Page 43 - The Gonzaga Record 1985
P. 43
THE GONZAGA UNION
It had been instilled in the first boys who left Gonzaga that they were trail blazers,
and therefore that as soon as they left the school they would found a Past Pupils
Union. On 31st March 1959, a letter signed by Leonard 0. D. Little (1958), Jerry
Liston (1958) and David Buckley (1958) was sent out to all the Past Pupils of the
school, stating:
The intention is that the Union so formed will not be a mere replica of other Past
Pupils Unions, but one which will promote a genuine bond between Past
Gonzaga boys. Besides the usual social functions, such as Dinners and Dances,
it is intended to promote cultural and sporting activities under the jurisdi<;tion of
the Union.
Thus the Gonzaga Union was founded, and as Fr. O'Conor SJ would have said
'We have reached another milestone in our career.'
The first function held by the Union was the Dinner in the Gresham Hotel on 1st
February 1961. A Committee was formed to draft a constitution which was
adopted at the Annual General Meeting of 1962, with the stated objects as being:
'The activities of the Union are to be religious, cultural, sporting, social and
sociological.'
The ideals were real, but the interests of the few failed to attract the many, and
so the Union was both short of active members and funds. Very few past pupils
paid the annual subscription of 10/6d.
Despite this lack of active interest, over a period of ten years the Gonzaga Union
organised an Annual Ball and Dinner, Rugby and Cricket matches, and of course,
the Annual Debate against the school. These events were enjoyed by the Past,
because there was a spirit of kinship and nostalgia towards the school.
The activities of the Committees during the period 1959 - 65 are difficult to
assess, as the minute books are missing, and one can therefore only accurately
report on the period from 1966 to 1972. The attitudes of the time are reflected in
the views expressed. There were the constant problems of the lack of
communication and interest in the Union and the Past, and the constant lack of
funds.
There are amusing asides; for instance, the Minutes for 1967 state:
The Dinner was a great success, except financially with a loss of £57.00 with 62
people attending. There then followed a heated discussion about the drinks and
cigars consumed by the Committee, John Murphy (1961) said that the figure
was outrageous and that it could appear that the Committee was milking the
Union. He proposed that each Committee member pay a one pound levy. David
Maughan (1959) opposed this, and later, under protest, paid it, saying that the
prices charged were extremely high, and that the amount of alcohol consumed
was not unreasonable.
The minutes for January 1969 read:
Anthony Spollen suggested having a photograph of Fr White put in the press to
publicise the Dinner. The rest of the Committee disagreed with this. He,
however, was persistent: after preventing a vote of the Committee on several
occasions in order that the matter could be "considered from all angles" and
repeating his own arguments ad nauseam, eventually allowed the Committee
to vote 3-1 against his proposal, his own being the only vote in favour.
Quite aside from the social bias, on an informal basis, there was an amount of
work done by Gonzaga Past Pupils in the St Bernard's Boys Club in Cabra, and
the question of setting up some form of scholarship scheme, for a deserving boy
had been mooted. A special sub-committee was set up under the Chairmanship of
35
It had been instilled in the first boys who left Gonzaga that they were trail blazers,
and therefore that as soon as they left the school they would found a Past Pupils
Union. On 31st March 1959, a letter signed by Leonard 0. D. Little (1958), Jerry
Liston (1958) and David Buckley (1958) was sent out to all the Past Pupils of the
school, stating:
The intention is that the Union so formed will not be a mere replica of other Past
Pupils Unions, but one which will promote a genuine bond between Past
Gonzaga boys. Besides the usual social functions, such as Dinners and Dances,
it is intended to promote cultural and sporting activities under the jurisdi<;tion of
the Union.
Thus the Gonzaga Union was founded, and as Fr. O'Conor SJ would have said
'We have reached another milestone in our career.'
The first function held by the Union was the Dinner in the Gresham Hotel on 1st
February 1961. A Committee was formed to draft a constitution which was
adopted at the Annual General Meeting of 1962, with the stated objects as being:
'The activities of the Union are to be religious, cultural, sporting, social and
sociological.'
The ideals were real, but the interests of the few failed to attract the many, and
so the Union was both short of active members and funds. Very few past pupils
paid the annual subscription of 10/6d.
Despite this lack of active interest, over a period of ten years the Gonzaga Union
organised an Annual Ball and Dinner, Rugby and Cricket matches, and of course,
the Annual Debate against the school. These events were enjoyed by the Past,
because there was a spirit of kinship and nostalgia towards the school.
The activities of the Committees during the period 1959 - 65 are difficult to
assess, as the minute books are missing, and one can therefore only accurately
report on the period from 1966 to 1972. The attitudes of the time are reflected in
the views expressed. There were the constant problems of the lack of
communication and interest in the Union and the Past, and the constant lack of
funds.
There are amusing asides; for instance, the Minutes for 1967 state:
The Dinner was a great success, except financially with a loss of £57.00 with 62
people attending. There then followed a heated discussion about the drinks and
cigars consumed by the Committee, John Murphy (1961) said that the figure
was outrageous and that it could appear that the Committee was milking the
Union. He proposed that each Committee member pay a one pound levy. David
Maughan (1959) opposed this, and later, under protest, paid it, saying that the
prices charged were extremely high, and that the amount of alcohol consumed
was not unreasonable.
The minutes for January 1969 read:
Anthony Spollen suggested having a photograph of Fr White put in the press to
publicise the Dinner. The rest of the Committee disagreed with this. He,
however, was persistent: after preventing a vote of the Committee on several
occasions in order that the matter could be "considered from all angles" and
repeating his own arguments ad nauseam, eventually allowed the Committee
to vote 3-1 against his proposal, his own being the only vote in favour.
Quite aside from the social bias, on an informal basis, there was an amount of
work done by Gonzaga Past Pupils in the St Bernard's Boys Club in Cabra, and
the question of setting up some form of scholarship scheme, for a deserving boy
had been mooted. A special sub-committee was set up under the Chairmanship of
35
