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GONZAGA AT SIXTY: A WORK IN PROGRESS
(‘belatedly’, states the oicial Historia Domus of the Gonzaga Community), was the work of Fr
John Redmond SJ. Joe Brennan (Fr Brennan’s nephew), one of its irst members, writes of the
mark that it has let on his life, and of how the emphasis of its founder was, simply: ‘You are
privileged; you owe service in return’. The Gonzaga Conference has lourished ever since, notably
under the guidance of Fr John Moylan SJ and, for some eighteen years now, Mr Joe O’Briain.
In reading of the early days too one becomes conscious of the involvement of lay men like
Eugene Davy whose inluence in terms of charitable acion spilled over from Belvedere to Gonzaga,
resuling inally, in 1985, in the school’s inaugural paricipaion in the Diocesan Pilgrimage to
Lourdes. The account by Jonathan Newman of his paricpaion in the second pilgrimage is an
example of the efect of such an experience on a sensiive and percepive teenager:
‘All the students who went to Lourdes came back with a diferent outlook on life, a change
probably impossible to describe in words. An American author asks the quesion: “But how
can such courage be, and such faith in their own species? Very few things would teach such
faith.” Lourdes did.’
Eugene Davy is recalled every year in the awarding of the Davy Medal to ‘the graduaing
student who, during his ime at Gonzaga, has tried to live the ideal emphasised in the Mission
Statement of commitment to the service of others.’
What of Fr Barber’s ‘curriculum, structures and composiion . . . in the almost thirty years
since?
It is hard to ind evidence of curriculum change to the end he proposed – does Leaving Cert
Economics allow for study of books like The Aluent Society? Is English, or Geography, taught
with the aim of inviing students to view disadvantage sympatheically and act to correct it?
The closing of the Prep School and the huge increase in numbers have done something to dilute
the ‘clubbiness’ and widen horizons. The term ‘structure’ does not quite apply to the College
Mission Statement, but its adopion by the Board of Management ater consultaion with staf,
students and parents in 1995 has placed ‘commitment to the service of others’, and ‘faith . . .
which promotes the struggle for greater jusice’ on an equal fooing with pursuit of excellence in
Dr Howard Welch
the academic area. More recently a staf post to co-ordinate Social Outreach was established in
pursuit of these goals. It was irst held by Catherine Collins, who brought huge commitment to
her role and as facilitator of the connecion between the school and Enable Ireland gave dozens
of students experience of people with learning diiculies in Ireland. Catherine was responsible
for the introducion of a two-week Social Placement as a formal part of Transiion Year.
Early ‘awareness’ programmes involved fund-raising, someimes for local chariies,
someimes to assist Jesuit school projects in Africa. Individual students were on occasions
selected to travel to experience life in such locaions. The ‘Urban Plunge’ experiment of the ’80s
proved to be too challenging, perhaps for both sides.
What is striking over the last three decades is the unobtrusive but uniring involvement
of the lay teaching staf in aciviies that ofer experience of disadvantage and opportuniies to
serve. Many such were iniiated by staf members themselves. Among the most notable are Ita
GONZAGA AT SIXTY: A WORK IN PROGRESS
(‘belatedly’, states the oicial Historia Domus of the Gonzaga Community), was the work of Fr
John Redmond SJ. Joe Brennan (Fr Brennan’s nephew), one of its irst members, writes of the
mark that it has let on his life, and of how the emphasis of its founder was, simply: ‘You are
privileged; you owe service in return’. The Gonzaga Conference has lourished ever since, notably
under the guidance of Fr John Moylan SJ and, for some eighteen years now, Mr Joe O’Briain.
In reading of the early days too one becomes conscious of the involvement of lay men like
Eugene Davy whose inluence in terms of charitable acion spilled over from Belvedere to Gonzaga,
resuling inally, in 1985, in the school’s inaugural paricipaion in the Diocesan Pilgrimage to
Lourdes. The account by Jonathan Newman of his paricpaion in the second pilgrimage is an
example of the efect of such an experience on a sensiive and percepive teenager:
‘All the students who went to Lourdes came back with a diferent outlook on life, a change
probably impossible to describe in words. An American author asks the quesion: “But how
can such courage be, and such faith in their own species? Very few things would teach such
faith.” Lourdes did.’
Eugene Davy is recalled every year in the awarding of the Davy Medal to ‘the graduaing
student who, during his ime at Gonzaga, has tried to live the ideal emphasised in the Mission
Statement of commitment to the service of others.’
What of Fr Barber’s ‘curriculum, structures and composiion . . . in the almost thirty years
since?
It is hard to ind evidence of curriculum change to the end he proposed – does Leaving Cert
Economics allow for study of books like The Aluent Society? Is English, or Geography, taught
with the aim of inviing students to view disadvantage sympatheically and act to correct it?
The closing of the Prep School and the huge increase in numbers have done something to dilute
the ‘clubbiness’ and widen horizons. The term ‘structure’ does not quite apply to the College
Mission Statement, but its adopion by the Board of Management ater consultaion with staf,
students and parents in 1995 has placed ‘commitment to the service of others’, and ‘faith . . .
which promotes the struggle for greater jusice’ on an equal fooing with pursuit of excellence in
Dr Howard Welch
the academic area. More recently a staf post to co-ordinate Social Outreach was established in
pursuit of these goals. It was irst held by Catherine Collins, who brought huge commitment to
her role and as facilitator of the connecion between the school and Enable Ireland gave dozens
of students experience of people with learning diiculies in Ireland. Catherine was responsible
for the introducion of a two-week Social Placement as a formal part of Transiion Year.
Early ‘awareness’ programmes involved fund-raising, someimes for local chariies,
someimes to assist Jesuit school projects in Africa. Individual students were on occasions
selected to travel to experience life in such locaions. The ‘Urban Plunge’ experiment of the ’80s
proved to be too challenging, perhaps for both sides.
What is striking over the last three decades is the unobtrusive but uniring involvement
of the lay teaching staf in aciviies that ofer experience of disadvantage and opportuniies to
serve. Many such were iniiated by staf members themselves. Among the most notable are Ita
