Fr Lyons' Leaving Assembly
26th September 2019
Fr Lyons returned to the school for a special assembly, to give the children and staff in Mary Queen of Peace PS the opportunity to say good bye to our dear friend.
The pupils in Y4 recited a poem they had written for the occasion as well as Y7 singing one of Fr Lyons’ favourite hymns - O Mary of Graces. The Y2 children also performed their Living Legend assembly, dedicated to Fr Lyons. This included a special song they had written about his love of cycling. Fr thought this was very funny and he laughed heartily.
Cycling was very much the theme of the art work the children produced for Fr Lyons and the albums of work the children presented to him included images of landmarks that Fr would have passed on his cycles in the hills above Glenravel and the wider Glens of Antrim (Ys 2, 5 & 6). Every cyclist needs a snack to restore their energy and the Y5 children made sure Fr Lyons had a Lion bar to keep his sugar levels up! The children thought this was very funny!
There were also very emotional moments during the assembly when Y1 gave Fr a specially framed picture of all of their fingerprints and Y3 presented an album containing their special memories of Fr Lyons.
We finished the assembly with the presentation of gifts which included a voucher for cycling equipment and a bespoke cycling jersey proudly bearing the names and colours of Glenravel as well as the old church bell tower.
Fr Lyons thanked the children for their wonderful assembly and generous gifts. He spoke about his love for the parish and the kindness of all of the people in Glenravel. He had real friends here in Glenravel. They were honest and generous and he would continue to pray for them.
Our very best wishes to our dear friend Fr Lyons. We are very grateful for the eleven fantastic years we had of your service to St. Mary’s PS, Glenravel PS and finally to Mary Queen of Peace PS. Best wishes to you and St. Teresa’s parish and we hope you remember us as you cycle in the hills above Belfast.
