Author Topic: St Malachy's College  (Read 282784 times)

stiofan

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #30 on: May 16, 2010, 12:05:24 PM »
Eugene McConville is my wife's cousin. How did he do on the show?
Dunno - I haven't seen the show yet. I should confess that I'm assuming that it's the one and only Eugene McConville. I only know about it because my mother told me that a 54 yo guy from Belfast had been on and his name was Eugene McConville. I've got a tape, so I'll let you knw when I've watched it.

old wallion

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #31 on: May 16, 2010, 01:51:02 PM »
There's a conicidence. One of the contestants on last night's Australian version of Who Wants To be a Millionaire was Eugene McConville, who started St Malachy's in 1967 and emigrated in 1972 or thereabouts.
Eugene was in my class in Park Lodge. I hope he won a few thousand Dollars :smile:

muckermcd

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #32 on: May 16, 2010, 02:35:09 PM »
Stickyra his name is Jim McDonnell
 
 

Muckermcd I am trying to think who your brother might be.

Burnsy

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #33 on: May 16, 2010, 02:37:04 PM »
I got a hold of Eugene through email and he says he didn't win any money (probably to stop the begging letters), but he is now reviewing TV and movie opportunities.. :D
 
 
It's Nice to be Nice.!!

kevben

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #34 on: May 17, 2010, 01:13:50 AM »
anybody remember a guy called micky mc auley left st mals to go to barney i think he knocked about with a fella called chris hughes (chico).would love to know his whereabouts he lived in whitewell parade

stiofan

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #35 on: May 17, 2010, 01:27:23 AM »
I got a hold of Eugene through email and he says he didn't win any money (probably to stop the begging letters), but he is now reviewing TV and movie opportunities.. :D

If you're talking to Eugene again, tell him that Stephen Magee says Hi. We were in the same class at St Malachy's for many years. I left for Australia not long before he did.
 
And, if it's any consolation, my mother (who was watching Who Wants To Be a Millionaire) said that he was a very handsome man  :air_kiss:

brianmckeever

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #36 on: May 17, 2010, 01:50:20 AM »
Walter Larkin could have kept fish fresh. .. ;)

Poor old Walter had a Hiatus Hernia to beat all others. When he later became parish priest in Crossgar the ladies of the parish were very careful not to make him laugh in case he created unbearable hell in the confines of the confession box.
I had an older handicapped brother with the same problem. Before I went to school each day he would ask me to put on his tie. I could never hold my breath long enough no matter how I tried.
So what? Nothing wrong with poor taste.

sj

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #37 on: May 17, 2010, 04:05:16 AM »

Poor old Walter had a Hiatus Hernia to beat all others. When he later became parish priest in Crossgar the ladies of the parish were very careful not to make him laugh in case he created unbearable hell in the confines of the confession box.
I had an older handicapped brother with the same problem. Before I went to school each day he would ask me to put on his tie. I could never hold my breath long enough no matter how I tried.
So what? Nothing wrong with poor taste.

Hello Brian,

I have come across your comments on the alumni site but I don't know when you went to the college.  I was able to read your comments when I was in China.  It's strange what keeps you going.  I meant that Walter was very cold....I found Patch a different kettle of fish( excuse the pun)  I came from Barnageeha and during a melee in the room between classes, I was 15 yrs old, Eamon Mc Allister grabbed me by the arm and suggested that we shouldn't be in the room because he had been in a spot of bother and couldn't afford to be in another.  There was the suggestion that I should leave as well seeing as I was a new inmate.  So about 6 of us jumped out of the window. .it had become a bit rough inside.   Patch was not pleased and the whole class was punished. .for the altercation and also because a boy had jumped out of a window the previous year and had died.  Everyone without exception except me was punished ,,,,as I was only new ????I thought Patch was great and everytime we passed one another we smiled.

Barney Mc Laverty in his book of short stories " Secrets" obviously didn't appreciate Hugo Lynch as he depicted a character who taught him ( he was a priest ) as a social, snob and only interested in students whose parents had money or influence.  However when you read Hugo's obituary it tells you of a very lonely man with  real feelings.   Sometimes in the teacher / pupil relationship we are not aware of these points. ;)
I'm patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it ...

stiofan

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #38 on: May 17, 2010, 04:58:07 AM »
Barney Mc Laverty in his book of short stories " Secrets" obviously didn't appreciate Hugo Lynch as he depicted a character who taught him ( he was a priest ) as a social, snob and only interested in students whose parents had money or influence.  However when you read Hugo's obituary it tells you of a very lonely man with  real feelings.   Sometimes in the teacher / pupil relationship we are not aware of these points. ;)

I think that you're doing MacLaverty a disservice! A crucial part of that story (The Exercise) involves Waldo's apologising to the boy for behaving like a snob.
 
Your point about schoolboys not being aware of teachers' feelings is true, but it doesn't really address the problem that dogged St Malachy's for so many years. When Dirty Dick or Fr Purdy or someone else was laying into me, as an 11 or 14 year old, I didn't really give a [censored] about their inner angst and nor should I have, because they had the upper hand in the power relationship. It might have been bearable if the teaching had been good, but some of it was absolutely woeful and very little of it could be described as the type of inspirational teaching that a bunch of intelligent kids actually need.

brianmckeever

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #39 on: May 17, 2010, 05:20:56 AM »
I never knew Dirty Dick Dynan to lay into anyone 1958-1964, certainly Purdy did. He waited for me every morning at the head of the avenue, hiding in the door of the English school, to dole out two for being late. Walter did the same for a couple of years prior before he grew tired and delegated to Purdy. Purdy died of a brain tumour not too long after. (RIP).  Afternoons of my last year 1964 was spent mainly at the Plaza midday hop or roaming North Down in John Conway's old Standard Vanguard. He tried to drive the thing up to Napoleon's Nose.

stiofan

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #40 on: May 17, 2010, 07:27:54 AM »
I never knew Dirty Dick Dynan to lay into anyone 1958-1964, certainly Purdy did. He waited for me every morning at the head of the avenue, hiding in the door of the English school, to dole out two for being late. Walter did the same for a couple of years prior before he grew tired and delegated to Purdy. Purdy died of a brain tumour not too long after. (RIP). 
OMG - perhaps Dirty Dick was telling the truth when he said that I was the first person to whom he had ever given six! However, I presume that he didn't carry that strap around as a fashion accessory.
 
Poor old Purdy (he didn't die until the mid-seventies, by the way). My children don't believe me when I tell them that that I was repeatedly punched and slapped around the head by teachers at St Malachy's. Doubt turns to outright incredulity when I tell them that we had a priest whose job was to go around the school caning people.
 

sj

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #41 on: May 17, 2010, 07:39:19 AM »

I think that you're doing MacLaverty a disservice! A crucial part of that story (The Exercise) involves Waldo's apologising to the boy for behaving like a snob.
 
/quote]

I didn't intend to do Barney Mc Laverty a disservice.  Some people are not suited to being teachers with younger people especially when they have spent sometime studying Theology.   However that happens in all schools. ;) Don't forget the smileys.
I'm patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it ...

sj

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #42 on: May 17, 2010, 07:42:41 AM »
Do either of yo remember " Frog"  :scratch_ones_head:
I'm patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it ...

brianmckeever

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #43 on: May 17, 2010, 08:02:30 AM »
Never did French, SJ. I presume that was Frog's subject.
Didn't Dirty Dick also teach the girls at St Dominic's, Rathmore and Fortwilliam "how to speak proper". As far as I remember he was at St Malachy's on only one day per week.
I had a bad stutter and he invited me to private elocution lessons but he lost interest when he was told my 5 pounds annual levy had never been paid. Do I now owe the college 30 quid for my six years?

stiofan

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Re: St Malachy's College
« Reply #44 on: May 17, 2010, 08:15:18 AM »
Never did French, SJ. I presume that was Frog's subject.
Didn't Dirty Dick also teach the girls at St Dominic's, Rathmore and Fortwilliam "how to speak proper". As far as I remember he was at St Malachy's on only one day per week.
I had a bad stutter and he invited me to private elocution lessons but he lost interest when he was told my 5 pounds annual levy had never been paid. Do I now owe the college 30 quid for my six years?
When I was there, his subject was officially titled "Elocution". However, that seemed to cover a lot of ground, ranging from proper forms of address to (I clearly remember) instructions on how to wipe your bottom properly. He also did a bit of RE, in the form of Bible studies. His biblical interpretations tended to be rather basic - to this day, I have word-perfect recall of his quotations from Paul which condemned homosexuality. BTW is it true that he operated a pirate IRA radio station during WW2 and had been interned?
 
Frog doesn't ring any bells. Our French teacher was "Sambo".


 

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