Soccer star Pádraig Amond visits Wicklow school for inspirational talk
Students from Ballyconnell NS had a day to remember when Airtricity League top scorer, Pádraig Amond, paid a visit to the school to talk about his glittering career and take on some of the budding soccer stars from Rang a 6!
Part of the school’s ‘Active Schools Week’ for 2024, excitement had been building in the school all week as the school’s Active Schools Committee delivered clues day by day before making the big reveal.
An Irish U21 international in his youth, Amond began his career with Shamrock Rovers, playing with Paços de Ferreira in Portugal and a string of English clubs, before the 36-year-old journeyman returned home to play for current club Waterford FC.
In anticipation of his visit, Ballyconnell students watched a few videos of Amond in action, including his recent hat-trick against Drogheda United and his famous goal-scoring run in the FA Cup in 2018/19 which featured goals against Leicester, Man City and Tottenham Hotspur.
On the big day, Pádraig took to the stage in Ballyconnell Hall and spoke about his long and successful career, beginning on the GAA pitches of Carlow and taking him to Portugal, Wales, and England.
After answering a string of queries posed by the curious pupils, the striker said they were “the best questions he’d ever been asked by school children!”
“It had been planned that the soccer star would sign just one autograph and that it would be photocopied for everybody in the school, but some intrepid 5th-class students broke this rule,” teacher Shane Byrne said.
“The floodgates had well and truly been opened. Amond, however, was only too happy to oblige!
“Around 200 autographs later, he took to the field with the Rang a 6, who showed off their soccer skills to the top scorer in the country.
“All in all, the children enjoyed Pádraig’s visit immensely,” he added.
“Maybe not coincidentally, Amond scored later that evening in Waterford’s win over Bohemians, no doubt inspired by his visit to the school on the Carlow/Wicklow border!”
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