,” she said of the secret to her success.
Orla has opted to study Maths and Physics in UCD.
Classmate Ellie Hayes (16) from Cootehill was hot on Orla’s heels achieving 615 points; while Morna O’Hanlon and Ciara Murray from Cavan Town each secured six A1s in higher level subjects. Not yet 17 until September, Ellie is the daughter of Paul and Deirdre Hayes. She was on holiday with her mother and sister in Wales when she picked up her results online.
Speaking to the Celt, a thrilled Ellie intends to take a year out to work and consider her options. She attributed her result to “consistent hard work”.
The other high fliers at Loreto, Ciara Murray from Cathedral Road is the daughter of Ciaran and Elizabeth Murray; while Morna O’Hanlon (see photo left) is the daughter of Peter and Philomena O’Hanlon and sister to Pete of The Strypes’ fame.
“I’m absolutely thrilled with the results. I could not believe it,” said a delighted Ciara, who now hopes to do Global Business USA in DCU, which will involve two years in DCU and then studying for two years in Boston. Morna, like Ellie, has decided to take a year out and will re-apply to CAO next February. She is giving consideration to studying German and English in UCD.

Across the board
While Loreto students led the way, there were some outstanding results across the region. St Mogue’s student Sarah Curran from Swanlinbar achieved an outstanding seven As, including 6 A1s (see page 14 of this week's Celt). A couple of St Pat’s students came close to the maximum - Peter Watson achieved 590 points and Cian Goodwich 585 (see page 15); while in Largy College in Clones, Dairine Morgan got 590 points (see page 16).