School days, school days,
dear old golden rule days,
Reading and 'riting and 'rithmatic,
taught to the tune of the hickory stick.
You were my queen in calico,
I was your bashful, barefoot beau,
You wrote on my slate,
'I love you Joe',
when we were a couple of kids.
It's funny how the mind works, isn't it? When I was looking at the inspiration image of the Chittenden Hotel for today's Sepia Saturday, these lyrics from a very old (1907) American chanty began to run through my head.
For reasons unknown to me, occasionally my Irish mother would sing this tune, while she was washing dishes, doing a simple mending job, or weeding in the back garden. When I was a child I thought it was a very silly rhyming bit, but it made my mother happy, and the light-hearted nature of it seemed to make quick work of the task at hand. I can still picture my mother working away, head slightly bobbing, as she trilled out this simple ditty.
For reasons unknown to me, occasionally my Irish mother would sing this tune, while she was washing dishes, doing a simple mending job, or weeding in the back garden. When I was a child I thought it was a very silly rhyming bit, but it made my mother happy, and the light-hearted nature of it seemed to make quick work of the task at hand. I can still picture my mother working away, head slightly bobbing, as she trilled out this simple ditty.
How does this bring me to today's post? Well, the little tune, together with the image of the hotel building, reminded me of school and school buildings, and some of those educational institutions that have figured in my family history. So without further adieu, I give you, 'School days'.
The first set of images shows Clongowes Wood College in its various incarnations. Founded by the Jesuits in 1814, and situated just outside of Clane, in County Kildare, the college is a seven-day boarding school for boys. Several members of my family were educated here, including Andrew J. Kettle, who attended in the 1840s, and his sons Laurence Joseph Kettle and Thomas Michael Kettle, both of whom attended during the last decade of the 19th century.
The gateway into Clongowes Wood College remains much as it was from the school's inception. ©irisheyesjg. |
'The Castle' of Clongowes Wood College in its earliest incarnation. [National Library of Ireland] |
The Castle, with the addition of the Boys' Chapel which was built in 1907. [National Library of Ireland] |
Clongowes Wood College as it looks today. ©irisheyesjg. |
Founded in 1908 by Pádraig Pearse — he who read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic at the outset of the 1916 Easter Rising — the school stands on 50 acres of woods and parkland.
With the view that conventional education was destroying young minds, instead of nurturing them, Pearse's antipodean methods seemed newer than new, but harkened back to the past and a theory of 'pure learning'. Gaelic culture and language were at the forefront of his educational system, as was Irish Nationalism, and the connection with the natural world was deeply ingrained in his philosophy.
The 'Hermitage' of St. Enda's School. It is now the Pearse Museum. ©irisheyesjg. |
The Dormitory. ©irisheyesjg. |
The Study Hall as it once looked. ©irisheyesjg. |
The Study Hall now stands empty of desks, though little else is changed. ©irisheyesjg. |
The Chapel as it looked when the school was in operation. ©irisheyesjg. |
The Chapel as it is today. ©irisheyesjg. |
One of several follies secreted in the lush green landscape of the school. ©irisheyesjg. |
Although their programme of education was not as radical as that of St. Enda's School, nonetheless the Christian Brothers infused their lessons with more than a healthy dose of Irish Nationalism. Gaelic language and culture were also part of the curriculum. Such an education would have a profound impact on Michael Magee's life. In 1913, at the age of 15 years, Michael joined the Irish Volunteers. He fought during the 1916 Easter Rising, and would die as a member of the Active Service Unit in 1921 during the Irish War of Independence. Coincidentally, St. Paul's school fronts the street in an area in which 18 year old Michael was Volunteer Section Leader, serving with 'A' Company, 1st Battalion of the Dublin Brigade during the 1916 Easter Rising.
The Christian Brothers' School of St. Paul, North Brunswick Street, Stoneybatter, Dublin City, County Dublin. ©irisheyesjg. |
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