Knock
On Thursday the 14th of September, the morning after our junior cert results, we had our retreat in Knock, Co. Mayo. We learned that day that if a teacher says a bus is leaving at 7:45, they mean it, and if you're late you will be left behind. We reached knock around 10 am where Fr Peter McVerry started the Young SVP conference with his talk on homeless. He spoke about his own experiences helping those in need. To be perfectly honest I nearly fell asleep during his talk as I found it very repetitive.
The next speaker was Dr. Cara Augustenborg, chairperson of Friends of the Earth. She spoke about climate change and how our generation is living in the second industrial revolution. Our next speaker was John Lonergon, who spoke of his experiences working in various prisons in Ireland such as Mountjoy.
Our final speaker was Joannah Riordan. I found that she was an amazing speaker and i could listen to her for hours. Joannah has tetra-amelia syndrome meaning that she was born without any limbs. She is one of seven people in the world who was born with this extremely rare condition. She spoke about all her amazing experiences such as delivery a speech infront of the U.N and meeting the Barcelona football team. I thought that she was truly inspiring. She even has her own robot called Robbie which at the moment she is trying to train him to make a cup of tea!
Overall, being honest I found it quite a long and boring day except for Joannah's speech. She was an excellent speaker with unbelievable experiences and although she lives with a disability, she does not let it stop her from living life to the fullest.
The next speaker was Dr. Cara Augustenborg, chairperson of Friends of the Earth. She spoke about climate change and how our generation is living in the second industrial revolution. Our next speaker was John Lonergon, who spoke of his experiences working in various prisons in Ireland such as Mountjoy.
Our final speaker was Joannah Riordan. I found that she was an amazing speaker and i could listen to her for hours. Joannah has tetra-amelia syndrome meaning that she was born without any limbs. She is one of seven people in the world who was born with this extremely rare condition. She spoke about all her amazing experiences such as delivery a speech infront of the U.N and meeting the Barcelona football team. I thought that she was truly inspiring. She even has her own robot called Robbie which at the moment she is trying to train him to make a cup of tea!
Overall, being honest I found it quite a long and boring day except for Joannah's speech. She was an excellent speaker with unbelievable experiences and although she lives with a disability, she does not let it stop her from living life to the fullest.