Welcome to the CBS Westland
Presidents Message
Following the recent AGM I am pleased to have been appointed as President of the Past Pupils Unions for a further year. Unfortunately, as in recent years, the AGM was again poorly attended. We are not alone in this respect as it also seems to be the case with other Past Pupils’ Unions.
Gerry Cassidy (Class of 66) decided to retire from the Committee at the AGM. I would like to thank Gerry, and indeed all the other Committee members, for their work, especially during the challenging Covid years. Two new members were duly elected at the AGM, Gerry Doyle (Class of 73) and Eddie Kelly, who recently retired as Vice Principal of the School. We will work with Eddie to help widen our membership among the more recent past pupils.
With the exception of Gerry, all other Committee members were re-elected for a further year.
Our new Website is now up and running and we hope you find it easy to navigate. The Website has a strong focus on providing access to historical happenings, for example, the Cuimhneachan publication and the School Archive Project. If you have not done so previously, I would strongly urge you to access both items as they provide a wonderful background to the earlier activities of the school and the surrounding areas, including in particular, our past pupil’s involvement in both the 1916 Rising and the First World War.
Current news will still in the first instance be distributed through our Blog (Link below). We continue to be grateful for the work Jim Conway does in maintaining the Blog and, of course, to John Murray who provides the photos.
As members will be aware, the PPU 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 able to make a number of awards at the start of the last academic year. The 2023 awards were presented by fellow committee member Pat Neill and myself to four students, two in first year and two in fifth year, who were nominated by the Principal and her colleagues. We will be making similar awards later this year and I hope with continued support from our members that we will be able to continue these awards in future years.
The Committee has spent time over the last year considering the future of the PPU. Our membership has been declining for some years and unless we can attract more new members our ability to support the School will be severely diminished. One way we feel we can help do this is to attract more recent past pupils to join our Committee, and we are delighted that Eddie will help with this work. We are especially interested in those who left the School after 1980; hopefully, we can attract some past pupils who attended since the school went Co-Ed. We would encourage as many past pupils as possible to contact the PPU and seek out colleagues from their own schooldays at the ”Row”. From experience, it is well worth the effort.
To mark 50 years since leaving the “Row” my own Class of 1973 made a memorable visit to the school in October of last year. It was a wonderful experience, and I would strongly urge any class marking a major anniversary to make a similar visit. With reasonable notice the school will be happy to facilitate the group.
Our Row Person of the Year, Gerry Keenan, also followed the tradition of making a visit to the school. Gerry spoke about how his own career had developed from his time at the “Row” and provided some very helpful advice to those pupils leaving the school in the next few years. The feedback indicates that his comments were very well received and appreciated.
Finally, I would like on behalf of the Past Pupils Union to send our best wishes to those students sitting their exams in the coming weeks.
Dan Ferrari
President
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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, most recently January 27 2024. 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.
Gerry Keenan (Class of ‘71) has been selected as the Row Person for 2024 and will be presented with the Award at the Dinner. Other recent winners included Gerry Davey in 2023 and John Cullen in 2022.
Further information on the Dinner is avail from the Secretary, John Cullen, – Email: [email protected], – Phone: 087 231 2728.
Each year the Archbishop of Dublin celebrates a Mass in Westland Row Church commemorating Sr Andrew’s Day. Past pupils who died during the past year are also remembered in the Mass.
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 was celebrated by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell, on Sunday December 3. 2023. 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. An unusually large number of past pupils passed away since the 2022 Mass. The following were included in the prayers – Noel Halloran, Stephen Kenny, Michael Doyle, Paul Kealy, Ian McGarry, Martin Conway, Denis McKennedy, Bryan O’Higgins, Gerry Hammond and Willie Meier. May they all rest in peace.
The PPU was well represented in the congregation by a large number of past pupils including Monsignor Dan O’Connor and our Chaplain, Fr. Eugene McCarthy, who was a con-celebrant on the altar with the Archbishop and Fr. Enda Cunningham, the Parish Administrator.
The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, was amongst the VIP members of the Congregation.
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.
