Special Dáil welcome for Donegal's Arranmore Island students

Students from schools across Ireland at one stage or other often find themselves making a visit to Dáil Eireann and if we think back to our own school days, it's likely that most of you can recall a trip to Dublin that included some time spent in Kildare Street meeting your local TDs.

So then nothing hugely new in this concept last week when students from Gairmscoil Mhic Dhiarmada on Arranmore visited the Dáil, but with local TD Pat the Cope Gallagher in the chair as Leas Ceann Chomhairle, there was a brief break from the business of the day as Deputy Gallagher noticed the students in the visitor's gallery above him.

"I couldn't let the opportunity go and I'm not sure if I was entitled to do so, but in a break in proceedings I mentioned that a group of students from Arranmore Island were looking down on proceedings, and to my delight politicians on all sides of the house broke into a spontaneous round of applause in welcome, so it's probably a first, but a nice moment for them," he said.

Our photo shows students from Gairmscoil Mhic Dhiarmada outside the Dáil with Deputies Pat the Cope Gallagher and Pearse Doherty.