Page 12 - The Gonzaga Record 2004
P. 12
ciation and abiding admiration for many things British. The result was that she was
the first Irish Nationalist Tory whom I ever came across. While the boys were com
pletely confused!
Phil’s energy was phenomenal. She could ride several horses at once and every
thing was equally important. She would put as much work into erecting a tableau
of teams, fixtures, referees and results for a Prep. II Soccer league as she would for
her regular Friday Maths test.
Fr. Joe Brennan was the Choirmaster, which means he helped Phil to train the
Choir! Liturgy was important to all the Prep. Teachers, none more so perhaps, than
Phil. Liturgies truly were celebrations of music, art, poetry and the learning life of
the school.
The Prep. School was characterised in all its Teachers by the twin aims of love of
learning and love of God. Perhaps that is why its closure hurt so much. The school
was being enthusiastically faithful to its Jesuit mission.
So many past pupils will readily suggest that their early years in school were the
most formative; one hears it again and again. They were the most formative
because they were the most influential.
No matter how well informed they might be, seldom did a Gonzaga parent not
believe that Mrs. Crosbie knew what was best for their son. That is a rare accolade
indeed.
Phil will be long missed and for all the right reasons and by very many, Mrs. Phil
Crosbie will be long and gratefully remembered.
Daniel McNelis
M a i r e O ’K e l l y
In a literal as well as metaphorical sense, Maire O’Kelly may be termed the First
Lady of Gonzaga. Because, as the story of Maire O’Kelly unfolds, so does the story
of Gonzaga College itself unfold and evolve.
Maire knew and worked with a number of those imaginative and innovative
Jesuits who formed the distinctive Gonzaga identity, which today we take for
granted. These included Frs. Joe Veale, Paul Andrews, Hubert Delaney and most
notably the founding Prefect of Studies, Fr. Bill White.
When Maire fell into teaching by happenstance and came to Gonzaga in 1968,
the majority of the Staff were Jesuits, the remainder, all men. Maire, therefore, was
not just the first lady Teacher, but the senior and longest serving Staff member in
the College. Gonzaga then and now has benefited greatly by her presence.
Most of Maire’s involvement in Gonzaga was as the Class Teacher of Prep. 1 or
Third Class. This was the most Junior class of the ten in the school. Thus Maire
the first Irish Nationalist Tory whom I ever came across. While the boys were com
pletely confused!
Phil’s energy was phenomenal. She could ride several horses at once and every
thing was equally important. She would put as much work into erecting a tableau
of teams, fixtures, referees and results for a Prep. II Soccer league as she would for
her regular Friday Maths test.
Fr. Joe Brennan was the Choirmaster, which means he helped Phil to train the
Choir! Liturgy was important to all the Prep. Teachers, none more so perhaps, than
Phil. Liturgies truly were celebrations of music, art, poetry and the learning life of
the school.
The Prep. School was characterised in all its Teachers by the twin aims of love of
learning and love of God. Perhaps that is why its closure hurt so much. The school
was being enthusiastically faithful to its Jesuit mission.
So many past pupils will readily suggest that their early years in school were the
most formative; one hears it again and again. They were the most formative
because they were the most influential.
No matter how well informed they might be, seldom did a Gonzaga parent not
believe that Mrs. Crosbie knew what was best for their son. That is a rare accolade
indeed.
Phil will be long missed and for all the right reasons and by very many, Mrs. Phil
Crosbie will be long and gratefully remembered.
Daniel McNelis
M a i r e O ’K e l l y
In a literal as well as metaphorical sense, Maire O’Kelly may be termed the First
Lady of Gonzaga. Because, as the story of Maire O’Kelly unfolds, so does the story
of Gonzaga College itself unfold and evolve.
Maire knew and worked with a number of those imaginative and innovative
Jesuits who formed the distinctive Gonzaga identity, which today we take for
granted. These included Frs. Joe Veale, Paul Andrews, Hubert Delaney and most
notably the founding Prefect of Studies, Fr. Bill White.
When Maire fell into teaching by happenstance and came to Gonzaga in 1968,
the majority of the Staff were Jesuits, the remainder, all men. Maire, therefore, was
not just the first lady Teacher, but the senior and longest serving Staff member in
the College. Gonzaga then and now has benefited greatly by her presence.
Most of Maire’s involvement in Gonzaga was as the Class Teacher of Prep. 1 or
Third Class. This was the most Junior class of the ten in the school. Thus Maire
