Longford memories: Recalling the history of Moyne Latin School

Last Thursday 13 past pupils of Moyne Latin School gathered in the sunshine to mark six decades since they first embarked on their second level educational journey.

'Do you remember any Latin?'
It only takes a moment for Liam McNamee and Gene Dowling to delve into the memory bank to embark on the declension of Latin verbs. It's a powerful illustration of the maxim that education is never wasted.

The two men entered Moyne Latin School in 1962, along with forty other pupils. The class was cut to 20 in second year, pared to sixteen by time Leaving Cert exam came around.
Last Thursday, June 1, thirteen alumnus of the Latin School returned to reminisce on the six decades passed since they entered the boys-only educational centre.
As the former pupils show up there is a palpable warmth to the greetings, alluding to genuine friendships fostered sixty years ago.

Past Pupil Seán O Súilleabháin did a good deal of the leg work to bring the first years from 1962 back to Moyne on a glorious summer's day in 2023. Sean says the close knit nature of the class was partly to do with geometry: “We only had five rooms. There was nothing else, no playing fields, nothing. Five rooms and five classes. The first year room held 40, but the second year room only held 20.”
“We finished in 1967. That's 56 years ago. When we met for the 50th anniversary year of our sitting the leaving cert all 16 of us were alive. Since then one of our numbers has passed, but it's a high proportion to still have 15 out of 16 still here,” Sean told the Leader.

The class holds a unique place in history, sitting on the cusp of the transition towards open education: “What was significant about 1967 was we were the last class before free education, and the last class before free transport. All these lads cycled to school. There was no other way. That September the bus came. We missed all that. That man there, John Dermody, cycled 12 miles to school and 12 back.”
“Those roads would be rough enough. They'd be pebbly and not as smooth as today's roads. On a wet day after a 12 miles cycle you would be fairly wet,” he recalled.

Sean tells of walking down the valley to the closest shop, dawdling on the return journey to miss the opening minutes of class, proving that even after six decades some student experiences are universal.
The Latin School was a centre of educational excellence at the time: “We did Latin and Greek. They were the big subjects of the time. There were only seven subjects; Irish, English, Maths, History, Geography, Latin and Greek. Greek faded out in the next few years, because once free education came in September '67 the whole curriculum changed.

“Another significant thing was that it was a boys only school. When we were finishing that June there was registration taking place and girls were coming in. We thought, 'Jesus, we're a year late!'.”
Moves to preserve the history of the school are in place: “A local group has developed an interpretive centre in the school.

“It was an incredible school because over a period of 100 years it produced 560 priests. Some of the classes had 10 and 11 students go forward to the priesthood. From our class four of the 16 went for the priesthood.
“Two are here today; Pat Lennon, parish priest in Dromard and Mickey Kiernan, from Sacramento in California. Both are originally from Ballinamuck and are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their ordination this year.”

The gathering was an opportunity to look at what the community has done to keep the memory of the Latin School alive: “It's not completed, but there are panels on the wall with the whole history of the school. We will look at those and then sit down in a circle and chat and talk about the devilment we got up to, and what we did and didn't do.”

At the gathering Fr Michael Kiernan spoke of the abiding influence Latin School principal, Father Phil McGee, had on the pupils: “He was one of the greatest people I ever met in my life.
I still think of him as a person who in many ways helped me to be what I am. He gave us confidence and encouraged public speaking, sometimes in a subtle way by engaging us to talk about football or whatever. It was to get us to express ourselves.”