A student who this morning received eight H1 top marks in the Leaving Certificate has praised his grandparents, who have been busy "lighting candles" in the run-up to results day.
Alex Lynch, a pupil at the Christian Brothers College (CBC) in Cork, said that he was "over the moon" even though he was finding it difficult to absorb receiving top marks across the board.
"I had excitement and nerves and a bit of broken sleep. The (Leaving Certificate) has been stressful obviously and a bit unnerving at times because there were all different reports saying that the exams would be cancelled and that there would be predicted grades. At last we got a bit of clarity."
Mr Lynch plans to study medicine at University College Cork. He paid tribute to the support of his family — particularly his grandparents Tim and Eileen Ring in Lombardstown and his grandmother Noreen Lynch in Cobh.
"All the candles they lit and the cards they sent have finally paid off. My nana (in Cobh) is over the moon. She was probably even more nervous than I was."
Twin results
His proud mother Margaret Ring said she was delighted for her son who "worked so hard" amid ringing his grandparents for chats during the Covid lockdown.
"He deserves it. He has been very cool. It has been a calm house much to my surprise. He has been a joy. We are going to my parents’ house this afternoon because my mother is thrilled. We are going there to let them give him a big hug."
Meanwhile, it was a proud day for the Hayden family of Rochestown in Cork, with 19-year-old twins Stephen and Robert receiving excellent results. The twins were within a handful of points of each other.
We were the only ones in the school for a while. That was really tough
Stephen received seven H1s and expressed relief to have done so well after the difficulties Covid caused students in their final year.
"I remember in April and it would be dark and you would be doing accounting for hours and then you would finish the day off with a call with friends. There wasn't much distraction from it.
"After the pre's the restrictions were still there and we were the only ones in the school for a while. That was really tough. You don't really have the social outlet which was hard.
"With the mask, the way you are separated at tables. You don't think it is going to have such an effect but it does. January, February through to April were tough months. My mood was very much linked with the Government policy at the time.
"But it timed out really well. We just stayed focused. We realised we were in a really bad situation with Covid but we had a clear way of getting out of it.
"We knew that if we stayed focused we would get a good Leaving Cert. Get into college and have a great time there."
Motivation
Robert Hayden said having his twin brother in the same house was a big motivator.
"During the lockdown you couldn't see your classmates. You didn't have those people around to help you push yourself. I could see that Stephen was putting in the work so I had to do it. It was a visual motivation."
The brothers plan to study at Trinity College Dublin. Stephen has accommodation booked in the university's halls, whilst Robert is still looking for a place to rent.
The twins were joined at CBC by their parents Pauline and Conor. Conor said it was "bittersweet " to see the boys go off to Dublin.
"We are going from a house of five to three and the two dogs. It is nice (for the boys) to be able to leave town (for college)."
Pauline said that "granny lives in Dublin" so the siblings will not be without support or backup. She praised the twins for being there for each other during the stressful exam process.
"It was a definite help during lockdown that they had each other. It would have been very isolating if it was just one."
Nine students at CBC received 625 points, with Alex Lynch receiving H1s across the board in eight subjects.
