REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE LAUNCH OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE ANNALS OF ST. MARY’S
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE LAUNCH OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE ANNALS OF ST. MARY’S BOYS SCHOOL, DROGHEDA
Is cúis mhór athais dom bheith anseo inniu chun an leabhar stairiúil seo a lainseáil.
Last June I had the pleasure of welcoming some of the pupils of St. Mary’s to Áras an Uachtaráin for the launch of the ‘Children’s Encounter Project’. Now I am returning the compliment and delighted to have this opportunity to visit Drogheda again to launch the Annals of St. Mary’s Boys School. I would like to thank the Chairperson of the Board of Management of St. Mary’s, Fr. Oliver Devine, and the Principal, Mr. John Gallagher for the kind invitation and this lovely, warm welcome.
St. Mary’s has been around for a very long time. When the school first opened there was no such thing as electric light or running water, no-one had ever seen a light bulb never mind a mobile phone. The pupils of this school lived through the kind of history we read about in books, so here in St. Mary’s there are hundreds and hundreds of stories worth hearing and worth telling, the stories of the pupils and their lives and times. St Mary’s has lived up to its motto Sedes Sapientae - the seat of wisdom and today’s pupils are so lucky to be part of such a rich treasure trove.
Education has changed dramatically over the years, yet one thing at the school has never changed and that is the respect for the individuality of each student who attends this school and the determination to help each of them on the path to discovering their own special talents.
The stories told in the Annals make for terrific reading and they give us a window on the lives of St. Mary’s boys over the decades. There is the story of James Marten, the 12 year old son of a gas fitter enrolled in 1865 and the present day story of Philip Thai Le, the son of Chinese parents and one of the most recent enrolments in the school. When James Marten came here Irish people were leaving Ireland in their thousands because life was so hard here. Today people from other countries make their homes here because they love Ireland and its people and we are fortunate to have the chance to get to know so many other cultures through them.
The annals breathe life into the history of this region telling us the stories of Drogheda and of the diverse strands that have become woven together over the years into the complex tapestry that is present day Drogheda.
Each generation has faced its own challenges and each has drawn deeply from the pool of talent God gave it, with St. Mary’s helping that talent to grow and blossom. The achievements of students past and present at St. Mary’s have brought great pride to the school and have urged each new generation of pupils to work hard to make their story one the school can be proud of.
Many generations of families are represented within these volumes. Some of the names are instantly recognisable. From the world of sport we have soccer international, Gary Kelly along with recent Olympian, Colin Lowth. Other well-known names include former ambassadors, Seán Donlon and James Kirwan.
The book gives all past pupils a chance to revisit their own past and remember with great fondness their own schooldays and the many friends they made as pupils of St. Mary’s.
The occupations of some of the first parents make for interesting reading especially the whackers and ruffers. I wonder which of today’s occupations will seem just as weird to the people who will be around in 150 years time.
The publication of these annals has definitely been hard labour but a labour of love worth every bit of the four years of team effort. Great thanks is due to the staff and wider community in St. Mary’s who co-operated so willingly with the work involved in the compiling and publishing of the annals. I would like to say a special word of thanks to the two staff members of St. Mary’s who were the driving force behind the work on this project, project co-ordinator Richard Gerrard and Roy Matthews. Both attended St. Mary’s as pupils and it is a tribute to them and to the strong community spirit within the school that they returned to join the teaching staff of St Mary’s almost thirty years ago. Without their commitment, drive and energy, it is unlikely that this publication would ever have been produced.
I understand that that the Bishop of Meath will testify to Richard’s tenacity in attempting to obtain funding for the project – well done Richard!
I wish every success to the project and hope that the people who purchase the annals will derive many hours of enjoyment from it. It is now my great pleasure to officially launch the Annals of St. Mary’s Boys School Drogheda 1865-2000.