Speech Marking Clongowes Wood College’s Bicentenary Celebrations
Clane, Co. Kildare, 4th March 2015
Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo in bhur measc chun páirt a ghlacadh i bhur gceiliúradh. Míle buíochas daoibh as an gcuireadh agus as an fáilte a chuir sibh romham.
[It gives me pleasure to be here today at Clongowes Wood College to join you in celebrating your bicentenary which also coincides with the bicentenary of the Jesuit restoration worldwide.]
I would like to thank Fr. Leonard Moloney, Headmaster, and the whole school community of Clongowes Wood College for their kind invitation to attend today’s events and all of you for welcoming me so warmly. I thank you for your invitation to share your 200 year celebrations – Clongowes is among a special group of schools that since their founding by the Jesuits have made a special contribution to Irish life and history.
It is a quite amazing achievement in education when one considers that the first intake of children to Clongowes took place in a country that was still thirty years away from An Gorta Mór – the Great Famine.
It was a time, when receiving a secondary education was a privilege confined to a minority.
Thankfully, that situation has changed. We are now a well educated society and the vast majority of young people remain in school until they have completed their Leaving Certificate. Indeed, Ireland has the highest proportion of graduates of any European country, with the challenge being to create an economic atmosphere that offers for those that wish, opportunities to remain at home in Ireland.
The choice of courses available to students has expanded greatly too, ensuring that higher education is relevant to a wider range of students than ever before. Yet it is also important to remember that it is those who have the opportunity to experience excellent teaching in the foundational core subjects who show the most significant results in personal and social terms.
Ireland has changed so dramatically too; especially over recent decades. Today we are an independent state, a multi-cultural nation and confident members of a global community. We have gained our own unique and individual voice on the European stage while preserving our distinctiveness as a country. We have emerged from the throes of thirty years of conflict arising from our divided history, and we have built what we must hope are the foundations for peace and reconciliation. We are, indeed, a country that has much to be proud of in its achievements, and Clongowes has played its own significant role in that journey.
Your roll call of past pupils is an impressive one, and a reminder of the many generations of men who have spent their formative years in this school and have gone on to leave indelible marks on Irish society in many different fields. The worlds of literature, culture, theatre, business, sport, media and, of course, public life have been immeasurably enriched by the talents and skills of distinguished and renowned alumni such as James Joyce, Oliver St John Gogarty, Thomas Kettle, Tony O’Reilly, Richard and John Bruton, Simon Coveney, Tom O’Higgins, Charles Mitchell, Rob Kearney, David McSavage, and Peter Campion and the many other well known and successful people who have passed through Clongowes, benefitting from the holistic education they received here and from an environment which encourages every boy to realise his possibilities and reach his full potential.
And of course, it is not only the names which make the headlines or enter the history books which stand as testament to the ethos of Clongowes, but the many, many other students who have used their skills and talents to benefit their society and their communities, here in Ireland and in new homes across the globe.
There is no doubt that excellence of facilities has contributed to the capacity for learning and development among students in Clongowes. Indeed, I was pleased to learn that while the pursuit of excellence is a core objective here in Clongowes, such excellence is not narrowly defined, becoming limited to academic achievement and exam success only, but also embraces the maximisation of students’ development in co-curricular areas.
For example, for over twenty years we have been annually reminded of the philanthropical and humanitarian values which are part of the ethos of this school as you push the great Duck Push from Dublin to Limerick in order to raise funds for Crumlin Children’s Hospital. This stands as a wonderful example of student’s civic engagement and participation.
Sports are an essential element of life at Clongowes. Clongowes continues to feature in Leinster Schools’ Rugby, more than any other school, and in other sports too. And I know that, in that regard, today may be one tinged with disappointment for your senior boys and for all of you supporters. But, if I may offer one observation as someone who has been involved in sport and supported teams through success and, more often, disappointment over many years: sometimes, winning and losing can be determined by the bounce of a ball, but the true test of a team is in the manner of the victory or the loss. The character your team showed yesterday in their narrow defeat is something you should be proud of, and you will always remember that performance with pride.
If I were to focus on just one of the attributes you mention in your mission statement, I think the concept of being “open to growth” is a wonderful measure for a successful education. We are at a moment in Irish and indeed world history, where certainties about how our politics and our economy are to be connected and structured are coming under scrutiny and interrogation. The pace of technological and social change is accelerating, and in such a context of uncertainty, the ability to question assumptions and to think critically, creatively and constructively will be of even more value than heretofore. I have no doubt that the great intellectual tradition of this College will stand you all in good stead as you take up these challenges.
Like the generations that have gone here before you, the pupils here today will leave this school and go out into the world to place their unique mark on their communities and societies And wherever you may find yourselves in the world in future years, I am sure you will always remain connected in a profound way to the people you share this hall with today; the people who have played such a significant part in your formative years and who will remain central to your memories of the place you will always think of as ‘your’ school.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you all once again for the great welcome I have received here today. I wish you well as you conclude your year of celebration and I wish each and every pupil here today every success and happiness in the future.
