Page 52 - Gonzaga at 60
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GONZAGA AT SIXTY: A WORK IN PROGRESS
probably largely my fault as I was doubtless somewhat opinionated and obdurate. I remember
being reduced to tears by him on one occasion. He once sent me with a note to be ‘bifed’ – a rare
experience for me – because I failed to remember one word in a poem. I know my essays did not
impress him. My essay book, which I have retained, contains a constant set of singing rebukes.
‘Your command of English will remain poor’, he wrote under one essay ‘unil you begin to read
books of some literary merit.’ Under another was writen ‘reads like a successful parody of the
worst kind of children’s enclyclopaedia or a passage writen to
illustrate the use of clichés.’ ‘Read BW’s answer’, I was told on
another occasion.
BW was Brendan Walsh who was, by then, the clear leader
of our class. He read widely and wrote with enviable clarity.
He could also converse comfortably in Irish. It was to his credit
that, despite all the praise he received from Fr Veale and other
masters, he never became overbearing or swollen headed. At
the end of the Sixth Year he won an Entrance Scholarship in
Irish and English into University College Dublin. It was Gonzaga’s
irst major academic success. He was also responsible for the
irst sports success winning the Leinster Schools shot put
championship.
Debating issues of the day An Chomhdhail was an important part of school life from the ime of its foundaion in
November 1955. In a school dedicated to teaching clarity of thought and expression it clearly
merited the central place it came to occupy. Fr Veale was in charge but other masters atended
and someimes spoke. It succeeded largely because we were all so keen to impress Fr Veale. We
listened with bated breath to his assessments of the speeches in class the next day.
I recall the beguiling charm of Dara Woods who stole the show at the irst debate opposing
the moion proposed by your humble: “The Works of Enid Blyton are pernicious”. The house was
evenly divided. The result was more decisive in the inal debate of the irst session endorsing
a moion that “the sorrows of Kathleen Ni Houlihain are due more to our own faults than the
iniquiies of our neighbours”. In the next session Dara Woods is recorded in Fr Veale’s minutes
atribuing emigraion to the prevalence of matriarchy and the consequent cowardice of Irish
males. In a later debate there was a clear vote against corporal punishment, John Feighery
making the powerful point that it was an admission of failure on the part of the teacher. But the
most overwhelming vote in any debate in my three years endorsed a moion that the humaniies
beneit man more than technology. Only George Kildare Miley, who held his own views on
many maters, and the American John Polk could be found to speak from the loor against the
philosophy that was basic to the Gonzaga experiment. That we were a docile lot is conirmed
by a vote of almost two to one in favour of a moion that teenagers are given too much liberty.
Although only Ian MacFirbisigh, Brendan Walsh and John Delaney ever gave speeches as
Gaeilge, the issue of the language could generate heat. In a closely contested debate on whether
GONZAGA AT SIXTY: A WORK IN PROGRESS
probably largely my fault as I was doubtless somewhat opinionated and obdurate. I remember
being reduced to tears by him on one occasion. He once sent me with a note to be ‘bifed’ – a rare
experience for me – because I failed to remember one word in a poem. I know my essays did not
impress him. My essay book, which I have retained, contains a constant set of singing rebukes.
‘Your command of English will remain poor’, he wrote under one essay ‘unil you begin to read
books of some literary merit.’ Under another was writen ‘reads like a successful parody of the
worst kind of children’s enclyclopaedia or a passage writen to
illustrate the use of clichés.’ ‘Read BW’s answer’, I was told on
another occasion.
BW was Brendan Walsh who was, by then, the clear leader
of our class. He read widely and wrote with enviable clarity.
He could also converse comfortably in Irish. It was to his credit
that, despite all the praise he received from Fr Veale and other
masters, he never became overbearing or swollen headed. At
the end of the Sixth Year he won an Entrance Scholarship in
Irish and English into University College Dublin. It was Gonzaga’s
irst major academic success. He was also responsible for the
irst sports success winning the Leinster Schools shot put
championship.
Debating issues of the day An Chomhdhail was an important part of school life from the ime of its foundaion in
November 1955. In a school dedicated to teaching clarity of thought and expression it clearly
merited the central place it came to occupy. Fr Veale was in charge but other masters atended
and someimes spoke. It succeeded largely because we were all so keen to impress Fr Veale. We
listened with bated breath to his assessments of the speeches in class the next day.
I recall the beguiling charm of Dara Woods who stole the show at the irst debate opposing
the moion proposed by your humble: “The Works of Enid Blyton are pernicious”. The house was
evenly divided. The result was more decisive in the inal debate of the irst session endorsing
a moion that “the sorrows of Kathleen Ni Houlihain are due more to our own faults than the
iniquiies of our neighbours”. In the next session Dara Woods is recorded in Fr Veale’s minutes
atribuing emigraion to the prevalence of matriarchy and the consequent cowardice of Irish
males. In a later debate there was a clear vote against corporal punishment, John Feighery
making the powerful point that it was an admission of failure on the part of the teacher. But the
most overwhelming vote in any debate in my three years endorsed a moion that the humaniies
beneit man more than technology. Only George Kildare Miley, who held his own views on
many maters, and the American John Polk could be found to speak from the loor against the
philosophy that was basic to the Gonzaga experiment. That we were a docile lot is conirmed
by a vote of almost two to one in favour of a moion that teenagers are given too much liberty.
Although only Ian MacFirbisigh, Brendan Walsh and John Delaney ever gave speeches as
Gaeilge, the issue of the language could generate heat. In a closely contested debate on whether
