Page 73 - The Gonzaga Record 1985
P. 73
Start of Fifth Year Project with Maureen Potter (1 983)
accommodation in places that know us helped push the cot down the avenue,
from previous years. The walking lasts for without reali sing that the red paint on it was
six days, with five night stops. not full y dried out. He took it in good part.
The preparations for last year's project remarking that G onzaga College had
~tarted before Christmas with a committee caught him red-handed!
under the leadership of Michael O'Higgin s. A Garda motor bi ke escorted the cot and
The organisation involved hundreds of procession through Ranelagh, and up the
letters to firms and to the Garda authorities canal where the project headed fo r the Naas
for permits. dual-carriageway, and then 120 mi les
April 9 was a normal school day in walking and pushin g to Limeri ck!
Gonzaga. The sky was grey, and there was We made good time on the road to Naas
the usual intellectual hum of activity! with a rota system by whi ch one group
Without any warning a Garda motor bike pushed, another coll ected, and a third
with siren screamed up the avenue. Then cycled. On the fir st ni ght we stopped just
thirty Fifth year students appeared in short of Naas. There we fo und Mr Cusack
surgeons outfit, sticking balloons and waiti ng for us, havin g drive n the support
posters on a multi-coloured cot, supplied by van with our ruck sacks. and overnight
the research centre of Our Lady's Hospital necessiti es. We had coll ected nearly £600.
in Crumlin, the main benefactor of this whi ch was a great start. In the evenin g M r
year's push. The second charity was fo r Cusack ferried us into Naas where we had
building shelters in India. The entire school dinner, and a bit of un wi nding after a hard
assembled in the car park, awaiting the day's push. After a comfortabl e ni ght's
arrival of the celebrity who was starting thr- sleep of about seven hours. we were forced
push. At 10.0 am the Taoiseach, Garret out of our beds to make breakfast and tid y
Fitzgerald, arrived with an impressive up. Fr Mowbray had visited us that ni ght to
escort of Garda cars and bikes. Without encourage us on our way.
any delay Fr Barber blew hi s famous We hit the road again at 9.0 am and
whistle, and the sixth charity push of stc. rted the long push to Monasterevan. \V e
Gonzaga was on its way. Or Fitzgerald had a break of thirty minutes for lunch. and
65
accommodation in places that know us helped push the cot down the avenue,
from previous years. The walking lasts for without reali sing that the red paint on it was
six days, with five night stops. not full y dried out. He took it in good part.
The preparations for last year's project remarking that G onzaga College had
~tarted before Christmas with a committee caught him red-handed!
under the leadership of Michael O'Higgin s. A Garda motor bi ke escorted the cot and
The organisation involved hundreds of procession through Ranelagh, and up the
letters to firms and to the Garda authorities canal where the project headed fo r the Naas
for permits. dual-carriageway, and then 120 mi les
April 9 was a normal school day in walking and pushin g to Limeri ck!
Gonzaga. The sky was grey, and there was We made good time on the road to Naas
the usual intellectual hum of activity! with a rota system by whi ch one group
Without any warning a Garda motor bike pushed, another coll ected, and a third
with siren screamed up the avenue. Then cycled. On the fir st ni ght we stopped just
thirty Fifth year students appeared in short of Naas. There we fo und Mr Cusack
surgeons outfit, sticking balloons and waiti ng for us, havin g drive n the support
posters on a multi-coloured cot, supplied by van with our ruck sacks. and overnight
the research centre of Our Lady's Hospital necessiti es. We had coll ected nearly £600.
in Crumlin, the main benefactor of this whi ch was a great start. In the evenin g M r
year's push. The second charity was fo r Cusack ferried us into Naas where we had
building shelters in India. The entire school dinner, and a bit of un wi nding after a hard
assembled in the car park, awaiting the day's push. After a comfortabl e ni ght's
arrival of the celebrity who was starting thr- sleep of about seven hours. we were forced
push. At 10.0 am the Taoiseach, Garret out of our beds to make breakfast and tid y
Fitzgerald, arrived with an impressive up. Fr Mowbray had visited us that ni ght to
escort of Garda cars and bikes. Without encourage us on our way.
any delay Fr Barber blew hi s famous We hit the road again at 9.0 am and
whistle, and the sixth charity push of stc. rted the long push to Monasterevan. \V e
Gonzaga was on its way. Or Fitzgerald had a break of thirty minutes for lunch. and
65
