It would have been about this time 14 years ago when the Donnery triplets were preparing for the first day of school.
Now, with a similar feeling of panic and excitement Charlie, Lucy and George are preparing for life in college.
While the siblings awaited their CAO offers, they were also filled with nerves for what is a huge milestone for any young person – let alone a set of triplets who would be truly parting ways for the very first time.
Charlie said: “I remember all my friends telling me that they had got their offers and I had nothing, no email or text, nothing. I was freaking out but it eventually came in and I was so happy.”
Charlie is going to UCD to study Italian and Maths after getting 581 points.
George is following his brother to Dublin to do Literature and Film in Trinity after achieving 546 points.
Lucy got 511 points and is doing an Art PLC in Abbeyleix
Their first taste of separation came when they joined Mountrath Community School in 2018.
Their mother, Jenny, had decided that it would be best to separate them after studying the topic of separating siblings in school in her PLC.
She said: “I had to do a paper on whether it was wise to separate multiples in schools and I interviewed their teachers and did a whole essay on it and we talked to the principal and decided we were going to split them.”
Even with this though the triplets relished the opportunity to catch up at the end of day after school.
Lucy said: “We would come home after school and make tea and just gossip about all of our classmates.”
Charlie added: “With the three of us separated we had a lot of bases covered.”
George particularly appreciated being in a different class than Charlie in secondary school due to their likeness.
He said: “I didn’t like to be in the same class as Charlie because the teacher would get us mixed up.
“Sometimes, if we weren’t even in the same class but had the same teacher, they would call me Charlie and vice versa.”
Surprisingly, the triplets admitted that they had very little influence on each other in regards to picking their Leaving Cert subjects.
Charlie said: “I think we all picked them in one night and didn’t even tell each other.”
Despite this display of independence from the Donnery triplets, as the final exam loomed, studying and preparing for the exams was certainly a joint effort as they were able to consolidate their strengths and limit their weaknesses.
Lucy said: “George and Charlie were stronger at maths than I was sp they were able to give me loads of help understanding it.”
When the exams duly arrived, they were promptly reminded just how close they were. Charlie recalls the Irish oral exams as one particular instance.
He said: “I was sitting there in the corridor listening to Lucy as I was right after her. I was trying to tune it out and focus on myself but I was rooting for her.”
A similar mood continued into the written exams in June but the triplets certainly preferred the extra distance between them in the exam hall.
George said: “When we came home we’d discuss how it went but we were always afraid to exchange answers afterwards in case we had different ones.”
Even though they did have mixed feelings about all being in school together for 14 years, it certainly was a recipe for success.
A set of triplets completing the Leaving Cert together is an anomaly on its own let alone the fact they all achieved over 500 points.
Now as they part ways and embark on third level education, it’s a certainty that they will all rejoin in their kitchen gossiping over a cup of tea – even if it won’t be as often.
