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Presidents Message
Dear Past Pupils,
Thank you for logging in to the Westland Row PPU website, and I hope this message finds you all well.
I’m pleased to report your Committee is back working after the summer break and has started planning for the regular annual events which have just been announced. Firstly there is the Annual Mass for deceased Past Pupils which takes place on Sunday 1st December at St. Andrew’s Church Westland Row and the PPU Annual Dinner which takes place as usual at the Westbury Hotel on Saturday 25th January 2025. We would like to see as many past pupils as possible at these events and as always, we appreciate your support.
Sadly, as the Committee reconvenes, we reflect on the loss of a great supporter and Committee member, with the unexpected passing of our colleague Jerry Carroll in May of this year. Jerry was a former Past President of the PPU and also served for many years as Chairman of the School’s Board of Management. We will miss Jerry’s friendship, wisdom and experience on the Committee and we extend our sincere sympathies to Jerry’s wife Mary, their children and extended family.
The 2024-25 school year is now well under way and September 2024 saw a group of 27 new students joining first year, which brings the school close to capacity at 205 students. We wish all students an enjoyable and successful year at the “Row”.
Thanks to the ongoing support of our members with their annual subscriptions and occasional donations, the PPU currently makes a number of scholarship awards to deserving students each year. We are currently in discussion with the School Principal about the distribution of the 2024 awards and expect to complete this over the next few weeks. We have also resumed sponsorship of the “Student of the Year” awards and were pleased to present these to the Class of 2023-24 at their awards day in June 2024.
Finally, I would ask all past pupils to consider getting back in touch with your former colleagues from the school. The Past Pupils Union belongs to all who attended the “Row” and our continued success depends on the goodwill of all former “Row” students. Regardless of when you attended, or how many years you spent at the school, the Past Pupils Union has a welcome for everyone and we look forward to meeting you at one of our upcoming events!
Dan Ferrari
President
About
CBS Westland Row
“The school is very proud of our PPU and very appreciative of their ongoing support. We would encourage recent school leavers to join the PPU as a way of keeping in touch with the school and contributing to the excellent work the school does”
The Christan Brothers initially established a school in East Hannover Street in 1812, The school then transferred in 1864 to a site in Westland Row, adjacent to St Andrews Church, where it remains to this day, centrally located on major bus and train routes. Initially set up as an all-boys school the school now has a mix of boys and girls students. The School is a member of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, a community of schools which are managed in accordance with the principles of the Edmund Rice Schools Charter.
The School provides a wide range of subjects for students studying the Junior Certificate and the Leaving Certificate courses, including both the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) and Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme.
2023 has been a difficult year, in a number of ways, but the school, supported by the PPU, have worked successfully, together and independently, to overcome the problems. The school numbers increased again and these include a number of students fleeing the war in Ukraine. There are currently x students, representing x different nationalities.
On the academic front, a very creditable result was achieved. Out of twenty students in the Leaving Cert class, fourteen, or 70%, went on to third level. Four went to the Technical University of Dublin (TUD), three to Trinity and three to DCU. The balance was spread over other universities. Many congratulations are due to Principal Kate Byrne and her dedicated staff for these achievements.
The school’s success was recognized in a number of ways including a prestigious community award as evidenced by the banner, pictured below, which flies proudly outside the building. The award is in recognition of the contribution of the school to the local community.
The Past Pupils Union has, in recent years, supported the school with various grants or awards towards the cost of students’ education. Thanks to the ongoing support of our members and to some very generous donations, the PPU was in a position to make a number of awards at the start of the latest academic year. The 2023 awards were presented by PPU President Dan Ferrari and fellow committee member Pat Neill, to students who were nominated by the Principal and her colleagues.
About
Westland Row PPU
The Past Pupils Union (PPU) was set up in 1954. The primary purpose of the PPU is to support the teachers to achieve the best possible learning outcomes for the students in the school, to keep past pupils advised of developments within the school and the past pupils community, and to encourage past pupils to keep in touch. Membership of the Union is available to all past pupils and the annual subscription and other fund-raising events, after expenses, are used to support the work for the school.
To support the school, we help with career guidance and in preparing pupils for the world outside the school. We support other learning opportunities from time to time, including homework clubs and Gaeltacht scholarships. We sponsor the annual Student of the Year awards and help in other fund-raising activities for purchase of new equipment from time to time.
For past pupils we provide updates on developments of interest, both within the school and within the wider past pupil community. A number of Leaving Cert. Classes have also set up their own Whats App Group. Further details are available from the Secretary. We also organize an annual dinner at which the Row Person of the Year is commemorated and arrange that deceased past pupils are remembered in the annual St Andrews Day Mass.
As has been the tradition for a number of years the PPU Annual Dinner is scheduled to take place on the last Saturday in January, this year January 28.
The hotelier, PV Doyle, was one of the first winners of the Row Man (now Row Person) of the Year Award and through the support of his family we have enjoyed the hospitality of the hotels in the Doyle Group, latterly the Westbury, for our Annual Dinner. Photos from previous dinners are included in the Blog.
`John Murray (Class of ‘62) has been selected as the Row Person for 2025 and will be presented with the Award at the Dinner. Other recent winners included Gerry Keenan in 2024, Gerry Davey in 2023 and John Cullen in 2022.
The cost of the Dinner is €70. Tickets and further information on the Dinner are available from the PPU Secretary, John Cullen
Email: [email protected], – Phone: 087 231 2728.
Each year a Mass is held in Westland Row Church commemorating Sr Andrew’s Day. By arrangement with the Parish deceased past pupils are included in the prayers of the Mass. Their names also appear on the Parish Newsletter and Mass leaflet.
While the PPU normally learns about the deaths of past pupils it is inevitable that some deaths will be missed. Anyone who knows of any such deaths is asked to advise the Secretary.
This year’s Mass, on Sunday December 1 2024. was celebrated by the Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, Paul Dempsey, who was assisted by the PPU Chaplin, Fr. Eugene McCarthy, and Fr. Alan Hilliard, the recently appointed Administrator at Westland Row.
The number of past pupils who died during the last twelve months was read out by Deacon, Dermot McCarthy, at the beginning of Mass and was a record high of fourteen names as follows;
Sean Duncan, Matt Wallace, Jerry Carroll, Paul Donohue, Ray McCarthy, Emmet Bergin, Fran Rooney, Sean Canavan, Paddy Walsh, Tommy Tracey, Fr. Myles Kavanagh CP, John Sherwin, John Henry, Jack McGinley.
Gerry Keenan (Class of 71) has been elected as Row Person of the Year for 2024. He was presented with the PV Doyle Award at the Annual Dinner on 27 January last.
Gerry started in the ROW Secondary School in Bro. Hickey’s class in 1966. After second level, he graduated from University College Dublin and London School of Economics. Subsequently, he held roles at University College Cork, The Economic and Social Research Institute and the Central Bank.
Gerry joined Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM) in 1984, working in various roles before becoming Chief Executive in 2005. He was responsible to the Board for developing of both external clients and internal Irish Life group clients.
During his period as CEO at ILIM, Gerry also served on the Board of the Irish Association of Pension Funds and as Chairman of the Irish Association of Investment Managers.
Gerry retired as CEO of ILIM in September 2013 and continued on the Board in a non-executive capacity until early 2021. He is now self-employed providing non-executive Director, Investment Consulting and Business services.
Gerry, in a voluntary capacity, sits on the Investment Committee of CBS Congregation Charity, Richmond New street. This Committee provides financial support to many of the Congregation’s development projects around the World.
Gerry, accompanied by the President and some of the Committee members, had a very successful visit to the school where he offered advice on making career choices to the current pupils. His talk was very well received and we understand he has been asked to talk with future Leaving Cert classes.
Cuimhneachan
1864 To 2014 (School And Local History)
The original school was established by the Christian Brothers in 1812 and moved to its present location in 1864. The PPU together with the school arranged a programme of events to mark the 150 year Anniversary in 2014. We were honored by the presence of Enda Kenny, TD, Taoiseach, in the school on 20 November 2014 to launch the programme. The Taoiseach spent a lengthy period meeting the pupils and all others present, and soaking up the atmosphere in the school. In his remarks, the Taoiseach was generous in his praise for the contribution that the school and its past pupils have made to building our country. The contribution was also recognized in the choice of the school to launch the 1916 to 2016 Schools Commemoration Programme.
As part of the celebrations the PPU organized, printed and distributed Cuimhneachan, a history of the school and the surrounding area over the period from 1864 to 2014. In particular it includes details of past pupils who we were involved in the 1916 Easter Rising. The most famous of these were the Pearse brothers Padraig and Willie but there were many other who took part. Cuimhneachan also included a section dealing with past pupils and others from the area who fought in the Great War. Cuimhneachan was and still is a must read for anyone interested to learn about the history of the school and the local area.
There are, unfortunately, not too many hard copies of the actual publication available, but we have included a PDF version on this Website. This version has been updated to include more past pupils who fought in 1916, and whose names emerged after Cuimhneachán was first published.
School History Project
Another project as part of the 150 anniversary celebrations was the School History Project. This involved the digitalization of the pupils’ records and the provision of a searchable facility which now covers the period from October 1864 when the school opened, to 1928. Cuimhneachán includes details from the records of the addresses of pupils and their parents’ occupations. This is interesting in terms of the changing demographics of the area . One interesting aspect of the work was the discovery that that Eamon De Valera sent his sons to the school in the period, describing his occupation as President of Ireland. We also discovered that the grandfather of a prominent British Politician attended the school – his parents gave their address as the local Army Barracks. The link below gives detailed instructions on how to access the records.
