He was invited to take part in the competition after winning the Ulster Regional finals of the Gael Linn Bárúil Public Speaking competition last May.

Sean travelled to Scotland last week with his Irish teacher Mary Galbraith and his friend Garvin Moyne to compete in the grand final of the competition with the winners from other parts of Ireland and their Scottish counterparts. His opponents included native Irish speakers from the Donegal, Kerry and Meath Gaeltachta as well as pupils from Northern Ireland and the Scottish Islands of Lewis, Islay and Skye.

Sean was the youngest competitor and several of his fellow speakers are studying for A-Levels and the leaving Certificate. The competition was organised and funded by Gael Linn and Conradh na Gaidhlig and it was held in the Town Hall in the centre of Inverness.

There were 24 speakers (11 Scots and 13 Irish), speaking for four minutes on topics of their own choosing.

Sean delighted the large audience with his sharp wit, his incisive points and his mastery of the Irish language. His subject matter "Bás na tithe tabhairne in Éirinn" (death of the Irish pub) was both topical and informative. Sean received a silver salver for his outstanding performance.

Presenting the best speaker award to Sean, Seamus Friseal, president of the Conradh, complemented Sean, saying "Sean is a wonderfully gifted speaker, mature beyond his years with a great command of Irish. He has brought great credit to his parents, his school and to Donegal."