Reflections of a former student, teacher and trustee

Bishop Emeritus Leo O'Reilly reflects on his time at St Patrick's College as a student, teacher and later a trustee on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the college...

I was a student in St Patrick’s College when boarding school was the only secondary school option for those who lived in the heart of the country. Free education would not become a reality for another 10 years and free school transport was unheard of. At that time, there were about 220 students, 200 of whom were boarders. Most of the teaching staff were priests, with just two or three lay teachers out of a staff of twenty.

I recall one of the lay professors, as they were called, who was severe and commanded great respect; another, who taught Science, was the essence of gentleness and decency. We were shameless in taking advantage of his decency, especially in the laboratory where we messed with mercury and magnetometers and generally made nuisances of ourselves.

Life was highly organised - Mass in the mornings, class during the day, sports after class, study periods in the evening and prayers at night. I was fortunate in having two older brothers in the college. One of the perks for brothers was sharing a bedroom in first and second year, rather than sleeping in a large dormitory with the rest of the class. But the downside was missing the high jinks of pillow fights and other amusements that were a normal part of dormitory living. These of course came with the risk of being caught by the Dean and the inevitable retribution that followed!

The pains and problems of boarding school living have been well rehearsed, but the friendships made have stood the test of time and I know I was privileged to have got that opportunity when so many others did not.

Sport was very much part of life in the College. The choices were limited, mainly football and handball, and the college excelled in both. I was fortunate to be there in a golden era of football, when the senior team was in three McRory finals in five years and won two of them. I was never on any college team, but took as much pride in their successes. I was equally proud to see several of my classmates on the county team that beat All-Ireland champions Down in the Ulster final a few weeks after we did the Leaving Cert.

When I returned to the college as a newly ordained priest and member of the staff in 1969, there were still a lot of priests teaching there. I learned then that a most important reason for them being there was to subsidise the fees by foregoing their teachers’ salaries. By then the free education scheme, as it was called, had come in and the student numbers had almost doubled. The majority were now day students and nearly half of the teaching staff were lay people, now including women.

It was a good time to be part of the team. The school was very highly regarded for its academic standards and the influx of students resulting from free educations brought its own diversity and richness. It was the beginning of a broader educational experience for students. New subjects like woodwork, art, music and PE catered for talents that had not been nourished before. Extra-curricular activities like musicals opened up avenues of experience and expression for students, which helped to provide a more rounded education and more opportunities for many. There were more sporting options too. Athletics, soccer and basketball began to flourish, while football and handball continued to dominate. At one point college football teams made almost a clean sweep of trophies, holding the Hogan and McRory cups, the Rannafast trophy and Corn na nÓg all in the same year.

When I became a trustee of the college in 1998 change was in the air again. The era of boarding school was coming to an end. By this time numbers had grown further and the college, which once served the whole diocese, was now a day school serving the Cavan catchment area. New educational standards about facilities like class-size, safety requirements, and increasing enrolment led to the trustees requesting the Department of Education for a new school building.

The new St Patrick’s College opened its doors in 2012. It was situated in the college grounds, had state-of-the-art facilities and was built for an enrolment of 650. The new building was enhanced by the provision of a canteen, an extension of the Sports hall comprising a stage, dressing rooms and stage furnishings, to make a fully equipped modern theatre. This, and the refurbishment of parts of the old school, was funded by grants from St Patrick’s Trust. These additions also anticipated increased enrolment and that has already come. The expected student numbers for next year are over eight hundred. It has been a privilege as a a member of the trustees to have played some part in this story.