Rosenallis NS hosts thanksgiving after raising €122k for US finals

ROSENALLIS NS hosted a big ‘thanksgiving’ this weekend, after raising an incredible €122,000 in less than a fortnight.

After a whirlwind week that saw both school and village feature on RTÉ's Today Show, the community gathered for a special event in the newly reopened Village Tap on Friday night.

The school will proudly represent Ireland at the VEX IQ Robotics World Championships in the US in late April, with all flights and accommodation booked thanks to an overwhelming response from supporters.

The school hosted Friday’s event to ‘acknowledge and celebrate all the Trojan work’ to help get the All-Ireland winning RNS Robotics team to St Louis, Missouri, where the world championships will open on 21 April.

With great music, entertainment and raffle prizes, the event celebrated the extraordinary generosity of the Rosenallis and Laois community, with €100,000 collected in just ten days. The final total reached over €122,000 by the end of last week.

Countless fundraisers included a St Patrick’s Day disco run by Rosenallis Gaelic4Mothers&Others, a speed quiz night at Ramsbottom’s pub in Portlaoise and donations from groups ranging from neighbouring schools and the local vintage club to the cemetery committee and the gun club.

Stripe billionaire John Collisson, owner of AbbeyLeix House and Farm, kindly donated €15,000, while younger children in the school even brought in their pocket money to support the team.

Rosenallis NS made history as the first Leinster school to be crowned All Ireland champions in the VEX national robotics competition in February, qualifying for the world finals. Thanks to the fundraisers, the school can send 11 senior pupils and one guardian per child to the US event.

The school particularly paid tribute to Laois Co Council’s broadband officer Antoinette Brennan and STEM engagement officer Seánie Morris, for their exceptional work in promoting robotics programmes in schools.

The ‘thanksgiving’ event followed a memorable visit by Daithí Ó Sé of RTÉ's Today Show on Wednesday 25 March, when he enjoyed a brilliant demonstration of robotics skills at Rosenallis NS and met children at the nearby Laois Forest School run by Ailbhe Joyce.

Daithí also savoured fabulous food by local producers in the Village Tap beer garden, where Hey Pesto! chef Yvonne Carty served delicious crostini and brownies using local ingredients, including fare from Mueller & O'Connell Bakery, Feighery’s Farm beetroot juice, Garryhinch Wood Exotic Mushrooms, G’s Gourmet Jams, Barbavilla Dairy and The Village Dairy.

Abbeyleix singer-songwriter Brian Killeen entertained the crowd, while the afternoon’s action-packed programme included a hectic and hilarious tug of war.

The show broadcast to the nation highlighted everything from STEM education to Laois tourism, food and drink, history, music and lots more against the stunning backdrop of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, giving the county a welcome boost thanks to the brilliance of young robotics champions.