Killarney twins:No matter how hard they try, identical twins Laura and Lisa Devane cannot weaken the bond between them.
If one of the 18-year-olds falls ill, the other is guaranteed to become sick within an hour or two. If they shop separately, they invariably come home with the same clothes. And yesterday, despite studying for their Leaving Cert in different classes at St Brigid's Secondary School in Killarney, Co Kerry, they scored an identical mark: 415. "All the teachers were shocked," said Lisa, from Kilcummin, Co Kerry.
"They looked at it five or six times. The principal said 'I don't believe it'. It was inevitable, really," she said.
The sisters had an almost identical final mark in the Junior Cert. They are so similar in appearance that their teachers could not tell them apart. The confusion became so frustrating for the twins that four years ago they asked to be placed in separate classes. The sisters picked the same Leaving Cert subjects, however, and had the same study pattern - last-minute panic. "The last two weeks we were up at six in the morning, then in bed at 12 or one," said Laura. "We took it easy for the rest of year."
Neither sister would have been upset if the other had scored higher, said Laura. "Whatever happens, happens. People said that we'd be upset, but we took no notice of them."
Their marks across the subjects varied, although they scored identically in English, Irish and Art. The twins must now wait until Monday to find out whether they have been accepted to study arts at UCC. Both want to become teachers, although they have not decided whether to work in primary or secondary schools.
Their mother, Eileen Devane, is also a twin. When her daughters were born, she at first thought the girls would be dissimilar. Lisa weighed 6lb at birth, while Laura came in at 6lb 7oz. But life has turned out to be a great equaliser, and both girls are 5ft 8in tall and size 10. Only family and close friends can tell the girls apart, said Ms Devane. "Laura has higher cheekbones and Lisa speaks faster," she said.
"Laura is more laid-back and Lisa does all the talking. Lisa is more the boss. But the two of them are very alike. If they split up and went shopping, then they'd meet and show each other what they'd bought, and they'd have bought the very same things in different colours."