Pupils from County Roscommon school give their thoughts on Christmas

Christmas is all about looking forward; looking forward from a commercial and spiritual point of view. For children it’s about nativity plays, presents, Santa Claus and the big build up.

I met with the Sixth Class students of Lisacul NS, my old stomping ground, to see what they were looking forward to this Christmas and going into 2026, and chatting with them provided me with an opportunity to look back on my time there.

Ms Madden’s Sixth Class has five boys - Rian, Ethan, Eoin, Yaroslav Onishchenko and David (who was absent on the day), with Claire being the sole girl in her class.

Looking ahead to Christmas, the pupils told me what was on their wish list. Eoin told me he wanted an Ireland jersey, Ethan was looking for a new PC and Yaroslav wanted some new fishing gear.

Yaroslav has become a keen angler since he moved to Lisacul (via Kerry) from Ukraine. His biggest catch so far was a 10kg pike on Errit Lake, which is exactly 10kg more than I have caught at the same body of water.

What is due on the Christmas dinner plate became a hot topic. Rian wanted ham and Yorkshire puddings on his plate and Claire said her favourite part of the dinner is the croquettes.

In total there are 97 pupils in the school, nearly a third more than when I did my time and this has been reflected in the addition of another full time teacher who has been teaching in a prefab building.

The new year will be an exciting one for the staff and pupils in the school with construction on an extension due to get underway shortly and set to be complete for the 2026/27 school year.

Similar to myself, as I left Lisacul NS just as the school got a new teacher and prefab room, Ms Madden’s Sixth Class will be on their way to secondary school by the time the new extension is complete.

Contrasting with the Sixth Class students, my visit to the school cast my mind back and it was nice seeing my old teachers, Mr Ginty, Ms Fallon and Ms Mannion along with Ms Maxwell, who was my student mentor on my first day of secondary school.

Most of them told me they were heading for St. Nathy’s, and in unison they agreed that woodwork and metalwork are the subjects they will be selecting come September.

Alongside their studies the students were looking forward to taking up handball and football in secondary.

It’s great to see Lisacul’s strong handball tradition continue. Despite the best efforts of Denis Creaton, Martin Bruen and Noel Raftery I never amounted to much in a 40x20 court, but Rian and Eoin already have three Connacht titles to their name and will be looking to add another in Cumman na mBunscol next year.

Five of the students also ply their trade with Éire Óg and showed their support for the club before our county final against Strokestown. Some were in attendance for that game in Kiltoom and I’m sure if they stick at football, in the future they can help to finally get us over the line.

The Sixth Class students shared with me their wishes for 2026. Top of the list was Ireland qualifying for the World Cup led by their favourite player Troy Parrott, but they predicted Spain or France would win the tournament.

The Christmas period often highlights the cycles of life to me and thinking back to my own national school class we would have probably provided similar answers, hopes and wishes.

The class was very kind and seemed to be interested in their studies and are a credit to their teachers and families. I wish them the best of luck heading into 2026 as they head into secondary school and that they find success, whether it is on the farm during lambing season, lakeside or on the football pitch going forward.