Page 77 - Gonzaga at 60
P. 77
GONZAGA DAYS: A POT-POURRI
Ray Kearns, the famous maths teacher from Gonzaga, promised me free grinds
when my father died. He said he was staring a grind school which was going to
be a great success. I didn’t take much noice of this unil six years later when I
was struggling to get into The Veterinary College. Ray was as good as his word
and he accepted a bag of spuds instead of a cheque.
John Wilson, a Lain teacher, was rumoured to be going into Poliics at the
same ime.
Ray’s grind school became ‘The Insitute of Educaion’
John Wilson became the Minister for Educaion.
It seemed to me that anything was possible!
Noel McCarthy, the rugby trainer, tried his heart out to get a bit of “Be-
Jaysus” into the Senior Cup team. There was a joke going around at the ime:
“What do you call the girls that hang around with rugby players?” – “Gonzaga
boys!”
Noel got us to within one tackle of shelving that joke for good.
There were some great teachers. John Mulgrew, and his infecious interest in
biology.
Mick “the Voice” Bevan, and his passion for English. Lots more: all teaching
a class whose collecive testosterone level was doubling by the week, and whose
collecive I.Q. would be halved when Hugh Tinney let the room.
It became apparent that most teachers were willing to sacriice their own
happiness if it meant that we, as a class, would do beter.
When you add some Jesuit ethos to this – we have no excuse really!
There was, for me, no one beter than Fr Alan Mowbray. He wore his heart
on his sleeve. He helped us realise that Humility and Respect for Others were
extremely important values then and would become even more important in the
‘It is a future.
characteristic of Lots of other memories.
Miss Marin’s Art classes with a potery secion where we could make two-
Jesuit education handled cups and wave them above our heads in the knowledge that they might
be the only cups we would ever hold up while people were cheering.
that each must Tom O’Dea, our English teacher in 2nd year, giving Frank Walsh (sadly both
strive for his or deceased) an ‘A’ for an Essay enitled: My First Smoke. Tom never gave As, but he
loved a smoke!
Pat O’Farrell and Myles O’Reilly training the JCT and having such a laugh; we
her personal best sensed that at least one of them would make a great dad.
– the pursuit of It was only when I let Gonzaga that I realised what an enormous privilege it
the Magis, which was to have been a student there.
My sons tell me that it is an even beter school now. They tell me that there
ultimately means will be more families with the huge social consciences that the Sheehan Brothers
have.
the use of our McVerry ‘a dig out’ in 1988 and that is what started “Welcome Home” and the
There will be more people like Ray Coter who suggested that we give Peter
success in the Peter McVerry Trust.
Dick Lavelle
service of others.’ Class of 1976
Dick Lavelle is a principal organiser of the annual cycle from Dublin to Wexford in
Patrick J. Potts aid of Fr Peter McVerry’s Welcome Home Trust, which raises money for the cause
Graduation 1995 of homelessness in Ireland.
Ray Kearns, the famous maths teacher from Gonzaga, promised me free grinds
when my father died. He said he was staring a grind school which was going to
be a great success. I didn’t take much noice of this unil six years later when I
was struggling to get into The Veterinary College. Ray was as good as his word
and he accepted a bag of spuds instead of a cheque.
John Wilson, a Lain teacher, was rumoured to be going into Poliics at the
same ime.
Ray’s grind school became ‘The Insitute of Educaion’
John Wilson became the Minister for Educaion.
It seemed to me that anything was possible!
Noel McCarthy, the rugby trainer, tried his heart out to get a bit of “Be-
Jaysus” into the Senior Cup team. There was a joke going around at the ime:
“What do you call the girls that hang around with rugby players?” – “Gonzaga
boys!”
Noel got us to within one tackle of shelving that joke for good.
There were some great teachers. John Mulgrew, and his infecious interest in
biology.
Mick “the Voice” Bevan, and his passion for English. Lots more: all teaching
a class whose collecive testosterone level was doubling by the week, and whose
collecive I.Q. would be halved when Hugh Tinney let the room.
It became apparent that most teachers were willing to sacriice their own
happiness if it meant that we, as a class, would do beter.
When you add some Jesuit ethos to this – we have no excuse really!
There was, for me, no one beter than Fr Alan Mowbray. He wore his heart
on his sleeve. He helped us realise that Humility and Respect for Others were
extremely important values then and would become even more important in the
‘It is a future.
characteristic of Lots of other memories.
Miss Marin’s Art classes with a potery secion where we could make two-
Jesuit education handled cups and wave them above our heads in the knowledge that they might
be the only cups we would ever hold up while people were cheering.
that each must Tom O’Dea, our English teacher in 2nd year, giving Frank Walsh (sadly both
strive for his or deceased) an ‘A’ for an Essay enitled: My First Smoke. Tom never gave As, but he
loved a smoke!
Pat O’Farrell and Myles O’Reilly training the JCT and having such a laugh; we
her personal best sensed that at least one of them would make a great dad.
– the pursuit of It was only when I let Gonzaga that I realised what an enormous privilege it
the Magis, which was to have been a student there.
My sons tell me that it is an even beter school now. They tell me that there
ultimately means will be more families with the huge social consciences that the Sheehan Brothers
have.
the use of our McVerry ‘a dig out’ in 1988 and that is what started “Welcome Home” and the
There will be more people like Ray Coter who suggested that we give Peter
success in the Peter McVerry Trust.
Dick Lavelle
service of others.’ Class of 1976
Dick Lavelle is a principal organiser of the annual cycle from Dublin to Wexford in
Patrick J. Potts aid of Fr Peter McVerry’s Welcome Home Trust, which raises money for the cause
Graduation 1995 of homelessness in Ireland.
