Dalriada School is a mixed voluntary grammar school in Ballymoney in the north of County Antrim in Northern Ireland,[1] named after the Kingdom of Dál Riata. In 2008 the school won The Sunday Times Northern Ireland State Secondary School of the Year award.[2]
| Dalriada School | |
|---|---|
 Dalriada School Sign | |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 55°04′22″N 6°31′20″W / 55.0727°N 6.5222°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Voluntary, Co-educational Grammar School |
| Motto | Labor Sine Cura, Labor Sine Fructu (Work Without Effort Is Work Without Fruit) |
| Established | 1878 |
| Principal | Louise Aitcheson |
| Deputy Heads | Ian Walker & Louise Crawford[citation needed] |
| Number of students | c. 900[citation needed] |
| Website | dalriadaschool.com |
History
editThe schools was established in 1878 as "Ballymoney Intermediate school". The first headmaster was Rev. J.B Armour.[citation needed]
Extra-curricular activities
editChoirs
editThe school's choirs have won a number of competitions, including the Chamber Choir which won the BBC Ulster School Choir of The Year competition in 2016.[3][4]
Debating
editIn 2010/2011, the debating society entered the UK Wide Debating Matters Championship. A team of six debaters won the Derry Qualifying Heat to make it through the Northern Ireland and Scotland final in Edinburgh, where they triumphed over schools from across the two countries.[5] This allowed them to then qualify for the National Final held at the Royal Society of Medicine where they were defeated in a debate on the Banning of the Burqa.[6]
Bar Mock
editDalriada also competes in the annual Bar Mock Trial Competition. The team prepares mock legal cases for the regional finals each year in the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, winning this competition three times.[7] After winning the National Championships in London in 2016 for the first time,[8] Dalriada pupils went on to compete in the Empire Mock Trial World Championships in New York for the third time.[9] At this event, a Dalriada student received an award for "Outstanding Witness".[10]
Sports
editDalriada competes in several sports.[citation needed] In 2023, a team representing the school won the All-Ireland volleyball title for a record eighth time.[11]
Principals
edit| No. | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfred Ross | 1931-1948 |
| 2 | Edmund Gordon | 1948–1975 |
| 3 | Alan Reynolds | 1975–1987 |
| 4 | William Calvert | 1987–2003 |
| 5 | Derek Boyd | 2003–2007 |
| 6 | Thomas Skelton | 2007–2024 |
| 7 | Louise Aitcheson | 2024-present |
Notable alumni
edit- Sir Martyn Lewis; presenter, foreign correspondent and newsreader for BBC News and ITN.
- Gordon Lyons; DUP MLA for East Antrim.[12]
- Bridget McKeever; a former Ireland women's field hockey international. McKeever later became a PE teacher at Dalriada.[13][14]
- Stewart Moore; an Irish rugby union player, who plays centre for Ulster.
- Katie Mullan; captained Ireland at the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup when they won the silver medal.[15][16]
- Angela Platt; a former goalkeeper with both the Ireland women's national field hockey team and the Northern Ireland women's national football team.[17]
References
edit- ^ "Dalriada School". Retrieved 12 October 2010.[full citation needed]
- ^ "Dalriada win 'Northern Ireland School of the Year' award - Ballymoney and Moyle Times". Ballymoneytimes.co.uk. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- ^ "Dalriada School in semi-final of BBC School Choir Of The Year". Ballymoney Times.
- ^ "Dalriada wins BBC School Choir of the Year". Coleraine Times.
- ^ "Debating Matters".
- ^ "Debating Matters".
- ^ "Dalriada's Bar Mock Team – N.I. Champions". Dalriada School.
- ^ "Dalriada School pupils triumph in The Bar Mock Trial". Irish Legal.
- ^ "Dalriada School pupils travel to New York for Mock Trial championships". Irish Legal.
- ^ "2016 Empire New York". Empire Mock Trial. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Dalriada are All-Ireland Volleyball champs". northernirelandworld.com.
- ^ "Economy Minister Gordon Lyons MLA supporting Maths Week Ireland 2021". 18 October 2021.
- ^ "Bridget Cleland Retires from International Hockey". www.fih.ch. 8 December 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ "Cleland retires from international hockey". www.hookhockey.com. 8 December 2010. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "'There's a perception that the physique you might pick up at international level is not attractive'". www.independent.ie. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Ireland's hockey stars unfazed by prospect of world stage". www.irishtimes.com. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
- ^ "NCU chief has big plans as Ireland get set for new era". Belfasttelegraph. www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2019.