School days in St. Patrick's and St. Gerald’s
THIS photo of some of my classmates at St. Gerald’s College, Castlebar, and St. Patrick’s National School was taken over 50 years ago, in June 1967, by Castlebar photographer, the late Derek Mandel, writes Tom Gillespie.
Three of us - Tony Kelly (RIP), Padraig Lyons and myself - had been friends from Spencer Street, and Sean Reynolds from Mountain View, Kieran Murphy (RIP), The Green, and Johnny McCormack, Westport Road, all started our early education in the old St. Patrick’s National School in Chapel Street, while John Parsons, Main Street, went to Cornanool National School.
I can still recall my first day at school. My late father, Dick Gillespie, brought me to the gate of the school and I refused point plank to go any further.
Eventually, he got me into baby room and our teacher, Mrs. McDonagh from Mons Terrace, the Mrs. Hanley of her day, could not have been any kinder to her new pupils.
In fact, she used to collect Tony, Padraig and myself as well as Mikey Dolan and Ger Munley (RIP) on Spencer Street and take us by the hand to St. Patrick’s each morning.
The school is now the parish centre but back in the 1950s it was a hive of educational activity, with a turf shed at the back and outdoor toilets at the side.
I was not long at school when our family moved to Marian Row but I still retained my links with Spencer Street and my school mates there.
Looking at the St. Patrick’s NS website I see that when the school first opened in 1888, it was not compulsory and parents were not obliged to send their children there.
There was a reduction in attendance of pupils in 1896, which coincided with the introduction of the Compulsory Education Act, and parents kept pupils at home in protest against the new Act.
It is said that this lasted nearly a year because in October 1897 one of the Brothers wrote: 'The Compulsory Education Act is a complete and signal failure.'
By 1898 everything went back to normal and classes were once again full.
The school had to close on a few occasions, and for a variety of reasons, including an outbreak of typhoid in January 1934, while the Big Frost forced its closure for two weeks in 1947, and also when the building burned down in 1957.
I recall that morning well.
It was Thursday, February 28, of that year. It was during Lent and as was the norm then, we had to attend morning Mass.
As it was dark when I was going into the church I did not see the school, which was across the road, had been gutted (see old photo). But after Mass the damage quickly became apparent.
According to the school’s website, the alarm was raised at around 3 a.m.
The building was destroyed and much to the delight of the pupils, classes did not resume until the April 3, 1957.
There are, however, accounts of some pupils who went back to school the following week in another building up by Pavilion Road.
One of the few surviving items was the school bell. It was slightly damaged and was repaired and used again up until the 1990s.
The exact cause of the fire was never officially known but speculation suggested an electrical fault.
A new building had to be found for the school and on April 3, 1957, the school was temporarily transferred to the military barracks, Blocks G and H.
In 1959, building commenced on the new school, located overlooking the old school, and it was officially opened on November 9, 1961.
The school was run by the De La Salle Brothers and Brother Cassian was the principal for seven years from 1950 to 1957, followed by Brother Augustine, for 12 years, from 1957 to 1969.
I have written before of our time, not very pleasant, in class in the military barracks and how we were the first sixth class to occupy the new school.
We sat the Primary Certificate examination in 1962.
The exam was introduced in 1929 as an optional exam for primary school pupils.
To get the certificate children could do tests in sixth class in subjects such as Irish, English, history, geography, mathematics, and needlework for girls.
If they passed, they received a certificate, which could be used to get a job.
In 1943, all pupils in sixth class had to sit the tests for the Primary Certificate but only in three subjects - Irish, English and arithmetic. The test was abolished in 1967. In my opinion the Primary Cert put national school pupils under unnecessary pressure years before that had to face the Inter (now Junior) and Leaving Cert.
We graduated to St. Gerald’s Secondary School, where again, the De La Salle Brothers had the majority of the teaching posts.
Brother Aloysius was principal and had the habit in the morning of waiting at the college gate, ironically next to the old St. Patrick’s building, in ambush for any late arrivals, who duly got ‘six of the best’.
Thankfully, I was able to escape this punishment as I could ‘sneak in’ the back door by crossing the field from our garden in Marian Row and getting in unnoticed.
Secondary school was an eye-opener for us as we were used to having one teacher, Brother Dennis, for the previous six years.
In our new surroundings we changed teachers every 45 minutes and were introduced to such new subjects as French and science.
* The 1967 photo of the classmates. At back, from left: Tom Gillespie, Tony Kelly (RIP), Padraig Lyons and Kieran Murphy (RIP). At front: Sean Reynolds, Johnny McCormack and John Parsons. Photo: Derek Mandel