Craic On

This is archived from 2011 and has been rescued from the old CraicOn website.

Formal

Everyone remembers their Formal.

It is one of the biggest events in young people’s lives.

The girls get dressed up in the fanciest dresses and the boys look smart in their tuxes and suits.

The hair appointments are made and then with those who apply the make-up.

The Moville beauty shops have been booked out for months.

All Grown Up

The previous day the results were received from the Leaving Certs.

And now the schoolkids formally cut all connections with school and their childhood as they move into the adult stage of their lives.

In their beautiful dresses they are like butterflies emerging from their chrysalis casting away their young awkwardness and dowdy school clothes to emerge into the adult world.

Fly Away

Soon, many will flap their wings and fly off to various colleges and universities around Ireland and then on to jobs elsewhere in all parts of the world only ever to come home again on holiday and then at some future time with their husbands or wives and later on their kids.

It’s a happy time for them and a happy time for their parents too, tinged perhaps by a little sadness that their little girl or boy is all grown up and ready to ‘flit the coop’.

Our job is done for good or bad.

They’re already all the men and women they’ll ever be.

Let’s wish them well and hope they have a great formal that they will remember for the rest of their lives.