On the 8th August 1981 after 5 years in captivity courtesy of Islamic Jihad Terrorists - the famous journalist John McCarthy is freed and is flown by RAF Jet to Gosforth air base where he meets a world press, who are itching to find out how he has survived such barbarian, inhuman and degrading treatment for such a long time at the hands of his captors. McCarthy explains “I survived an English Public School........I can survive anything”..........does this resilience in the face of any of life’s issues also apply to OC’s.
Its’ the 4th September 1977 - memories of a long hot summer at home in Dublin dissipate as my brothers and I arrive at the Castle for my Fifth Year in Clongowes. The changing of the guard has happened we have a new Head Master Philip Fogarty SJ and a new Higher Line Prefect Mocky Sheil SJ. We knew our headmaster as last year he had been living in the Castle and giving us O-Levels boys classes on communication namely audio/visual. We had fun making interview videos with a camera and sound.
Mocky Sheil SJ was a returning OC himself, having spent 7 years in Belvedere.He was to change, indeed shake up our way of life in a number of sectors, particularly discipline and time-keeping..........
We have a new 5th Year Prefect - Fr Pat Sheary SJ............those of us who took O-Levels History have already experienced him for a year in class. Like all our previous prefects Fr Sheary SJ had to run a fine line between keeping discipline and not impinging too much into the lives of adolescent boys who were dealing with the emotions and strains of teenage life in a boarding school. One memory, I have is that one of the atheists in our History class who was also in the top 5 students got an exemption from “attending Mass or religious duties” on the basis that he made a damn good argument to Pat Sheary that he should be entitled to religious freedom. Ah a liberal Jesuit education.......thats what we all received at CWC.
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| Manchester United win FA Cu 1977 |
Liverpool win the First Division again and surprisingly Man Utd beat them in the F A Cup final 2-1, which makes us United fans doubly happy. France win the 5 Nations and complete one of their elusive Grand Slams. David Soul and Silver Lady is number 1 in the UK Charts to be overtaken by “Yes Sir I can boogie” by Baccara in October.
Kieran Kelly is appointed school Captain - no surprise - he had been lower line captain and stepped easily into the role. I am, much to my own disbelief appointed a “Study Prefect” for Rudiments/Grammar. One of the perks is getting a room which I share with my good friend Cornelius Clifford, who unknown to himself is going to cause me some grief.....keep reading.
Poetry/5th Year is tough we are reminded at every class and/or Prefect talk that the Leaving Certificate is a 2 year cycle which determines our lives and that, to get into our favoured course at University, “hard graft” is required. Clongowes really did allow us to develop all our talent whether that be sport, academia, music or acting. In our Poetry Drama Festival Messrs Coyne and Shanahan apparently are born for their parts. According to the 1977 Clongownian “An Punt ar Eileamh”, Sean O’Casey’s “Pound on Demand”, both actors “are very convincing drunks”!
The rugby season in 1977 was disappointing the SCT was defeated in the first round despite the contributions of a number of our year including Barry Walker, Greg Dilger and Freddie Brown. Little did we know that a number of the Team would collect the holy grail of an SCT medal the following year!
The SRPA - the charity organisation run by 5th Years is taken over by M Coyne who is President ably assisted by Messrs. O’Beirne and Shanahan. I have one memory of the SRPA when I was press ganged to help, M Mooney and myself visited a couple of homes and then were offered the opportunity to watch Tony Ward playing for Ireland v. Scotland by the Assistant Bursar in his home...........which we gladly accepted.
A number of our Year join “The Higher Line Debating Society”, and these include DJ Hegarty, Eamon Doohan and Peter Howick. There is also “The Academy” on offer, where students agree to present a Paper on a speciality topic........at the time, it seemed like a lot of hard work to most of us, however there were volunteers. These extra curricular students numbered “Oliver Dyar” who shared his knowledge of “Nuclear Fission & Fusion” with us, D J talked down to us about “Mao Tse Tung”, C Lucey implored us to understand “Isaac Newton” and our genial Editor Rossa waxed lyrical about “The Assassination of J F K & The Warren Commission”. Fair play to one and all - and they did get a special academic tie - to remind us of their elevated status.
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| The Academy 1977 |
After the Halloween break, I brought back a gas camping cooker. We made toast and soup and basic hot food in our room. All was going well until Pat Sheary catches Morgan with a slice of toast and hot soup................Morgan spins a yarn that he used a flame with an aerosol can of deodorant to make the offending food item. Pat Sheery sends him off to Mocky Shiel and before long the Fire Brigade from Naas are brought in to blow up cans of aerosol to explain to Morgan and others who had to attend that he could have blown up the 1929 building and a number of fellow students! Meanwhile I disposed of the camping gas cooker, brining it back home at the first available opportunity.
Its’ now April and the Punchestown Racing Festival “Wednesday” clashes with my final rugby game for the 3rds v. Belvedere at home. Ned Carroll our Latin Master offers me a lift to the races, I explain to him I can’t go as I am due to line out as 1st centre on the thirds. He mentions the quality of the racing and surely I could get a replacement to play for me. I agree thats’ a solution, but who, ah my great room-mate Con, surely he would relish a game for the 3rds when he has been on the 1st’s all season..........he agrees and in bliss I head off to Punchestown. I return around 8pm to find out Mocky Sheil is looking for me urgently........something about rugby.
I run into Mocky just as Late Study is about to begin and he suggests we deal with the issue in his room. Not sure what I am guilty of, I tread carefully, he said that he refereed the 3rds game against Belvo and that I better have a damned good excuse for not turning out...............I advise him “I forgot”........he says “this is neither true nor credible.......and by the way how did I get on at Punchestown?”. My mind goes blank and all I hear is “Fitzpatrick you let your team down, disgraceful........you will never be asked to play rugby again”. When I catch up with Con........he tells me, he couldn’t sub for me as his mother had unexpectedly arrived up from Tralee and he had to go out with her! Friends........cannot be relied on when something better comes along........another life learning......Anyway, I wasn’t too perturbed as it was the end of the rugby season and rugby wasn’t my favourite sport. That said, I did love sport above everything so perhaps I had lost a privilege.
One of the major events for us in 1977 was our first social - the argument had been made by Tigger, Rossa, myself and a number of other supporters - through the School Council of which I was a Member that Poetry should have a dance night with a girls‘ s school. The argument being that we had spent 5 years similar to most of the Rhetoric year and should not be discriminated against because we had chosen to do “O-Levels”. Permission was granted and an invitation sent to Mount Anville. In May 1977, we had our first social. I remember we had to collect £1 pound from each of our year to pay for the DJ/Music, other than that the Catering Staff provided the grub and our night was a relative success. The South Dublin girls were more mature and worldly wise than we were, despite the bravado of the Smokers and future Rock stars led by Johnno Donnelly - who gave the impression that women were their “subject of excellence”..........the rest of us were mere mortals.
Following the social - there was much banter amongst the lads and a few choice phrases come to mind, 41 years on. I can remember Grattan and Morgan exchanging their thoughts about the girls each had managed to partner for the night. Morgan mentioned that Grattan’s girl obviously had a good or indeed great personality and Grattan responded that Morgan’s was as bald as a coot..........this is as much as my memory will permit me to recount.
Con and I housed the “Poker Night(s)” in our room during Winter recreation Study break 8-9.15pm a healthy poker school existed with Gucks, Dingle, Morgan, Grattan, Titch Kelly and Bob Kryger being the principal benefactors for Dingle who had an uncanny knack/skill of winning the largest pots.
One day in May a US high school came to tour Clongowes and some of us were press ganged into looking after the students. The purpose of hosting these American students was to provide the whole Clongowes experience to them in 1 day. Speaking to their English Teacher and Head of Tour, early on in the day, he was fired with enthusiasm as to visiting “hallowed ground” - namely James Joyce’s early Alma Mater - I was a bit nonplussed, this was just our home. 40 years on and being in the TV Business.........we didn’t realise then what a star “Joyce was” and “still is”!
Till next month - my 6th and Final Article - continuing the theme ‘born in 1960 and made in CWC.
Courtesy of Francis Fitzpatrick @fitzlaws
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to Clongowes or the CWC 1978 committee or other groups or individuals.
