The Avondhu

Dylan crowned County Cork’s King Spelling Bee

KATIE GLAVIN

Bishop Murphy

Memorial School student, 11-year-old Dylan Murphy, has been crowned the winner of the County Cork Eason Spelling Bee final.

The final, which took place on March 22, saw the young student soar to the top following an intense competition in which he faced up against 43 fellow spelling enthusiasts. According to the local pupil, he was both ‘ honoured and delighted’ to take the Cork crown.

Dylan, who says his favourite author is Roald Dahl, qualified following victory at the school final where he met some stiff competition in Oisín and Kaden. Kaden and Dylan endured a ‘Spell-off’ for the ages where Dylan came out victorious, finding himself in the final.

Working through the rounds, Dylan eventually found himself amongst the six remaining people in the final round, and leading in with a correct spelling saw him victorious.

The winning word was ‘ wampum’, which saw Dylan ask for the meaning straight away in order to visualise the word. Dylan later confessed that he did not know, nor ever heard of wampum, but he certainly won’t forget it now!

Wampum are tubular purple and white beads made from shells, used primarily by Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands for ornamental, ceremonial, diplomatic and commercial purposes.

WHO’S TOP BEE?

Bishop Murphy Memorial School congratulated the local pupil on his success stating: “Bishop Murphy Memorial School is simply thrilled for Dylan. A special word of thanks to Ms Ryan, Dylan’s class teacher and Ms Ahern who organised the Spelling Bee competition in the school and facilitated Dylan along the way.”

Mr Aherne, principal of Bishop Murphy Memorial School, who considers himself to be quite the speller, has admitted that he may no longer ‘Bee’ the school’s greatest speller.

Dylan will now be competing in the Munster Provincial Spelling Bee final later this year and it is hoped that he will go forth to the national finals, with a date yet to be confirmed.

Celebrating its tenth year, the Eason Spelling Bee provides a fun, educational outlet for school kids, encouraging them to expand their vocabulary and develop their confidence. As well as the prestigious title of Eason Spelling Bee 2023 champion, the top Bee will also take home a collection of books for their school library, worth €7,500 as well as a personal collection of books worth €500.

Students from a host of local schools competed in this year’s County Cork final, including those in Fermoy, Doneraile, Glanmire, Rathcormac and more.

This year, over 500 schools nationwide will compete against each other in a bid to win the coveted prize. The Eason Spelling Bee team will be travelling around the country to host County Final Bees, then progressing to a Provincial Bee contest. Champions from these will then go head-to-head in the All-Ireland Final Bee, taking place in June 2023, with the lucky winner being crowned King or Queen Bee.

AVONDHU

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2023-03-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://avondhu.pressreader.com/article/281749863613874

The Avondhu (Ireland)