TY TALK:Our Lady's Secondary School, Belmullet, Co Mayo

1 Shannon Gaughan (15) 2 Molly Sidiakina (16)

ON HAITI

Shannon Gaughan:"We thought the earthquake was devastating: a new decade had only just begun and already there was catastrophe in the world.

“Simon Cowell is releasing a celebrity song with singers like Leona Lewis and Susan Boyle, while MTV is organising a telethon. There’s lots of fundraising and collections in our community, and we’re donating some of the profits from our production of the Chicago musical.

“There were some delays at the beginning getting the aid in, but it now seems to be progressing very well.”

ON THE BIG FREEZE

SG:"I'd never seen anything like it. The country came to a standstill while government officials seemed to be on holidays. By the time they came back it was too late. The roads have been severely affected, particularly the roads from Belmullet to Castlebar and Ballina."

ON CUTBACKS IN EDUCATION

SG:"We're noticing that cutbacks are affecting the TY programme: there's not as many trips as in previous years and there are long gaps between our outings. But we're doing more activities in the school, like a variety concert, driving lessons, and a film workshop. We've also had more guest speakers in."

ON BEBO VS FACEBOOK

Molly Sidiakina:"When I was around 13 everyone used Bebo. Now our age group is moving to Facebook. There's more live chat and lots of games, and it's generally more fun."

ON TEENAGE DISCOS

MS:"At 16, we're a bit too old for the teenage discos but too young for the over-18's venues. Erris No Name club is a local organisation that doesn't want us to use drugs or drink when involved. They've gone to the Curragh camp and on a few other trips. It keeps young people away from drink – at least for a while."

ON OUR TY YEAR

MS:"We've gone to Delphi adventure centre and hope to go again this year, while we're just off stage from a production of Chicago. I'm playing the character of Momma Morton and I love being on stage. I'd like pursue acting and singing but as a hobby not as a career. We've also entered the BT Young Scientist competition with a project on the Corrib gas pipe, which is going ahead in our local area. We didn't make the finals but we did go up to see the exhibition."

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