The CELS class rolled up their sleeves this week in the Shannon College Training Kitchen and under the supervision of Chef Ryan made a very tasty batch of festive mince pie lollipops. See pictures below of our 12 chefs in training! 

 Meet the 2011/2012 Charity Club at Shannon College! The Charity Club is a student led club which organises fundraising events throughout the academic year. It is a tradition since the foundation of the college that the students organise events with the support of staff members, within the college and externally to raise money for the chosen charities. The aim of the 2011/2012 club is to raise a total of €10,000 durning the academic year for the four designated charities: 

• Limerick Mental Health Association
• Barretstown Children’s Camp
• Clare Crusaders
• Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland

 See info further down this page for more details on the partner charities.

Upcoming Events

Previous Events

Bag Pack 
December 2011, €1,050 raised

Quiz Night
October 2011, €331 raised

Bake Sale
November 2011, nearly €300 raised

Partner Charities

The fundraising efforts of the Charity Club will this year will go to four worthy charities; Limerick Mental Health Association, Barretstown Children’s Camp, Clare Crusaders and Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland. For more information on the great work of these organisations, please see the charity profiles below.

Limerick Mental Health Association:

Limerick Mental Health Association is affiliated to and shares the aims of Mental Health Ireland (MHI) a national voluntary organisation and is active in assisting to meet the mental health needs of people in the Limerick area. The main activities of Mental Health Ireland include supporting local Mental Health Associations, actively campaigning and advocating, providing an information service and developing mental health promotion programmes.

Barretstown Camp

Barretstown is a specially-designed camp that provides therapeutic recreation programmes for children with serious illnesses, and their families.  It was founded by Hollywood actor Paul Newman in 1994 and modelled on his renowned Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut, USA. Excellent, unobtrusive medical supervision helps children with cancer and other diseases forget illness, learn to have fun and rebuild their confidence and self-esteem. The Barretstown camp is located at a fairy-tale castle in the beautiful foothills of Ireland’s Wicklow Mountains.

The Clare Crusaders

The Clare Crusaders Children’s Charity provides much needed therapy to children with special needs in areas such as cerebral palsy, autism and down syndrome and other conditions. The Clare Crusaders Children’s Clinic, located in Barefield Co.Clare is run on a voluntary basis and provides a variety of therapies to over 190 children in the Clare region. The services are free of charge and include speech therapy, occupational therapy, special education, physiotherapy and reflexology.

Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland

Autism assistance dogs Ireland (AADI) was founded in 2010 to provide highly trained assistance dogs for children with autism and their families. The charity provides a valuable service that can have life changing effects for children with autism and their families and our assistance dogs are provided free of charge. Autism assistance dogs Ireland (aadi) relies exclusively on voluntary contributions as it does not receive any Government funding.

Contact the Charity Club

If you would like to get in contact with the Charity Club at Shannon College, please contact Alan Hynes or Lorraine Yiu by email:

Alan Hynes (Year 3 Student):  alanh365@hotmail.com

Lorraine Yiu (Year 3 Student):  lorraineyiu@hotmail.com 

It you would like to get in contact with staff member at Shannon College, please contact Ms. Elaine Giltinane, Placement Officer and Professional Skills Instructor by phone or email:

Ms. Elaine Giltinane
Email: elainegiltinane@shannoncollege.com
Phone: 061 712597

One of Ireland’s most impressive culinary competitions, The Celtic Cook Off, took place in Cork this month and featured Shannon College Year 3 student, Andrew Shorten, as one of the commis chefs. Andrew had the opportunity to work alongside top chefs from Scotland, Isle of Man, Ireland, Cornwall, Wales and Brittany.

The competition was a Ready, Steady, Cook style competition at the West Cork Hotel, where the five accomplished chefs battled it out in front of a live audience. Shannon College student, Andrew, was selected to assist the five chefs in the competition. The commis chef experience was a great opportunity for Andrew to polish his culinary skills and learn from some of the best seafood chefs in Europe.

Participating Chefs:

Chef Martin Shanahan, Fishy Fishy, Kinsale
Chef Roy Brett, Ordine Restaurant, Edinburgh
Chef Arty Williams, The Cove in Maenporth, Cornwall
Chef John Dixon, Isle of Man
Chef Kevin Williams, Welsh Culinary Association

Before starting the end of term exams this month, the Year 3 Class took some time out of study to visit the 5 star Dromoland Castle Hotel and Country Estate. Managing Director of Dromoland Castle, Mr. Mark Nolan, is the official patron of the class of 2008. He invited his class to visit his property for a tour and a catch up before the students head away for the summer break.

Class Patron

Each year, a patron is nominated to the newly enrolled class of degree students. The role of the Class Patron is to engage with the students throughout their studies and mentor the class to reach their management potential. The Class Patrons are leaders in hospitality who have made a significant impact on the Irish and international hotel industries.