Reunion of Copsewood students
MORE than 150 people were in the beautiful surroundings of Pallaskenry last Sunday for a special reunion of 1970s Copsewood College students.
The event, organised by Jude Meaney – who spent two years in the college as a boarder between 1975 and 1977 – drew people from as far afield as Canada and Belfast.
And the emotional reunion had a poignant twist when a mass was held in memory former students John Rushe - who tragically died in a car crash four years ago - as well as Stephen Clancy and Fr Joe Lucey.
The school choir performed during the mass, as well as surprising Mr Meaney, who has just celebrated his 50th birthday, with an impromptu "Happy Birthday".
Meanwhile, the students exchanged stories about their activities in the school, while the walls of the corridors in the current college were decked out with photographs, and drawings done by the students of the 70s - bringing back tears of joy.
Moyross man Mr Meaney told the Limerick Leader how he arranged the huge event - and how he managed to track down students from far afield.
"It's fantastic for everyone to meet up again. What you need to understand is that in a boarding school, these guys are your brothers, you share a bathroom together, you watch TV together. In 2007, I was planning my 50th birthday party for 2009, and I remembered my fantastic two years in Copsewood. I only spent two years here when I did my Leaving Cert. I knew it would take a while to run a reunion over a weekend," he said, revealing he tracked down many of the old crop of students "through a bit of detective work".
He added: I had difficulty in contacting certain guys - I was ringing the local post office and in one case, I had a letter printed in a Belfast newspaper to try and track someone there."
One of the alumni, Paul Fitzgerald, who still lives in Pallaskenry, is about to send his daughter Meara to the school next year.
"It was a good place. My earliest memory would be the day I came to do the entrance exam. Back then, you were so innocent you thought it meant something. You thought if you did not pass it, you did not get in. But of course you did get in," he laughed.
In 1982, Pearse Kelly moved to Vancouver, escaping Ireland "because the future was so dim".
He admitted his shock when he received the telephone call from Jude: "I could not believe they had actually tracked me down. I thought I had escaped this place! Jude tracked me down through the post office in my old village near Connemara. He phoned the post office and was told that I had moved to Canada. It was a wonderful period of my time in my life, but you don't know that at the time."
Current principal Paddy O'Neill, Kildimo, left Copsewood college for the first time in 1977 before being named principal in 2003 following a spell as PE teacher in the school.
Speaking at the reunion, he said: "We must remember the great time we enjoyed together. When we were in school in 1970s, we were comparing the type of educations in other schools. I know I experienced a great time here. We are a very friendly school.”
One of the first female students in the school, Oonagh O’Sullivan, Kildimo, said she was initially concerned when she came into the school - but was soon reassured.
“It was lovely, and all the boys were very nice to us. One of the things is you come out of this school prepared for life. It was a bit daunting coming in at first, but after a while I made so many friends so it did not matter,” she said.
Salesians Priest, former Copsewood College teacher, Fr Martin Loftus delivered the memorial mass. Speaking of 1972, he said: “I remember it vividly as if it were yeasterday. I arrived in ’72 - Seeing the quad, the classrooms, the dormitories and what was called the jacks! Fr. Paddy Boyle showed me around – he was the outgoing sports master in those days. The dormitories are gone and have become classrooms, art room and computer & technology centres.”
He added his fondest memory was the Friday night films, which were either “in black and white or technicolor” which the students enjoyed as a treat.
Meanwhile, the day before the reunion took place, Charleville Golf Club played host to a golf tournament in memory of Mr Rushe, with a trophy named after him. Jude confirmed this ‘classic’ would take place annually.
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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