Page 75 - The Gonzaga Record 1988
P. 75
is now the Community house in Gonzaga to be enrolled in Prep. 1.
Fr O'Conor and Fr White were the dominant personalities of the
Gonzaga of my time. Fr O'Conor was the guiding spirit of the new school
in which he took an immense pride and sense of achievement. Though
in a way he was above the hurly-burly of school life, he was in no sense
aloof from the pupils, each of whom he knew intimately. He was wise
enough to ignore the occasional, ill-concealed amusement among the
boys at his aristocratic, old-world mannerisms.
Fr White, as Prefect of Studies, was the quintessential man of action.
Much of the task of the immediate day-to-day running of the school, as
well as that of administering discipline, lay in his hands. Untypically for
a Jesuit, he did not seem to seek refuge in intellectual pursuits, though
this impression was undoubtedly assisted not only by the constant and
obvious demands of his administrative duties but also by the fact that he
did little or no teaching.
My father, as well as my uncles on both sides, had been to Belvedere,
and their banter prepared me in advance for the system of discipline
which then existed in all Jesuit schools in Ireland.
That system was based on the principle that the aggrieved master did
not himself punish the offender, but instead gave the pupil a note setting
out brief particulars of the offence for delivery to the Prefect of Studies.
This note amounted in practice to a simultaneous indictment and
conviction of the bearer. The Prefect of Studies measured and executed
the appropriate sentence, normally in the form of a number of blows to
the hands with the biffer, a piece of flexible leather or crepe some twelve
to eighteen inches long. Only for pupils in the two highest classes was this
punishment considered inappropriate.
Fr White administered punishment, principally in this form, with the
appropriate severity, which could be considerable for a grievous offence
or a persistent offender, tempered with a sense of fairness and
proportion. He invariably observed the rule 'audi alteram partem'.
Though this was relevant in principle to sentence rather than to the issue
of guilt or innocence, and had to be availed of by the pupil with
discretion as well as honesty, a boy with a meritorious case could hope
to escape with a punishment which, while formally upholding the
authority of the complaining master, was mild enough to avoid any
feeling of serious injustice. Everyone knew that Fr White was a fair-
minded man. He was well liked and respected and I never knew a boy
who bore him a grudge. May he rest in peace.
School discipline in the form just described was in recent years out-
lawed by the educational authorities in Ireland. Even before this, the
Jesuits had voluntarily abandoned it. Yet I thought that on the whole it
was an effective but moderate and flexible means of maintaining order
and of keeping pupils to their task. Due allowance could be made, and
was made, for the small minority of boys whose sensibilities made them
unsuitable candidates for corporal punishment. As for the rest, though
73
Fr O'Conor and Fr White were the dominant personalities of the
Gonzaga of my time. Fr O'Conor was the guiding spirit of the new school
in which he took an immense pride and sense of achievement. Though
in a way he was above the hurly-burly of school life, he was in no sense
aloof from the pupils, each of whom he knew intimately. He was wise
enough to ignore the occasional, ill-concealed amusement among the
boys at his aristocratic, old-world mannerisms.
Fr White, as Prefect of Studies, was the quintessential man of action.
Much of the task of the immediate day-to-day running of the school, as
well as that of administering discipline, lay in his hands. Untypically for
a Jesuit, he did not seem to seek refuge in intellectual pursuits, though
this impression was undoubtedly assisted not only by the constant and
obvious demands of his administrative duties but also by the fact that he
did little or no teaching.
My father, as well as my uncles on both sides, had been to Belvedere,
and their banter prepared me in advance for the system of discipline
which then existed in all Jesuit schools in Ireland.
That system was based on the principle that the aggrieved master did
not himself punish the offender, but instead gave the pupil a note setting
out brief particulars of the offence for delivery to the Prefect of Studies.
This note amounted in practice to a simultaneous indictment and
conviction of the bearer. The Prefect of Studies measured and executed
the appropriate sentence, normally in the form of a number of blows to
the hands with the biffer, a piece of flexible leather or crepe some twelve
to eighteen inches long. Only for pupils in the two highest classes was this
punishment considered inappropriate.
Fr White administered punishment, principally in this form, with the
appropriate severity, which could be considerable for a grievous offence
or a persistent offender, tempered with a sense of fairness and
proportion. He invariably observed the rule 'audi alteram partem'.
Though this was relevant in principle to sentence rather than to the issue
of guilt or innocence, and had to be availed of by the pupil with
discretion as well as honesty, a boy with a meritorious case could hope
to escape with a punishment which, while formally upholding the
authority of the complaining master, was mild enough to avoid any
feeling of serious injustice. Everyone knew that Fr White was a fair-
minded man. He was well liked and respected and I never knew a boy
who bore him a grudge. May he rest in peace.
School discipline in the form just described was in recent years out-
lawed by the educational authorities in Ireland. Even before this, the
Jesuits had voluntarily abandoned it. Yet I thought that on the whole it
was an effective but moderate and flexible means of maintaining order
and of keeping pupils to their task. Due allowance could be made, and
was made, for the small minority of boys whose sensibilities made them
unsuitable candidates for corporal punishment. As for the rest, though
73
