A student from Christian Brothers College in Cork was one of only five students in the country to get top marks in his Leaving Cert results this morning.
Michael O’Grady opened his results to find that he had received eight H1s, the highest grades possible in the state exams.
Over 59,000 students across the country are collecting their results this morning.
Michael, from Mallow, spoke to Cork's RedFM news this morning about the moment he opened his results.
“It was crazy, I wasn’t expecting to get the results I got at all.
"My parents have been ringing everyone in the family to tell them how I got on.
‘It is hard to imagine that I am up there with four other people, it’s mad”.
Speaking to Independent.ie, Michael added: "I didn’t think I’d do poorly but I wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did at all."
"My mam’s been on the phone the whole morning to the extended family, everyone knows at this stage.
"I wouldn’t say I’m a die-hard studier or anything but I kind of kept on top of my work the whole time."
Michael hopes to get a place studying Medicine at University College Cork when CAO round one offers are released this Thursday.
Meanwhile, TD Michael Healy-Rae is reminding Leaving Cert students to "keep everything in perspective" as he shared a message of support ahead of results day.
In a video posted to his Twitter page, the Kerryman said: "I just wanted to sincerely wish each and every one of you good luck in your results today.
"I know it's an extremely important day but the one thing I want to remind you is to keep everything in perspective.
"Please God, you'll be happy with your results today. If your results aren't 100% what you want, there is so much in life waiting for you."
