My name is Kelly Mc Eveney. I am 17 years old and I was chosen to represent Co. Cork. I had heard about Adopt A Soldier through my history teacher, Ms. Quill. 

At first I was skeptical about it because I thought such an opportunity like this couldn't be real, it must be a scam. Even though I was nervous about it, I put together my essay on why I should be chosen. I never thought I would get the opportunity in a million years and was surprised when I heard. 

At first I was worried I wouldn't be able to find any information on the soldier I was given, John O Sullivan. I needed help but didn't know where to go so I turned to Jim Murphy, a member of the Passage West Historical Society. We got in contact and I told him the name of the soldier and he said the name sounded familiar and that he would get back to me. After a few days I heard back and he told me how he was related to the family and he knew John's family who were now living in America.

Jim contacted Hayden O'Shea, John's nephew. He was delighted to hear about the project and was willing to send me on information. A few weeks after I met up with Jim, he gave me a package which Hayden sent over, it was filled with information about John. Afterwards we went to visit the home where John grew up and the graveyard in which his parents are buried. 

 When I presented my project  at Collin's Barracks, I was terrified. I hate public speaking and I'm sure that was obvious but I feel that this project has pushed me to do things I would never have done before and I am really happy because of that.

I was also interviewed by one of our local councillors and the interview was published in the Evening Echo and the Carrigdhoun. I was fascinated by how much I didn't know about the area I was living in.

My Grandad was named after his grandfather, Michael Donovan, who was in the Irish Guards and had fought in the war with his brothers, Stephen and Patrick. Stephen was part of the Royal Marine Corps and he and Patrick were killed in action in Gallipoli. Michael portrayed outstanding courage when he received a fatal shot while saving his sergeant at Ypres. While his sergeant was in action, Michael saw that an attempt was being made on his life. Michael covered his sergeant and blocked the bullet. After his death, he was awarded a Victoria Cross for outstanding courage and devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. Michael had worked for the Cork Examiner (the newspaper) and a lovely tribute was paid to him after his death.

This project has really helped me recognize the importance of making sure people are remembered and noticed for their achievements. It was a great honour to be able to research and document John O Sullivan's history.  

The month before the trip we created a group chat. Wanting to be clever and make it catchy we nicknamed it "The Somme Squad". It sounded great at the time and it came in handy as the days before we met we were chatting online constantly, so much so we put a 12:00pm ban. Any talking past this time was shut down by our time patrol officer, Eva. If there wasn't a group chat I know I would have been terrified to meet everyone but by the time the day came around I was so excited to meet the people I had become great friends with in the short amount of time. 

Eventually we made it to Ratra House and I couldn't have hopped out of the car fast enough. I felt terrible for waving a quick goodbye to my dad and running off to get our Saffron Travel gear. I can safely say my interview done on the day went terribly but at that stage I didn't care I was too excited. I was delighted when I discovered that everyone was as friendly in person as they were online. We all hopped on the bus off to see the President of Ireland, Michael D.Higgins 

Meeting the President was an incredible experience and I felt so proud to be able to represent my county. Afterwards we began our journey to Brussels and it allowed for us to have plenty of time to get to know each other which was brilliant. 

We started off our day early and headed off to see the Lochnagar Crater. It was incredible and I thought the history behind it was so interesting. The crater is preserved as a memorial, where a service is held on 1 July each year.

Throughout the day we visited many of our soldier's graves. I was also able to visit my soldier's grave, John O'Sullivan. I was honoured to visit the grave and pay my respects. You wouldn't think it would be upsetting but I found it very emotional as I feel the project allowed me to really connect with my soldier almost like he was a long lost relative. 

The Thiepval Memorial Ceremony was also very emotional, I felt honoured to be able to lay a flower for the soldier Daniel Buckley who was part of the Royal Munster Fusiliers. 

I really enjoyed the visit to the European Parliament, it was amazing. I have an interest in politics and from the visit I discovered how much I would love to work there.