Deputy Mayor of Fingal ‘messed up’ as he admits to failing the Leaving Certificate exams

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1624142286 0 mayor and deputy mayor photo 2.jpg
1624142286 0 mayor and deputy mayor photo 2.jpg

The Deputy Mayor of Fingal admitted that he “messed up” as he failed the Leaving Certificate exams.

Cllr Daniel Whooley received zero course offers four years ago, but as the saying goes, “the Leaving Cert isn’t everything”, and now the 22-year-old has been elected as the new Deputy Mayor of Fingal.

He was elected alongside the new Mayor, Seána Ó Rodaigh.

The Green Party member represents the Ongar Electoral Area, and has been an elected member since 2019.

And Mr Whooley eventually did get into higher education as he is currently studying Cybersecurity at TUD Blanchardstown.

He tweeted: “Four years ago, I messed up my leaving cert, literally got zero course offers.

“I was a big dosser and had zero clue what I wanted to do with my life.

“Today I just became Deputy Mayor of Fingal County Council!

“With a lot of hard work and some luck, anything is possible!”

He told the Irish Independent: “I felt like when I failed the Leaving Cert I expected a big game over screen to pop up and just to drop through a hole.

“And that’s because that’s how it’s made out to be, but it’s not like that at all.”

He highlighted to students sitting their Leaving Cert exams “that there is always another way.”

“If you don’t get what you want, let that sadness set in for 10 or 15 minutes, cry it out, then pick yourself back up,” he said.

“Find out another way to get what you want, for me it was through a PLC and for other people it could be through internships.

“But, there’s always another way and there’s always another opportunity.”

Cllr Whooley got involved with the Green Party when he was studying a PLC course in Dunboyne the year after he finished school.

He decided to run in the local elections when he was in his first year in TU Dublin in 2019.

And Deputy Mayor for Fingal plans to defer his final year in college to focus on his new position.

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