WEEKLY REVIEW May 31st 2014 All things have a season. In Secondary school our year is not punctuated by nostalgic recollections on December 31st and anxious anticipation of the next 365 on the opening day of January. August sees us saying “Hello” and June finds us bidding “Goodbye” and taking stock. There were a few noteworthy farewells in our College in recent weeks. The entire Munchins body of staff and students crammed the Chapel to pay our respects to two elder statesmen Pat Cross and John Broderick both of whom have decided to hang up their Munchins boots after decades of service. Jason O Brien was an inspired choice to deliver an oration for Pat as he had known him as a pupil and as a teaching colleague and fellow coach. Jason steered clear of the more libellous possibilities presented by his speech but kept us laughing throughout while not neglecting laughter’s half brother of sorrow which the College will undoubtedly feel at the loss of such a professional. Donie spoke about John, harvesting memories from his first day when his mother with good reason warned him to stay clear of that man to the calm and occasionally stormy waters which John had brought to our College which he has served so passionately and so well. Poignantly the two men’s wives Christine and Maureen were there and surely deserve the College’s gratitude for suffering their husband’s inordinate amount of domestic absenteeism given to St Munchins especially on sports related matters. Both men were great warriors for SMC, their kids grew up here and succeeded academically and on the field, and in a way the College has been a second family with all the stresses and strains that involves. They leave their ghosts behind to haunt the corridors and sidelines, and they leave two pairs of big empty boots and chapters of success and achievement which the rest of us will struggle to fill and emulate. In the Torch Pat spoke of how he was looking forward to his retirement and John to what might be semi-retirement as he moves to the big smoke to be with his family and win the Leinster Senior Cup with Belvedere (you choose the order of priority). We wish them both well. Both named their teams from players they had coached or played with and it made for interesting if not controversial reading. But ultimately it illustrated the quality of rugby players and men who have passed through these doors in recent years. Staying with the Torch well done to the TYs who once again have produced a fine snap shot of the year. Special praise to Luke Kelly and Jack Kenny who did the lion’s share of the donkey work and to Tadgh Mc Inerney who designed the front cover. The TYs themselves brought their year to a close with a camping trip to Kerry which saw most but not all conquer the island’s highest peak Carrantouhill, and lose once again to the teachers in paintballing. Fresh back from babysitting seventy hormonal adolescents in the Kingdom Coordinators Coleman and Whelan set about arranging the TY grads. Under their watchful stare the lads showed off their ability to stage manage an event with our 4th years looking after the sizzling burgers, hot dogs and kebabs and not one report of food poison or gastroenteritis. After the meal it was into the Assembly Hall decorated with the students self portraits (well done Ms. Barry) and a viewing of Emmet’s TY video. Then it was time for the speeches – 31 in all, in which the students summarised in a minute or less 31 different activities completed throughout the year. The speeches were interspersed with the lads poetry written during a year when they could write the stuff themselves rather than have to study begrudgingly someone elses dreams. In the booklet produced by the students, they spoke unanimously about the positive impact that TY had had on them and the universal appraisal that it had been a year of maturity, growing self awareness and fun. Awards were given to Michael, Adam and Luke for noteworthy contributions to the TY year while student of the year as chosen by his peers went to Ethan Mc Namara. Well done all. Paul and Alan top marks, if there was an Oscar for best coordinator and best supporting coordinator you’d win both but I won’t say who’d win which. Beyond the campus Munchins boys have been making the headlines. Congrats to 5th year Conor Carmody who once again togged out for the Irish rowers this time in Hazelwink in Belgium. Old boy Anthony Foley appointed his backroom team for Munster’s forthcoming season with Jerry Flannery as scrum coach. We wish them the best of luck. With two TDs already in the Dail it was time to see how former pupils would get on in the locals and we congratulate James Collins, Kieran O Halloran and Frankie Daly on their success. Obviously stems from inspiring CSPE classes. And well done to 6th year Ryan O Sullivan Glynn for his cool performance on radio. Once again SMCs generosity towards a good cause in these austere times was noted as the recent colours day raised 1,000 euro for the Donal Walsh #LIVElife foundation. It was inspirational and humbling to have Donal’s father Fionnbar come to our College and talk so meaningfully about his son’s legacy. Every kid without exception found the visit worthwhile, thought provoking and memorable. Sandwiched between the inevitable downpours of an Irish May we had a day of glorious sunshine as the gods smiled on the labours of Mr. David Quinlan. David has only just recovered from the effects of last year’s sports day so he now has another twelve months to recharge the batteries. 200 1st and 2nd years leppin’ and jumpin’ can sap the energy of even the most vibrant teacher and the moment in time, preserved forever on Facebook, of Quinny struggling says it all. Actually I think it was just a bit of mild sunstroke as David observed that the TYs who ably assisted in all aspects from refereeing to managing to scorekeeping helped the day run smoothly. For the record Mr. Quinlan and his TYs delivered competitions in sack race, egg and spoon, slow bicycle, tug of war, golf, relay, tag rugby, soccer long kick, long puck and of course wheelbarrow. A great success and well done to all. A special well done to the teachers who took on an a selection of student teams in soccer tennis on our shiny new yard with our brand new nets during the break and destroyed them all. Further teacher victories were to be had as they took on the College’s most successful ever basketball team and hammered them by 3 points thus securing revenge for last year’s hiccup which saw the muinteori defrauded by the ref. Well done to Captain, coach and point scorer Mr. Whelan. With TYs gone and the seniors training with the Munster coaches our attempt to get a photo of all who had played sport for SMC proved elusive. However the photo taken by resident cameraman Cian O Reilly is in itself a fine representation of what goes on after school to foster discipline, health, fitness, camaraderie, self confidence, to encourage a young man’s faculty for problem solving and his ability to cope with triumph and disaster and the demands that eventually come from challenging himself to be as good as he can be. All of the above are part of the raison detre of team SMC as is the very relevant need to relieve the negative energies that are part of the roller coaster of adolescence. And since it will probably be Cian’s last photo for us as a student may we say thanks to him for being Munchins Robert Capa, and good luck behind the lens in the future. Our first years completed their inaugural year in SMC. Year heads Ms. Ryan and Ms. O Donoghue have patiently shepherded these lads sometimes as mother hens, sometimes as counsellors. They have worn a dozen hats this year including of course that of teacher. Their presentation photograph of all the boys together on their first day in the August sunshine was a lovely touch. Well done girls. The third year heads, Ms. Shiels and Mr. Broderick have also been busy trying to motivate the lads in these final critical weeks before the J.C. A break was needed and a window of relaxation found for the boys to temporarily turn off the stress tap. The lads assembled en masse in UL for an afternoon of fun and escape before the rigour of the future three weeks kicks in. Good job everyone. Next years senior and junior cup teams are finding that the season starts in April and that cups arent won in January. SCT coach Mr. Mac Dermott oversaw his charges tested by heavyweights from the Munster branch. No doubt the test scores made for heated discussion. Mr. Kelly manager of next years Juniors took a back seat as an array of coaches from other teachers to former pupils shared their wisdom. S and C coach Mr. Loughrey gave them their pre summer test which resulted in tired limbs, burning lungs and pained faces. Must be doing something right so. We wish both teams well over the summer. And so we inexorably sprint, march, stride, strut, tiptoe or limp towards Wednesday June 4th 9. 45 am. That journey started somewhere in the first weeks of first year with a bonding trip to Killaloe singing Fiska for the first time on the bus out and singing it for the second time on the way back. Teaching like parenting can be a frustrating and emotional game; the boy becomes the man and you always question if you could have done things differently. Misters Coneely, McMahon and O’Donoghue took the men of SMC up Croagh Patrick in what has become an annual Rubicon for 6th years. When they came back down the mountain there was a sense that their school days were at an end. If there was any doubt that these boys had become young men then it was dispelled in the penultimate scene of their five or six act drama which was played out in St Nicholas Church. Chaplain Tom Conneely had the chapel appropriately furnished, music was supplied by Fionan and our first years. Our bishop spoke about hope and celebrated mass with Munchins stalwart Fr. O Connor. Then came the awards one for the best student in each of the 18 subjects for L.C. The achievement in sport went to Basketballer Diarmaid O Shea, the overall sports award to David Begley and the student of the year went to worthy winner Sean O Dea. Congratulations. Parents stayed for tea and coffee, Pat and John said their goodbyes, I handed out time capsules written and sealed half a dozen years before when the men were boys. As the church emptied I spoke to a mother and father whose baby the last of four sons was graduating from Munchins. I had shook hands with them before but tonight would be the last time. As I say teaching is at times an emotional game. Thanks to everyone who has endeavoured to make Munchins life a bit special in the last year. Best wishes and best of luck to the class of 2014 in their exams and in life beyond the gates of St. Munchins College.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 08:04:44 +0000