Page 81 - The Gonzaga Record 1988
P. 81
images have emerged? There were unhappy and difficult times but I need
to search for them. And there's a period from Prep 2 to Senior 1 that
doesn't seem to figure. Years passed under the watchful, unobtrusive eye
of Fr White. Providing with his fellow Jesuits a solid base for all of us.
Reading the Gonzaga Record I realise how lucky we were in the late fifties
and early sixties learning at a more leisurely pace, a sixth year free of
exam pressure, and a small school allowing friendships across class
barriers.
I wonder too how those men in their black winged soutanes would now
view their years of dedicated service. From time to time I have met past
pupils - committed public servants, businessmen upholding the highest
standards, and others in different jobs whose commitment goes far
beyond their own personal gain. Most of us have come to an uneasy truce
with the social order although some whom I've met in recent years have
refused that compromise. Eoin Dillon, Niall Crowley, Eugene Davy and
Jack O'Donovan in Tanzania are people who come most readily to mind.
Today the Jesuit Order has moved far beyond its past pupils in its
commitment to justice. No doubt there is disappointment as well as
questioning in the knowledge that positions of privilege have been held
on to - that the gap between Cabra West and Donnybrook is getting
wider. But to pick up on the Gonzaga Record again - Amnesty and the
Inner City Plunge indicate that that challenge is being met. I remember
Joe Veale coming into class one day and telling us about a piece of
research on education which indicated that a school's influence in
comparison to family and other factors maximized at lOOJo. I doubt if
that was true of Gonzaga. Perhaps it is presumptious of me but were I
one of those black soutaned men I would say to myself:- 'Ignatius
would be pleased enough'.
Garrett Sheehan.
79
to search for them. And there's a period from Prep 2 to Senior 1 that
doesn't seem to figure. Years passed under the watchful, unobtrusive eye
of Fr White. Providing with his fellow Jesuits a solid base for all of us.
Reading the Gonzaga Record I realise how lucky we were in the late fifties
and early sixties learning at a more leisurely pace, a sixth year free of
exam pressure, and a small school allowing friendships across class
barriers.
I wonder too how those men in their black winged soutanes would now
view their years of dedicated service. From time to time I have met past
pupils - committed public servants, businessmen upholding the highest
standards, and others in different jobs whose commitment goes far
beyond their own personal gain. Most of us have come to an uneasy truce
with the social order although some whom I've met in recent years have
refused that compromise. Eoin Dillon, Niall Crowley, Eugene Davy and
Jack O'Donovan in Tanzania are people who come most readily to mind.
Today the Jesuit Order has moved far beyond its past pupils in its
commitment to justice. No doubt there is disappointment as well as
questioning in the knowledge that positions of privilege have been held
on to - that the gap between Cabra West and Donnybrook is getting
wider. But to pick up on the Gonzaga Record again - Amnesty and the
Inner City Plunge indicate that that challenge is being met. I remember
Joe Veale coming into class one day and telling us about a piece of
research on education which indicated that a school's influence in
comparison to family and other factors maximized at lOOJo. I doubt if
that was true of Gonzaga. Perhaps it is presumptious of me but were I
one of those black soutaned men I would say to myself:- 'Ignatius
would be pleased enough'.
Garrett Sheehan.
79
