Irish Olympian visits Wicklow school to share highs and lows

Part of a programme called Dare to Believe, which is supported by Sport Ireland and the Irish Olympics Council, the Ballyconnell NS Active Schools team submitted an application earlier this year to have an Irish Olympian visit the school.

Delighted to discover that Cavan native Lawler, who represented Ireland in the 200ms at the Tokyo Olympics, had been selected, students set about making banners and flags ahead of his arrival.

After giving him a warm welcome, Lawler spent two hours with the students, presenting a slide show, discussing the ups and downs of his career and answering a myriad of questions from inquisitive pupils of all ages.

As Ballyconnell NS Active School coordinator Shane Byrne explained, Lawler didn't simply focus on his achievements, but rather pressed home the importance of resilience in the face of disappointment.

"We submitted our application to the Dare to Believe programme back in September, and low and behold, we got confirmation that Marcus Lawler would be visiting the school," Shane said.

"He had a PowerPoint presentation and went through his career with a big emphasis on setbacks as opposed to his successes.

"I think, growing up, he probably was the best schoolboy sprinter ever up until a couple of years ago, when his record was broken, and he did talk to the students about his career highlights, but it was more about resilience.

"Afterwards, he opened up the floor with for a Q&A with the students, who were full of questions, from what's your favourite food to how do you prepare for races, what's your greatest ever goal and biggest disappointment.

"He stayed for around two hours or so, and the children really enjoyed it. They made lots of flags and banners and stuff, and he got a good welcome."

Coincidentally, this was Lawler's second visit to the school, having dropped by under the Active School Flag initiative in 2019, with his second coming representing a full circle moment of sorts for the school's older students.

"We're in the Active School Flag programme, and as part of that, you do an active school week every year," Shane said.

"We started the Active Schools process in the 2018/19 school year, and we'd always try to get any kind of special guests who are relatively local to visit the school.

"Our first Active Schools week was in May 2019 and we actually contacted Carlow IT at the time where I knew Marcus had attended and asked if there was any chance he might come and visit us for this week.

"He ended up coming to the school, so his recent visit was his second time in the school, but it was just a total coincidence he came again through this program.

"It was really nice for some of the older students, as it was kind of a full circle moment for them all. It was a great to have him back, and the students enjoyed it so much.

"A big shout out to my colleague Ailish Clare, who works on the Active Schools programme with me, for helping to bring the fantastic day together."