Page 85 - Gonzaga at 60
P. 85
ALAN MOWBRAY
Earliest memories. French class in Prep 3. Fr Mowbray had the unenviable task of seeking
Father Mowbray siing on the teacher’s desk a resumpion of my engagement with High
in the front let hand corner of the classroom French Culture.
explaining or trying to explain the past tense. He introduced us to Albert Camus.
Moving on from Bonjour Line (now ranked No. L’Étranger, I now appreciate, explores
6,811,327 in Amazon’s list of bestsellers) to A absurdism, determinism, nihilism and stoicism.
La Page involved a transiion from an inimate It was clearly the later of these philosophical
involvement in the day-to day-travails of a small schools that sustained Alan Mowbray during
girl in a lat beret projected from a rolling band both French class and philosophy class in 6th
of celluloid onto a screen, to an engagement year. My recollecion is that our class was more
with High French Culture, or at least the interested in nihilism, but of the teenage variety
beginnings of an engagement. In my case this rather than as a philosophical doctrine. In the
engagement was not without its trials and extensive research undertaken for the purposes
tribulaions. of this paragraph I note that nihilism can mean
In the summer of 1973 I departed the that in some aspect knowledge is not possible.
school, returning only in January, 1976, ater In our immediate experience at the ime it
two and a half years in a Jesuit secondary was more a quesion of knowledge of French
school in Germany. On my return Fr Mowbray not being possible. I will always remember in
was striving valiantly, as convenor of An the Christmas exams in 1977 wriing an essay
Chomhdháil, to ensure we each became vir on why I thought French should not be taught
bonus dicendi peritus. In the words of the late in secondary schools to the detriment of the
Fr Joe Brennan in the grounds Fr Joe Veale (Men Speechless, Studies, Autumn learning of German. I am not sure my point of
of Gonzaga and, above, his four 1957) this remained the clear and single aim view was greatly appreciated by Fr Mowbray.
precepts for living, familiar to of Jesuit secondary school teaching following As I write these words, however, I am looking
thirty-five years of Gonzaga
boys, now framed and hanging the restoraion of the Jesuit Order in 1824. Fr at an essay I wrote for Fr Mowbray enitled
in the new college library Mowbray rose to the task admirably. There Meursault as a Martyr to the Truth. I have not
were no cows too sacred to debate and I have looked at it for 32 years but the fact I kept it,
a paricular memory of debaing the moion along with the careful comments appended by Fr
that “If God has made Man in his own image, Mowbray, speaks to my re-engagement with HFC
then Man has returned the compliment”. It was having been moderately successful.
a pupil/staf event with Michael Bevan, John Much more importantly, the study of
Mulgrew and Denis Cusack represening the noions of truth and morality as informed by
forces of reacion. The debates sill took place in the ideas of writers such as Albert Camus, so
the old library over the main entrance and as Fr encouraged by Fr Mowbray, speaks in its own
Mowbray encouraged us to develop eloquenia way to the enduring relevance of vir bonus
perfecta he also maintained atendance levels dicendi peritus, and the fact that the aims and
by introducing the very appealing noion of methods of the Raio Studiorum were alive and
inter-school debaing puellis (abl. pl.). well and speaking in French in Gonzaga in the
As a result of my hiatus in Germany, French 1970s.
did not feature amongst my subjects for the Feichin McDonagh
Leaving Cert. Hence it was only in Sixth Year that Class of 1978
Earliest memories. French class in Prep 3. Fr Mowbray had the unenviable task of seeking
Father Mowbray siing on the teacher’s desk a resumpion of my engagement with High
in the front let hand corner of the classroom French Culture.
explaining or trying to explain the past tense. He introduced us to Albert Camus.
Moving on from Bonjour Line (now ranked No. L’Étranger, I now appreciate, explores
6,811,327 in Amazon’s list of bestsellers) to A absurdism, determinism, nihilism and stoicism.
La Page involved a transiion from an inimate It was clearly the later of these philosophical
involvement in the day-to day-travails of a small schools that sustained Alan Mowbray during
girl in a lat beret projected from a rolling band both French class and philosophy class in 6th
of celluloid onto a screen, to an engagement year. My recollecion is that our class was more
with High French Culture, or at least the interested in nihilism, but of the teenage variety
beginnings of an engagement. In my case this rather than as a philosophical doctrine. In the
engagement was not without its trials and extensive research undertaken for the purposes
tribulaions. of this paragraph I note that nihilism can mean
In the summer of 1973 I departed the that in some aspect knowledge is not possible.
school, returning only in January, 1976, ater In our immediate experience at the ime it
two and a half years in a Jesuit secondary was more a quesion of knowledge of French
school in Germany. On my return Fr Mowbray not being possible. I will always remember in
was striving valiantly, as convenor of An the Christmas exams in 1977 wriing an essay
Chomhdháil, to ensure we each became vir on why I thought French should not be taught
bonus dicendi peritus. In the words of the late in secondary schools to the detriment of the
Fr Joe Brennan in the grounds Fr Joe Veale (Men Speechless, Studies, Autumn learning of German. I am not sure my point of
of Gonzaga and, above, his four 1957) this remained the clear and single aim view was greatly appreciated by Fr Mowbray.
precepts for living, familiar to of Jesuit secondary school teaching following As I write these words, however, I am looking
thirty-five years of Gonzaga
boys, now framed and hanging the restoraion of the Jesuit Order in 1824. Fr at an essay I wrote for Fr Mowbray enitled
in the new college library Mowbray rose to the task admirably. There Meursault as a Martyr to the Truth. I have not
were no cows too sacred to debate and I have looked at it for 32 years but the fact I kept it,
a paricular memory of debaing the moion along with the careful comments appended by Fr
that “If God has made Man in his own image, Mowbray, speaks to my re-engagement with HFC
then Man has returned the compliment”. It was having been moderately successful.
a pupil/staf event with Michael Bevan, John Much more importantly, the study of
Mulgrew and Denis Cusack represening the noions of truth and morality as informed by
forces of reacion. The debates sill took place in the ideas of writers such as Albert Camus, so
the old library over the main entrance and as Fr encouraged by Fr Mowbray, speaks in its own
Mowbray encouraged us to develop eloquenia way to the enduring relevance of vir bonus
perfecta he also maintained atendance levels dicendi peritus, and the fact that the aims and
by introducing the very appealing noion of methods of the Raio Studiorum were alive and
inter-school debaing puellis (abl. pl.). well and speaking in French in Gonzaga in the
As a result of my hiatus in Germany, French 1970s.
did not feature amongst my subjects for the Feichin McDonagh
Leaving Cert. Hence it was only in Sixth Year that Class of 1978
