Back to school . . . on the treble

SECONDARY school principal Noel Malone took special pride in the first year class of 2008 which yesterday enrolled at Coláiste Chiaráin in Croom.

Among the 150 new pupils were his children, triplets Noel, Roisín and Gráinne. The 12-year-olds hit the front page of the Irish Examiner on January 10, 1996, as the country’s first triplets of the year.

Dad Noel said: “My wife Siobhán drove them to school today, as we felt it better to keep them independent of dad. We had a lovely welcoming morning for all our new parents and I was there as principal and a parent with children in the school for the first time.”

The Malones live in Pallaskenry and the triplets are active members of Ballysteen Comhaltas and each is a multi-talented musician. There is strong music tradition in the family and Noel and Siobhán met at a church choir in Limerick where Siobhán played the harp.

While Noel and Roisín want to follow their dad into teaching, Gráinne’s ambition is to join the Garda. Noel said: “That’s not surprising given that her granddad, Siobhán’s father, was one of the best known gardaí in Limerick, Det Insp Jer O’Sullivan or ‘Big Jer’ as he was known in the force.”

Noel junior is also following a family tradition as a promising underage player Shannon rugby club where his grandfather, Noel Malone, a legendary Limerick stonemason, was a club stalwart all his life.

The Malones fifth child, Mary, is aged six.

School principal Noel had a hectic day as pupil numbers at Coláiste Chiaráin now stand at an all time high of 830. The co-ed school has a full-time and part-time teaching staff of 75.

Coláiste Chiaráin was the first secondary school in the country to replace conventional book work with laptops. Computer mogul Michael Dell has visited the school and contributed to the school’s computer programme.