Page 80 - The Gonzaga Record 1986
P. 80
rain, sleet and then welcome relief in erick' men down Gonzaga's winding
Portlaois and Roscrea respectively. The drive to emerge on to Sandford Road
hall in Portlaois met with criticism at with splendid noise and colour. The
the time, and this was not unjustified, US contingent proved to be a star
but the indomitable 'boot-boy' spirit attraction for the 'Dublin crew', accom-
prevailed and we weathered the storm. panying us into the centre of town and
Although everybody contributed down O'Connell Street. They helped
equally to the project, some contri- make our day highly successful with a
buted more equally than others! One take of more than £800.
person, Paul Grennan, comes to mind. The remainder of the week was full
He was literally a human dynamo with of incident and good spirit, the zeal
seemingly boundless energy and zeal. for collecting often saw extraordinary
Along with a few other illustrious col- obstacles overcome. Others saw fit to
lectors, he certainly swelled our intake view the occasion from a somewhat
of funds. more elevated position; seated on our
After the leg from Roscrea to Nen- handsome boot!
agh it was time for a little bit of I must not forget to thank the
celebration on the occasion of our last teachers who volunteered to unburden
night. There were a few sleepy Fifth us of our heavy boxes at various times
years at Fr Sexton's 7.30 Mass the next throughout the week. They brought
day. All things considered, we made the money back to the school for
remarkably good time to reach Limer- counting later in the day. A special
ick by 6.00 pm that day. Fr Sexton mention in this context is due to Fr
wistfully pointed out his alma mater to Sexton whose constant presence kept
us. 'What's that?' muttered a foot-sore us all in good form.
Fifth year. After depositing the boot The Dublin push exceeded all ex-
and saying a temporary farewell to our pectations and our tally of £3,500, out
friend, it was a scramble to reach the of a total of £10,000 from both pushes
train on time, and sleep all the way to and sponsors, speaks for itself. The
Dublin! people involved are to be congratul-
ated for their generous input of time
Simon Dunne (S.5) and energy in helping two most wor-
thy charities - the Dublin Simon
Community, and the Anna Liffey pro-
The Dublin Push
ject. Now that the Dublin push has
been put on a firm basis I have every
1986 was the first year a full Dublin
hope and confidence that it will form
push was organised to run simultane- an intrinsic part of the Gonzaga Fifth
ously with the more familiar Limerick Year project in the future.
expedition. The idea had been tried
out over a three day period in 1985 and lan G. Tobin (S.5)
was found to be quite successful. So it
was decided to make a full five day
push this year. It was a common senti- MOUNT MELLARY
ment within Fifth year that a 'push'
rather than a form of '24 hour marat- Shortly before Hallowe'en 1985 I was
hon' (previously tried in Dublin) would given the opportunity by Fr Peter Sex-
ensure greater participation of those ton SJ to spend three days in Mount
staying in Dublin, and a greater sense Mellary, the Cistercian Abbey in Co.
of achievement at the end of the five Waterford, with Aran Maree and lain
days. Donovan. We were to be the first Gon-
The weather was ideal on 18 March zaga students to experience at first
as the US band led 'Dublin' and 'Lim- hand the Cistercian way of life.
78
Portlaois and Roscrea respectively. The drive to emerge on to Sandford Road
hall in Portlaois met with criticism at with splendid noise and colour. The
the time, and this was not unjustified, US contingent proved to be a star
but the indomitable 'boot-boy' spirit attraction for the 'Dublin crew', accom-
prevailed and we weathered the storm. panying us into the centre of town and
Although everybody contributed down O'Connell Street. They helped
equally to the project, some contri- make our day highly successful with a
buted more equally than others! One take of more than £800.
person, Paul Grennan, comes to mind. The remainder of the week was full
He was literally a human dynamo with of incident and good spirit, the zeal
seemingly boundless energy and zeal. for collecting often saw extraordinary
Along with a few other illustrious col- obstacles overcome. Others saw fit to
lectors, he certainly swelled our intake view the occasion from a somewhat
of funds. more elevated position; seated on our
After the leg from Roscrea to Nen- handsome boot!
agh it was time for a little bit of I must not forget to thank the
celebration on the occasion of our last teachers who volunteered to unburden
night. There were a few sleepy Fifth us of our heavy boxes at various times
years at Fr Sexton's 7.30 Mass the next throughout the week. They brought
day. All things considered, we made the money back to the school for
remarkably good time to reach Limer- counting later in the day. A special
ick by 6.00 pm that day. Fr Sexton mention in this context is due to Fr
wistfully pointed out his alma mater to Sexton whose constant presence kept
us. 'What's that?' muttered a foot-sore us all in good form.
Fifth year. After depositing the boot The Dublin push exceeded all ex-
and saying a temporary farewell to our pectations and our tally of £3,500, out
friend, it was a scramble to reach the of a total of £10,000 from both pushes
train on time, and sleep all the way to and sponsors, speaks for itself. The
Dublin! people involved are to be congratul-
ated for their generous input of time
Simon Dunne (S.5) and energy in helping two most wor-
thy charities - the Dublin Simon
Community, and the Anna Liffey pro-
The Dublin Push
ject. Now that the Dublin push has
been put on a firm basis I have every
1986 was the first year a full Dublin
hope and confidence that it will form
push was organised to run simultane- an intrinsic part of the Gonzaga Fifth
ously with the more familiar Limerick Year project in the future.
expedition. The idea had been tried
out over a three day period in 1985 and lan G. Tobin (S.5)
was found to be quite successful. So it
was decided to make a full five day
push this year. It was a common senti- MOUNT MELLARY
ment within Fifth year that a 'push'
rather than a form of '24 hour marat- Shortly before Hallowe'en 1985 I was
hon' (previously tried in Dublin) would given the opportunity by Fr Peter Sex-
ensure greater participation of those ton SJ to spend three days in Mount
staying in Dublin, and a greater sense Mellary, the Cistercian Abbey in Co.
of achievement at the end of the five Waterford, with Aran Maree and lain
days. Donovan. We were to be the first Gon-
The weather was ideal on 18 March zaga students to experience at first
as the US band led 'Dublin' and 'Lim- hand the Cistercian way of life.
78
