Remarks at the 200th Anniversary of St Joseph’s Boys’ School
14th June 2013
It gives me great pleasure to be here today to join you all in celebrating the 200th birthday of St. Joseph’s Boys’ School. I would like to particularly thank Mr. Niall Desmond for his kind invitation to participate in this very special occasion and all of you for your very generous and warm welcome, which included such a talented performance from the band and choir.
Is tógáil croí é bheith anseo inniu agus scoil nua-aimseartha forásach a fheiceáil, a bhfuil áiseanna den chéad scoth agus tailte áille aici; arb áit í a chuireann, agus a chuir riamh thar na blianta, bonn fónta le saol an oiread sin fear óg agus le saol a dteaghlach. Seasann dícheall agus tiomantas gach duine i Scoil Naomh Seosamh amach go feiceálach agus is dá dtoradh siúd a bhfuil Scoil Naomh Seosamh múnlaithe mar an áit chairdiúil, comhbhách, bisiúil is atá ann inniu.
[It is uplifting to be here today and see a modern thriving school, with excellent facilities and beautiful grounds; a place that so clearly provides, and has always provided, a solid foundation to the lives of many young men and their families for very many years. The effort and dedication of all involved in St. Joseph’s is clear to see and has shaped St. Joseph’s into the friendly, caring and productive place that it is today.]
As President, I have been fortunate to visit many schools around the country, but to visit a school that is two hundred years old is a very special occasion indeed. There are very, very few schools in Ireland that are as old as St. Joseph’s and that can claim such a long proud history and heritage. It is quite amazing in fact to think that the first intake of children to St. Joseph’s took place in a country officially known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; a country that was still thirty years away from An Gorta Mór –the Great Famine and one of the most significant events in Irish history; and a country that was yet to witness the 1916 Rising, two world wars and the formation of a European Union.
It was a time when receiving a proper education was a privilege and when the penal laws made it very, very difficult for Irish people to celebrate and learn about their own traditions and culture, their literature and music and history. In fact many Irish children had to attend hedge schools, often set up by the roadside, in order to learn about their culture and heritage and their national language. For them, it was their only opportunity to truly understand what it meant to be Irish and to be proud of that Irishness; to realise how important an understanding of our past is to creating a sense of belonging and national identity.
A school like St. Joseph’s was very unusual in nineteenth century Ireland therefore, and you should all be proud of the role it has played, and indeed continues to play, in the development of education throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty first century. It has, since its foundation, in many ways mapped a changing Ireland; increasing its intake of pupils as education became a norm, and then a right, for the nation’s children; broadening and extending its outlook and horizons as it enhanced its facilities and activities; and, of course, embracing multiculturalism and diversity as it began to welcome into its classrooms children from many different parts of the world; children who now call Ireland ‘home.’
Like all good schools St. Joseph’s is not only important to its staff and pupils but also to the community that surrounds it. I was fortunate to receive a copy of ‘From the Monastery to the Boot’ – a history of the school written to mark this special anniversary. The old photographs, and the beautifully written memoirs of pupils from many decades ago, provide a skilful insight into just how much this school has woven itself into the life and the history of Clondalkin; and how integral it is to the spirit of community that exists here and the shared history of so many of Clondalkin’s residents.
Most of the boys from the area around Clondalkin village continue to attend this school; they too learning and growing up together and creating those indelible links that mean they will always, wherever life may take them, remain a part of the Clondalkin community. Some of the pupils are probably children and grandchildren of former pupils of St Joseph’s; or have uncles or older brothers or cousins who used to go to this school, making it an important part of your family life too, a place of memories that you all share in common.
For the adults and older children of Clondalkin, St Joseph’s is also an important place; a place where they gather to play sports or make music, or improve their skills or discuss matters of local importance – making St. Joseph’s part of the beating heart of Clondalkin; a space that enables a sense of active participation and communal enjoyment.
The pupils here are very lucky to attend a school like St Joseph’s; one which truly understands the importance of each and every child, of your talents and interests and of the potential that you all have. I know that your school encourages you to work to be the very best you can be and to use your talents and skills for the benefit of the school and, later on in life I hope, for the benefit of your communities and society. It is an approach that I am sure has played no small part in the successful lives and careers of former pupils like Kenneth Egan, Kevin Dundon, and John Sexton; as well as the many past students who have contributed so much to public service, community life and Irish society and of whom the school is also justifiably very proud.
St. Joseph’s could not, of course, be the great school it is without the teachers who are so dedicated to their pupils and who are always willing to do that extra little bit in order that your days in school can be as fulfilling and enjoyable as possible, so I would like to mention them here today and thank them for all they do to fully nurture and support all of the pupils in their care.
I know that some of you are now in your last few weeks at St. Joseph’s, and will be moving to secondary school in August. I have no doubt that you will be sad to leave a place that has been a part of your life for so many years. But I also have no doubt that you are looking forward to this next stage of your lives and to building on all you have already learnt from your teachers here in St. Joseph’s.
Others amongst you are probably now beginning to get excited about the forthcoming summer holidays and the prospect of two months off without any school. But I suspect that by mid-August many of you will be secretly looking forward to returning to school and meeting up again with your friends and your teachers.
Tá súil agam go mbíonn Samhradh iontach agaibh uilig atá anseo inniu; go bhfaigheann sibh uilig sos suaimhneach agus deis chun bhur n-inntinn agus bhur gcoirp a athnuachan ; agus go bhfillfidh sibh ar an scoil san Fhómhar lán d’fhuinneamh agus den díograis don chéad scoilbhliain
[I hope that all of you here today have a wonderful summer; that you all get a relaxing break and an opportunity to refresh tired minds and bodies; and that you return to school in the Autumn full of energy and enthusiasm for another school year.]
In conclusion, I would like to thank you all once again for welcoming me here today and I wish you well for this year of celebrations.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.