GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE FOR IRISH TEAM AT WORLDSKILLS
Dublin, 01June 2005: The Irish team has tonight won 3 gold medals, 1 silver, 1 bronze and 9 medallions at the Worldskills Awards Ceremony in Helsinki, Finland. Competing against teams from 38 other countries, the Irish team of highly skilled young people performed extremely well, coming 7th overall.
Sinead Leacy, Co. Wexford winner of the gold medal in Restaurant Services.
Alan Parr, Co. Cavan, winner of the gold medal in Refrigeration.
Ross Wasson from Co. Donegal, winner of the gold medal in Automobile Technology
Speaking from Helsinki this evening, Mr. Michael Murphy, Dean of Craft Education and Training in DIT, said "This has been a very successful Irish team, and I congratulate everyone of them for their performance here this week. On my own behalf, I must say that Dublin Institute of Technology is particularly proud that the three gold medal winners have trained in DIT with my colleagues. They are Ross Wasson, Gold Medal winner for Automobile Technology - trained by Enda Fagan, DIT; Sinead Leacy, Gold Medal winner for Restaurant Services ' trained by Tony Conlon, DIT; and Alan Parr, Gold Medal winner in Refrigeration, trained by Garrett Keenaghan, DIT.
Other medals for Ireland included Patricia Orpen who won Silver for Beauty Therapy and Michael Kinsella who won Bronze for Electrical Installation. In addition, Ross Wasson won the prize for achieving the highest marks in the Irish team, so there will be great celebrations in the Irish camp here this evening!.
Mr. Murphy said that twenty DIT students went to Helsinki to participate in this year's WorldSkills competition. In total, there are almost 700 young people under 23 years of age from 39 countries, competing in skills in the fields of technology, industry and services.
The WorldSkills competition provides a unique means of exchange and comparison of world-class competency standards in the industrial trades and service sectors of the global economy. According to the organisers, 'The continued growth of WorldSkills attests to the fact that traditional trade and craft skills along with the newer technology multi-skilled vocations make an essential contribution to the economic and social well being of peoples everywhere.
DIT students competed in a number of categories, including automobile technology, plumbing, beauty therapy, restaurant service, electrical installation, joinery and cabinet making.
RESULTS:
| Skill Area | Competitor | Medal |
|---|---|---|
| Automobile Technology | Ross Wasson | GOLD |
| Restaurant Service | Sinead Leacy | GOLD |
| Refrigeration (3) | Alan Parr | GOLD |
| Beauty Therapy(1) | Patricia Orpen | SILVER |
| Electrical Installations (1) | Michael Kinsella | BRONZE |
| Bricklaying | Gavin O'Sullivan | Medallion of Excellence |
| Mech. Eng.CADD | John Doyle | Medallion of Excellence |
| Welding | Matthew Brereton | Medallion of Excellence |
| Industrial Control | Sean Stack | Medallion of Excellence |
| Cabinetmaking | Thomas Lynch | Medallion of Excellence |
| Joinery | Conor Cahill | Medallion of Excellence |
| Carpentry | Donal O'Connor | Medallion of Excellence |
| Cooking | Gerard Molloy | Medallion of Excellence |
| Sheet-Construction Steelwork(9) | Robert Stapleton | Medallion of Excellence |
| PolyMechanics/Automation | Gordon O'Donovan | Cert. of Participation |
| CNC Machining | Karl Corry | Cert. of Participation |
| Plumbing | Mark McGlanaghey | Cert. of Participation |
| Industrial Electronics | Darren Kavanagh | Cert. of Participation |
| Painting & Decorating | Fergal Feehely | Cert. of Participation |
| Graphic Design Technology (6) | Sean Kearney | Cert. of Participation |
10 DIT Experts who trained Competitors to compete at Worldskills Standard:
Enda Fagan (Automobile Technology)
Garret Keenaghan (Refrigeration)
Tony Conlon (Restaurant Service)
Billy Lacey (Bricklaying)
Jim Vahey (Polymechanics/Automation)
John Smartt (Plumbing)
Martin Sneyd (Painting & Decorating)
Tommy Tutty (Joinery)
John Clancy (Pastry)
