‘Don’t let anybody cap your dreams’:  Athy student's inspiring journey

MANY Leaving Cert students measure success in points, but 19-year-old Tristan from Athy is living proof that passion and perseverance can open doors that exam results alone cannot.

For the Athy student, who is diagnosed with Autism and ADHD, the Leaving Certificate was no walk in the park, as he navigated an education system that was not created with him in mind.

Speaking about his diagnoses, he said: “I don’t really know school life without it. Everything just takes a lot longer. It’s been a lot more time-consuming and draining.” 

Comparing himself with classmates could be frustrating, particularly when work that seemed to come more naturally to others required considerably more effort from him.

However, while the rote learning aspect of secondary education was not one of his strong points, he still made it into his first choice, Sports Science at Stirling University in Scotland.

Not only that, but he was offered a scholarship, which recognises his hard work and achievements in swimming.

While the traditional classroom environment could be challenging, Tristan found that his passion for swimming gave him the force to persevere.

He began swimming at around six years old and took up competitive swimming at 10. Since then, the sport has become an enormous part of his life.

“I liked being in the water. It’s an outlet for me, so if I was upset or angry it was something I could look forward to in the day.” 

Today, swimming involves around 12 hours of pool training each week, alongside gym sessions, competitions and volunteering as a swim coach.

Swimming is far more than an extracurricular activity, it’s his whole world.

Through St Fiacc’s Swimming Club in Carlow, Tristan has built friendships with people who share his passion. 

He has also used that passion to give back, volunteering as a coach with younger squads and helping at competitions.

During Transition Year, he completed his Water Safety Ireland pool lifeguard qualification. The following year, on the recommendation of his instructor, he went on to complete his river lifeguard qualification.

His involvement has also taken him far beyond the club, as he supported the Community Games as an official and volunteer and was nominated by the Leinster region to attend Swim Ireland’s National Judge school.

At just 18, he completed the course and became a probationary national judge, allowing him to officiate at local club, regional and national competitions.

“It’s something else to do in the swimming community,” he said. “There’s other younger swimmers that would look at me doing it and think that they could do it as well.” 

Tristan began his education at Gaelscoil Atha Í before moving on to Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach, completing his Junior Cycle through Irish.

During Transition Year, he decided that he wanted to pursue sports science after school.

As he prepared for the Leaving Certificate, he moved to Knockbeg College in Carlow, believing that studying through English would allow him to achieve stronger results.

Tristan had always wanted to study abroad, and when he began looking at his university options, the University of Stirling quickly emerged as his first choice.

It was the university’s reputation and sporting programme that particularly appealed to him.

“I’ve always wanted to go abroad to study,” he said. “I feel (studying abroad) has a lot of opportunities, not just going to university but also just experiencing more things.” 

He applied through UCAS and received a conditional offer from Stirling, and surprisingly received an offer for a scholarship based on his outstanding personal statement provided in his application.

The University of Stirling offered him its Success Scholarship, awarded by the university’s admissions board based on the candidate’s application and achievements.

Suddenly, the student who had worried about whether he would get into his chosen university had a scholarship to his first choice.

For his mother, Samantha Kenny, the significance of the scholarship goes far beyond the financial support.

Samantha said she had watched Tristan work exceptionally hard for years, often without his academic results or swimming times fully reflecting the effort he had put in.

“Finally, somebody else sees the work that you have done,” she said.

That is something that is particularly meaningful to both Tristan and Samantha, because the Leaving Certificate results season can often become dominated by stories about the students who achieve 625 points.

Tristan's story offers a different measure of success.

His Leaving Cert points were enough to secure his university place, but it was his achievements beyond the classroom, from competitive swimming and coaching to officiating, lifeguarding and community involvement, that form the bigger picture of the young man heading to Scotland.

For his mother, that distinction matters. 

She does not believe young people should allow grades, or other people's expectations, to determine the limits of their ambitions.

“Don’t let anybody cap your dreams,” she said.

His family describes teachers, resource staff, coaches and friends who have understood that the key to helping him succeed was not trying to make him fit into a predetermined mould, but working with him to find a way that suited him.

“He’s always been a man who has never taken the road frequently travelled. And he doesn’t just take the path – he bulldozes through it and creates a whole new path.” 

He has already made contact with Phoenix Aquatics in Stirling and will be able to train with the club while studying. 

His home club, St Fiacc’s, will also continue to welcome him when he returns to Ireland, allowing him to train and compete with them.

The move is exciting, although the reality of leaving home has not quite sunk in yet.

“I’m happy enough,” Tristan said. “It’s mostly just packing right now and preparing, but I’m looking forward to it.” 

Samantha hopes Tristan’s story can offer another message to young people with autism or ADHD who may feel that conventional measures of achievement do not reflect their potential.

She said: “At the end of the day, it’s the impact you have on the world around you as well as yourself that’s just as important.

“It’s not about the best grades or the best times or the best anything. It’s about him being the best person that he can be and giving back to a community that he loves.

“If more people did that, the world would be a better place.”