The first of our country's schools began to reopen today after being closed for five months due to the pandemic.
Over a million students will return to primary and secondary schools over the next few weeks, with the first few opening their doors on Tuesday morning.
One of the first to return was St Leo's College in Carlow Town, which welcomed 152 new First Year students.
For the morning assembly, they sat in chairs that were all one metre apart, in order to maintain social distancing.
Speaking to RTE News, principal Niamh Broderick said: "We are all in this together.
"We have followed all of the department guidelines. We did everything properly and safely.
"They were very well spaced out and sanitised on the way in and on the way out.
"It was very important to bring them together as a year group and all receive the same message, to celebrate with them, as a Catholic school, to emphasise that message to them."
A lot of schools across the country will return this week, with the remainder expected to get back to business next week.
The Irish Mirror reported earlier this month that it was being left up to each of Ireland's 4,000 primary and secondary schools to decide themselves when they are ready to start the new term, once they have made the necessary changes to cope with life in the Covid-19 pandemic.
New Education Minister Norma Foley is confident the reopening will be done calmly and safely so that the health of both the one million students and 100,000 staff will be protected.
