Jack goes back to school
TALLAGHT Olympian Jack Woolley made a triumphant return to his old primary school, St Thomas’s National School in Jobstown, on Tuesday morning.
He managed to fit the visit between a hectic schedule, with the Taekwondo star returning from training in France on Friday before jetting off again to Madrid on Wednesday.
Jack, 25, graduated from St Thomas’s National School 13 years ago but still fondly recalls his time there and enjoyed returning to his old stomping ground.
“It was great to go back,” he told The Echo.
“I haven’t been back in a few years.
“It was strange; I stood in the same place where I did musicals and the after-school club.”
Jack Woolley with Kathleen, James and Evan
Jack did a demonstration for the pupils and spoke to them about his Olympic journey, in the school that he has strong family links to, as his parents both worked as gardeners for the school.
St Thomas’s fourth-class teacher Nicholas Murphy, who is also in charge of PE, organised the visit with the assistance of SNA Marie Ward, who knows Jack’s mam, Annette.
Commenting on how the visit went, Nicholas said: “It’s a great thing to have a past pupil who’s an Olympian – most of us wouldn’t know any Olympians.
“Jack’s a great role model for the pupils in St Thomas’s.
Jack Woolley with Calum and Kayla
“It was exciting to see the demonstrations he did, and it could give the pupils more of an inclination to go into sport.”
When Jack was eight years old, he’d already developed an inclination for sport which was displayed when he did a school project on the Olympics and vowed to one day be an Olympian.
The school posted a video online shortly after Jack’s visit, which led the young sportsman to reflect on his own experiences when sportspeople visited the school when he was a child.
“They made a little video after the visit,” he said.
“It’s mad to see, because I was in their position 13 or 14 years ago.
“When we had people visiting from things like the GAA, I remember thinking, ‘That could be me one day’, so it’s mad to think that it is.”
