One of the happiest students in Cork yesterday was Frank Crean of Coachford, a student of Presentation College in the city, who scored maximum points in the Leaving Certificate.
Frank, who said he had worked very hard to get the results he desired, added that he was both elated and thrilled. He would now go on to do pharmacy at university.
He took seven As - six of them A1s and the other an A2. According to his teachers, it was a remarkable performance and one that had handsomely repaid his dedication.
His score was almost matched by a schoolmate - Maurice Brew, from Donoughmore - with a total of five A1s and two A2s.
In Cork the consensus in a sample of the schools surveyed was that this year's results were well above average. At St Aidan's Co-Educational School on Dublin Hill the principal, Dr F.J. Steele, expressed himself well pleased with the performance of the 120 students who sat the exam.
"Objectively, I can say that everyone did excellently, although we are still analysing the results against the personal expectations of the students. There were no disaster stories - we are very happy."
Dr Steele said that one student, returning from his job on a night shift, was at the gates of the school at 8.15 a.m. to receive his results.
At St Mary's High School in Midleton, Co Cork, the principal, Mr Donal Cronin, concluded that the transition year, which this year's crop of Leaving Cert students had taken for the first time in the history of the school, had paid dividends.
Of the 69 students who sat the exam, 62 had come through the transition year. High points were achieved by almost all and there were no failures.
Ms Sheila Angland, vice-principal of St Aloysius Girls' School in Cork, said that very high points had been achieved by the 160 Leaving Cert students. The detailed analysis was still going on, she added.
At St Colman's College in Fermoy, Co Cork, Father Declan Kelleher was "delighted." The results, the principal said, were excellent, and the 140 Leaving Certificate candidates were extremely pleased with the high scores.
"We had a huge number of `As' in the science and maths disciplines. Traditionally, this is one of our strengths, but I have to say this year the results were particularly impressive," he added.
In St Goban's College in Bantry, Co Cork, principal Mr Matt Kingston was just as pleased. The overall results were better than expected and almost every one of the 60 students who sat the examination came through with flying colours - "including a few who shouldn't have".
The majority of students, Mr Kingston added, met the points target for their third-level choices.
From early yesterday morning there was a steady procession of students, many accompanied by their parents, to the Cork city and county schools. Fear and trepidation were evident as they went in. But for the most part elation was the most noticeable emotion later on.
"I'm thrilled," said Margaret O'Mahony of Churchfield. She had done better, with almost 500 points, than she had ever expected.
There were shrieks of delight and tears of joy in most schools in the city - tempered, it must be said, by some tears of disappointment, as the students began to consider the evening's celebrations.