Page 37 - The Gonzaga Record 1986
P. 37
In a school dedicated to teaching clarity of thought and of expression it
clearly merited the central place it came to occupy. Fr Veale usually
presided but other masters attended and often spoke. I recall the beguil-
ing charm of MacDara Woods who stole the show at the very first debate.
The subject was Enid Blyton. I remember giving a speech condemning
Colonel Nasser around the time of the Suez invasion, using phrases
culled from Winston Churchill's war speeches. Sometimes matters
became heated. George Kildare Miley, who held his own views on many
matters, attacked the Irish language on one occasion and said the money
would be better spent teaching the Irish how to speak English. Charlie
Moloney, who had come to us late from a tougher school down the
country, threw a book at him. Brendan Walsh refuted him in a speech in
Irish replete with condescending references to the inhabitants of Bothar
Aelsbaire (where George lived). There were fisticuffs in the bicycle shed
afterwards. I think An Chomdhail was a success because most of the
boys were anxious to impress Fr Veale - he was that kind of man. One
listened with bated breath to his assessment of the speeches in classes the
next day. It was wholly appropriate that the first victory of the school in
any inter-school competition was in the Safety First school's competition
for debating. Brendan Walsh, the Auditor, Killian Walsh and Brian
O'Loughlin were our team in the final. I was the Secretary of the Society
but I did not make it to the team, which was a disappointment I felt
keenly for a long time.
Sport was less successful at the early Gonzaga. Our numbers were
too small to compete with larger schools in rugby and cricket. This was
a sadness to me as I was very keen on rugby when I arrived from St
Michael's. I played at out-half and it proved impossible to find a satis-
factory scrum-half in my age group. That great gentleman, Eugene Davy,
who had played for Ireland at out-half for many seasons, gave of his time
to offer us coaching. That was one of the great thrills and privileges of
my early life. As the years passed my enthusiasm for rugby waned and
I joined in unofficial games of soccer which thrived for a time. Cricket
became my favourite sport. At my instigation we entered for the Schools'
Junior Cup and won several matches. I remember most vividly a one-run
victory over Sandford Park at their ground. John Mulhern, who was
fielding next to me, but whose real metier was the race-course, kept mut-
tering that he would turn Protestant if we lost. Raymond O'Kelly batted
through our innings and was the main architect of our narrow victory.
Arthur Plunkett gained notice in the newspapers on another occasion
when he took five wickets in five balls. Tim Webb was also a bowler of
astonishing accuracy. (He was a brilliant scholar and one of the few
Gonzaga boys to go on to Trinity, Dublin, in those days.) In athletics
Brendan Walsh won the Leinster schools competition for putting the
weight. But the general sporting performance of early Gonzaga was poor
and accentuated the image of the school as a rather precious place
exclusively devoted to the things of the mind. Some years down the
35
clearly merited the central place it came to occupy. Fr Veale usually
presided but other masters attended and often spoke. I recall the beguil-
ing charm of MacDara Woods who stole the show at the very first debate.
The subject was Enid Blyton. I remember giving a speech condemning
Colonel Nasser around the time of the Suez invasion, using phrases
culled from Winston Churchill's war speeches. Sometimes matters
became heated. George Kildare Miley, who held his own views on many
matters, attacked the Irish language on one occasion and said the money
would be better spent teaching the Irish how to speak English. Charlie
Moloney, who had come to us late from a tougher school down the
country, threw a book at him. Brendan Walsh refuted him in a speech in
Irish replete with condescending references to the inhabitants of Bothar
Aelsbaire (where George lived). There were fisticuffs in the bicycle shed
afterwards. I think An Chomdhail was a success because most of the
boys were anxious to impress Fr Veale - he was that kind of man. One
listened with bated breath to his assessment of the speeches in classes the
next day. It was wholly appropriate that the first victory of the school in
any inter-school competition was in the Safety First school's competition
for debating. Brendan Walsh, the Auditor, Killian Walsh and Brian
O'Loughlin were our team in the final. I was the Secretary of the Society
but I did not make it to the team, which was a disappointment I felt
keenly for a long time.
Sport was less successful at the early Gonzaga. Our numbers were
too small to compete with larger schools in rugby and cricket. This was
a sadness to me as I was very keen on rugby when I arrived from St
Michael's. I played at out-half and it proved impossible to find a satis-
factory scrum-half in my age group. That great gentleman, Eugene Davy,
who had played for Ireland at out-half for many seasons, gave of his time
to offer us coaching. That was one of the great thrills and privileges of
my early life. As the years passed my enthusiasm for rugby waned and
I joined in unofficial games of soccer which thrived for a time. Cricket
became my favourite sport. At my instigation we entered for the Schools'
Junior Cup and won several matches. I remember most vividly a one-run
victory over Sandford Park at their ground. John Mulhern, who was
fielding next to me, but whose real metier was the race-course, kept mut-
tering that he would turn Protestant if we lost. Raymond O'Kelly batted
through our innings and was the main architect of our narrow victory.
Arthur Plunkett gained notice in the newspapers on another occasion
when he took five wickets in five balls. Tim Webb was also a bowler of
astonishing accuracy. (He was a brilliant scholar and one of the few
Gonzaga boys to go on to Trinity, Dublin, in those days.) In athletics
Brendan Walsh won the Leinster schools competition for putting the
weight. But the general sporting performance of early Gonzaga was poor
and accentuated the image of the school as a rather precious place
exclusively devoted to the things of the mind. Some years down the
35
