Page 28 - Gonzaga at 60
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GONZAGA AT SIXTY: A WORK IN PROGRESS
No doubt we might have made much more of our ime at school but all of us
beneited through the awakening of an intellectual curiosity simulated paricularly
by Joe Veale and, for a short ime, by Ausin McCurtain. This was combined with
a certain sense of obligaion to make the most of one’s talents however meagre
they were. I believe now that the service given by the Order to educaion has
been more than jusiied. Whilst the remarkable talents and knowledge of those
men who taught us might have seemed, even to some of them, beter applied by
aciviies other than teaching in a secondary school, the results of their eforts
was a muliplier that has greatly inluenced not just our society but many others
throughout the world. I coninue to believe their teachings to be vitally important
for the society in which they lived.
During the summer holidays in my penulimate year a number of us were sent
Kevin Laheen SJ to Clongowes for what was described as a ‘Leadership Course’. I menion this because it provides
an overt demonstraion of what the Jesuit teaching at the ime sought to achieve in its schools.
The message was that the beneit of our educaion brought with it a price. We were expected to
lead in society if we could and to do so in the right direcion. Today no doubt the expression of
this aspiraion would be described as evidence of an inherent eliism. However, I suspect rightly
or wrongly it embedded in many a desire to succeed and to make some diference. Whether
this desire was moivated in the end of the day by personal ambiion or, as the Jesuits wished, a
sense of obligaion of a diferent kind, I am sure varied from person to person. But it was made
clear to all of us in one way or another that the Gonzaga educaion, in paricular with its freedom
from State examinaions, was to be the precursor to university and to greater contribuions
beyond. This straitjacket did not, of course, suit everybody.
The disinciveness of Gonzaga’s educaion was exempliied by the fact that we did the
Matriculaion in 5th year and then spent an extra year coninuing in a relaxed vein with a mix of
study and discussion. We played at being intellectuals and indeed some probably were by that stage.
All of this seems somewhat rariied and perhaps it was for some. But it was mixed with
Peter Sutherland (kneeling 2nd sport. Our teams were poor but some of us were consumed even by our limited ambiions on
from let). Tony Ensor recalls the rugby ield where Jesuits like Kevin Laheen drove us on. Debaing too was a central acivity
him as one of the early star
players in the school. Maybe it led many of us to a career at the Bar.
I was certainly no paragon of virtue at school. Indeed I am sure many of my teachers are
turning in their graves with shock at what became of me,
but however unlikely my career, it was in signiicant measure
inluenced by them and some, such as Joe Veale and Joe Kelly
remained close and inluenial in my life unil they died.
The leitmoif of my life has been public service. I suppose
that this was driven by moivaions that were both good
and bad. I ran for elecion and lost in 1973 and later was
GONZAGA AT SIXTY: A WORK IN PROGRESS
No doubt we might have made much more of our ime at school but all of us
beneited through the awakening of an intellectual curiosity simulated paricularly
by Joe Veale and, for a short ime, by Ausin McCurtain. This was combined with
a certain sense of obligaion to make the most of one’s talents however meagre
they were. I believe now that the service given by the Order to educaion has
been more than jusiied. Whilst the remarkable talents and knowledge of those
men who taught us might have seemed, even to some of them, beter applied by
aciviies other than teaching in a secondary school, the results of their eforts
was a muliplier that has greatly inluenced not just our society but many others
throughout the world. I coninue to believe their teachings to be vitally important
for the society in which they lived.
During the summer holidays in my penulimate year a number of us were sent
Kevin Laheen SJ to Clongowes for what was described as a ‘Leadership Course’. I menion this because it provides
an overt demonstraion of what the Jesuit teaching at the ime sought to achieve in its schools.
The message was that the beneit of our educaion brought with it a price. We were expected to
lead in society if we could and to do so in the right direcion. Today no doubt the expression of
this aspiraion would be described as evidence of an inherent eliism. However, I suspect rightly
or wrongly it embedded in many a desire to succeed and to make some diference. Whether
this desire was moivated in the end of the day by personal ambiion or, as the Jesuits wished, a
sense of obligaion of a diferent kind, I am sure varied from person to person. But it was made
clear to all of us in one way or another that the Gonzaga educaion, in paricular with its freedom
from State examinaions, was to be the precursor to university and to greater contribuions
beyond. This straitjacket did not, of course, suit everybody.
The disinciveness of Gonzaga’s educaion was exempliied by the fact that we did the
Matriculaion in 5th year and then spent an extra year coninuing in a relaxed vein with a mix of
study and discussion. We played at being intellectuals and indeed some probably were by that stage.
All of this seems somewhat rariied and perhaps it was for some. But it was mixed with
Peter Sutherland (kneeling 2nd sport. Our teams were poor but some of us were consumed even by our limited ambiions on
from let). Tony Ensor recalls the rugby ield where Jesuits like Kevin Laheen drove us on. Debaing too was a central acivity
him as one of the early star
players in the school. Maybe it led many of us to a career at the Bar.
I was certainly no paragon of virtue at school. Indeed I am sure many of my teachers are
turning in their graves with shock at what became of me,
but however unlikely my career, it was in signiicant measure
inluenced by them and some, such as Joe Veale and Joe Kelly
remained close and inluenial in my life unil they died.
The leitmoif of my life has been public service. I suppose
that this was driven by moivaions that were both good
and bad. I ran for elecion and lost in 1973 and later was
