ROCKWELL COLLEGE UNION GOVERNING BODY
ANNUAL REPORT
2005 - 2006
Introduction
The President and Governing Body of the Rockwell College Union are pleased to present the 81st Annual Report of the Union.
2005/2006 was another very successful year for the Union with a number of good quality Union events held during the year, progress made on key issues such as increasing the number of e-mail addresses on the Union database and the ongoing recruitment of younger members. Also, the Union worked closely with the College in relation to the College Development Project and a total of €100,000 was donated by the Union to the College at the Business Lunch and Annual Dinner.
AGM 2005
The 80th Rockwell College Union AGM was held on 16th May 2005 in Rockwell. John Duffy (1978) was elected President of the Union, Robert Gallagher (1979) was elected as Vice President and Jim Holmes (1976) was elected Second Vice President. Aisling Gildea was re-elected as Hon Secretary, Tom Madigan was re-elected Hon Treasurer, and Jim Holmes was re-elected as Hon Membership Secretary.
Membership
There has been modest continued growth in seven-year memberships through recent leavers and our programme of writing to parents of recent leavers continues. This exercise is facilitated by the College and we thank Fr Billy Cleary for his help.
The year to 2006 included Rockwell College Union dinners in Paris and London which allowed us to sign up some additional standing orders. Enquiries have been received asking if we have plans for the next North American reunion and we should consider if this is feasible in the near future.
Rockwell past pupils may access the Union website and post their comments or questions. Information received in this way is used to amend the database and helps with the upkeep of current contact details for past pupils. We acknowledge the work done by our Webmaster Diarmaid O’Conchubhair (2002) in keeping the website updated and relevant to our members.
Email has been proven to be the future for contacting past pupils. To date we have 660 email addresses, which are constantly updated with information gathered at Union events such as the Business Lunch and Annual Dinner. The booking process for these events and the events themselves continue to be an important part of updating our records. In the coming year we must focus on some software issues with the Content Management System (our database) so that we can improve our efficiency in contacting members.
The task of Membership Secretary has been helped in huge measure by the efforts of Barry Sheehan and Brian Kavanagh who did all the work in sending bulk emails as notice of Union events, seasonal greetings etc.
It is expected that the year to 2007 will show a net increase in subscription income as the impact of new standing orders takes effect.
Accounts
This was another strong financial year, with profits made on all major functions and the Union Diary. These profits were enhanced by sponsorship of key events, with Ulster Bank Corporate Banking sponsoring the Business Lunch in November 2005 and Anglo Irish Bank sponsoring the Annual Dinner in March 2005. The Governing Body greatly appreciates the support of both sponsors. Profits were also aided by very successful raffles at the events and thanks must go to the College (particularly Fr Halley) for providing match tickets and to those who supplied other attractive prizes. The Union Diary also made a profit, which was once again helped greatly by advertising. Thanks are due to all advertisers who supported the Union Diary.
The accounts for the year ended 31st December 2005 recorded income of €25,149 and expenditure (before donations, see below) of €5,849. €20,000 was presented to the College for the Development Fund and €2,000 to the Missionary Project by the out-going President, Billy Murphy, at the AGM in May 2005.
This year, the Union will donate €15,000 to the College Development Fund, as well as €2,000 to the Missions.
Rockwell Development Programme
The College announced a three year (2005 - 2007) development programme that begins a long term capital development investment that will deliver a modern, fully equipped learning environment in an unrivalled setting of natural beauty with facilities that are second to none. The Governing Body are working closely with the College in helping to raise the necessary funds and also with the Past Pupils Fundraising Committee which is chaired by Andy Butler, a Past President of the Union. Our thanks are due to all members of the Past Pupils Fundraising Committee for their work during the year.
At the Business Lunch in November the President of the Union, John Duffy donated €50,000 which was raised by the Union to the President of the College, Fr Billy Cleary, towards the Development Programme. A further €50,000 was donated at the Annual Dinner in March. A further €15,000 is being donated from the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2005. The total amounts now donated to the College over the past three years totals €195,000.
Prize Day
The President attended the 141st Rockwell College Prize Day in May 2005. The Student of the Year Gold Medal was awarded to Cathy O’Donoghue, the James Joy Senior Debating Gold Medal was presented to Sean O’Fitzgerald and the Thomas McDonagh Literary Award went to Tiernan Fitzgibbon. It was an enjoyable day, superbly organised by Pat O’ Sullivan and his team at Rockwell.
New Governing Body Members
At the November Governing Body meeting our President, John Duffy, welcomed six new members from the class of 2005 to the Governing Body. The new members were David Foley, Micheal Buckley, Doireann McMorrow, Kyle Kophamel, Peter Shallow and Conor Quinlan.
Other new members who joined the Governing Body during the year were Paul Marren (1978), Liam Flynn (1981), Joe Barrett (1984) and Gerry Rockingham (1991).
Attendance at the Governing Body meetings during the year was excellent and our thanks are due to the Hon. Secretary, Aisling Gildea for the very efficient administration of the meetings.
Website
The website continues to be a major focus for the Union, with reports and photographs of major events held by the Union together with news on past pupils in their personal, business, academic and sporting lives. The website is frequently updated with news items and profiles of past students and membership forms may also be downloaded from the website. The website and emailing facility are probably the single most important development in the Union in recent years and have assisted greatly in the promotion of the Union and its activities. During the year Robert Gallagher led an exercise for the Union in getting as many e-mail addresses for past pupils as possible. We are grateful to Robert for his work in this regard.
We are also grateful to Brendan Sutton for his work as Website Liaison Officer and also to Diarmaid Ó Conchubhair for his support as Webmaster of the Rockwell College Union.
Annual Mass
The Annual Mass in memory of deceased past pupils took place on 13 November 2005 in St Mary’s College, Rathmines. Fr Billy Cleary, President of Rockwell College, celebrated the Mass and was assisted by ex President of the College, Fr Aidan Lehane. The Rockwell Choir performed under the guidance of Fr Peter Raftery. There was a record attendance at the Mass and the Union expresses its gratitude to all those who attended. Thanks to Fr Cleary and Fr Lehane for officiating, Fr Raftery for organising the Choir, Fr Sterling for compiling the obituary list and Risteard O’Colmain for his work in organising the event.
Business Lunch
The Business Lunch was held on Friday 18th November in a new venue, The Conrad Hotel, following the temporary closure of the Shelbourne Hotel. The Guest Speaker was Mr. Seamus Mulligan (Class of 1977), Chairman and CEO of Azur Pharma Limited and previously of Elan Corporation. Seamus gave an excellent and very interesting speech.
The Business Lunch was generously sponsored by Ulster Bank through Robert Gallagher and the Union would like to express its thanks to Ulster Bank and Robert for their support.
A total of just under 90 people attended the Lunch with a great show from the 2004 and 2005 class years.
The President of the Union, John Duffy, presented a cheque for €50,000 to the President of the College, Fr Billy Cleary, towards the College Development Fund. The raffle held at the lunch raised just over €1,800.
A special thanks to Mark Smyth and his committee for organising another successful Business Lunch.
Mock Interviews
The Rockwell Union Mock Interviews took place in the College on Thursday 24th November 2005. The Union brought along a panel of 10 individuals from various professional backgrounds to impart interview technique and general career guidance to approximately 100 final year students. It was of particular note this year that the students interviewed were very well prepared, enthusiastic and extremely courteous and confident.
The advice and guidance of these interviews in the final year student’s Rockwellian education continues to be of tremendous importance and has a very significant bearing on the student’s future career choice. In this regard the Union is deeply indebted to those who travelled to the College and gave so generously of their time – Jim Holmes, Dr. Colman Walsh, Captain Feargal Ryan, Monica Kennedy, Nichola Beresford, Richard Foley, Adrian Dunne, Breda Regan, Clodagh Beresford and Professor Neil Hunt.
As always, the Union wishes to thank Clodagh Beresford and Pat O’Sullivan for their work in organising this very worthwhile exercise.
Presidents’ Dinner
The Presidents' Dinner took place once again at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club on 13th December 2005, and was attended by many Governing Body members, Past Union Presidents and the President of the College. Our thanks go to the Immediate Past President, Billy Murphy (1978), for organising this very enjoyable evening.
Diary
The 2006 Union Diary was sent to 782 paying members of the Union and the Leaving Cert class in Rockwell. The Diary made a profit of €2,864. Once again this year’s diary was a hugely successful publication and is welcomed by members of the Union for the information contained which includes list contact details for all members of the Union, list of Advertisers and Sponsors, together with various information on the College and Union. It is distributed free of charge to all members of the Union. Robert Gallagher and the other members of the Diary Committee are to be congratulated on their great work.
Recent Past Pupils Event
A new informal Re-Union event for those who left Rockwell in the past three years was held on 3rd February 2006 in Kilkenny. The event was sponsored by the Union. A total of 30 past pupils attended the event and it is expected that the attendance will increase in future years.
The event was held in the Kytler’s Inn. Finger food was provided by the proprietors, and it wasn’t long before the night was in full swing. With free entry to Nero’s Nightclub provided, this was the next port of call and a great night was had by all.
The event was a big success and plans are underway to make it an annual event. Special thanks are due to Aidan Byrne (2004) and other recent past pupils on the Governing Body for organising the event. Thanks are also due to JD Flynn (2004) for his organisation of the food and the spot prizes on the night.
Paris Dinner
After many months of planning by Fergus Aherne, Francis Christiani and Joe Cummiskey, the Paris Reunion Dinner took place on Friday 10 February 2006, the eve of the Ireland v France rugby interantional. In total, 25 Rockwellians and guests from various countries across Europe attended.
The evening started with a private reception at City Hall hosted by the Mayor of Paris. In his speech Mayor Taittinger welcomed the guests from Rockwell. Fr Aidan Lehane responded in French on behalf of the Union highlighting the strong historical links between Rockwell, the Holy Ghost Order and France. The President of the Union, John Duffy, presented pieces of Dublin Crystal to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
After the reception, the Rockwell party adjourned to a nearby restaurant, Au Petit Riche, where all enjoyed an excellent evening.
On the Saturday morning prior to the International match, Francis Christiani and his wife, Ann Marie hosted a reception at their home where the Rockwellians present where treated to the best of French cuisine, champagnes and wines. Francis also arranged transport to the international match.
On Sunday morning a Mass was held at the Mother House of the Holy Ghost Order.
Many thanks to Fergus Aherne, Francis Christiani and Joe Cummiskey for their work in organising the weekend, and in particular a special thank you to Francis and Ann Marie for their wonderful hospitality.
Annual Dinner
The highlight event of the Union calendar was held on 10th March 2006 in the Conrad Hotel. The event again was a great success with a capacity turnout. There was an excellent attendance from the 2004 and 2005 class years. The Union subsidised the price of tickets for those up to 5 years out of Rockwell. The feature years also had a very strong turnout.
The Vice President of the Union, Robert Gallagher, successfully performed the role of Master of Ceremonies. An excellent PowerPoint presentation, which was prepared by David Foley from the Class of 2005, ran throughout the Dinner.
Dolmen Stockbrokers through Ronan Reid from the Class of 1983 very generously sponsored the dinner. The President of the Union, John Duffy, sincerely thanked Ronan and Dolmen for their support of the event.
The Rockwell Person of the Year was awarded to Paul McNaughton from the Class of 1970. Fr Aidan Lehane made an excellent introductory speech highlighting the outstanding sporting and business achievements of Paul’s career. Paul made an excellent response and noted his very fond memories of his time in Rockwell. The President of the Union presented a piece of crystal, kindly sponsored by Dublin Crystal, to Paul.
The President of the Union also presented a cheque for €50,000 on behalf of the Union to the President of the College Fr Billy Cleary for the College Development Project. Fr Cleary made an excellent response highlighting the various aspects of the Development Project and its importance to the future prosperity of Rockwell.
The Master of Ceremonies announced the relaunch of the Union Annual Golf Outing to be held in Powerscourt Golf Club on 7th September 2006. On the night, 60 out of the 80 tee times were sold.
The Dinner made a record profit of €9,181. This was mainly achieved through sponsorship from Dolmen Stockbrokers of €3,000, sponsorship of €2,750 from 11 associate sponsors and the proceeds from the raffle which raised €4,553.
A special thanks to the Dinner Committee, and in particular Yvonne Kennedy, for all their work and effort in making the night a success.
London Dinner
The 9th London Rockwell Reunion Dinner was held on 17th March 2006 at the Mountbatten Hotel, Covent Garden. Attendance was down on previous years, mainly due to alternative Patrick’s Day celebrations and the Cheltenham Festival, but a good time was had by all 41 attendees. A minute’s silence was held before the dinner in memory of Mike Brosnan (1979), who died suddenly at the age of 46, just a month previously. He and his parents had a long history of supporting the reunion.
Guests of honour were the President of Rockwell, Father Billy Cleary and the President of the Union, John Duffy. Also present were Fathers Lehane and Redmond and President elect of the Union in 2008, Jim Holmes.
The toast to Rockwell was proposed by John Duffy, who in his speech highlighted the Union’s role in fundraising for the College, particularly in the light of the major development work planned for the future. The response, by Father Billy Cleary covered developments at the College and brought the assembled company up to date with the latest news and sports results which are always well received by the “exiles”. Interestingly, the oldest attendee, Tom Cahill, left in 1950 and the youngest, Justin Lynch, left in 1999. As ever, a broad age range of old students was represented, including just one female, Janet Frawley (1991).
One guest, Kevin Cahill (1962) generously donated a private tour of the House of Lords which was auctioned to the winning bidder, Anthony Broderick (1978). The evening ended with a rousing rendition of the College anthem.
The weekend finished on a highly successful note with Ireland’s dramatic win over England; but there was a very sad footnote: Conor Crowley (1965), a regular visitor to the London Reunion died suddenly of a heart attack, while returning from the match. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him and we extend deepest sympathy to his family.
Special thanks are due to Pat Mulcahy (1967) for his outstanding work in organising the event. Also, thanks to Mike O’Connor of the Radisson Edwardian Hotel Group who helped with arrangements for the event.
Golf Society
This year’s golf activity was disappointing but it hoped that the level of golfing activity will be increased over the next few years. At the Annual Dinner in March the relaunch of the Union Annual Golf Outing to be held in Powerscourt Golf Club on 7 September 2006 was announced. On the night 60 out of a total of 80 tee times for the outing were filled. It is hoped that this will event will grow in popularity over the next number of years.
This year Rockwell organised the Union Cup, an annual competition between the five Holy Ghost Schools. The competition took place at the Grange in July 2005. Rockwell were represented by Morgan Pierse, Phelim Moylan, Peter O’Connor and Henry Bolger. Templeogue again succeeded in pipping Rockwell to retain the Union Cup. Our thanks are due to Morgan Pierse for his work in organising this event.
Rockwell also participated in the Union of Irish Schools Golf Competition at the Castle in April 2006. In all 29 schools participated with Belvedere emerging as the winners. Rockwell performed admirably and were represented by Rory Meehan, Adrian Madden, John Duffy and Phelim Moylan.
Rockwell Retreat
The Rockwell Annual Retreat was held in the College on Holy Thursday and Good Friday.
The schedule consisted of the traditional events in the College Chapel together with some talks in the library. Fr John Littleton, the guest speaker, spoke in the library on Friday morning and afternoon. He was an outstanding speaker and the topics he covered were thought provoking.
The schedule also included plenty of free time. There was beautiful spring weather, which allowed time for numerous walks around the lake and down the back avenue. The College Community looked after the attendees very well and as per usual the quality of the food served was of the highest quality.
A special word of thanks to Risteard O’Colmain and also to the College Community for all their work in organising the event.
Appreciation
Our sincere thanks to the President of the College, Fr Billy Cleary and Assistant Hon Secretary Fr Pat Downes, for their continued support of the Union throughout the year. We appreciate Fr Edward Sterling's work in keeping a record of all deceased past pupils over the past number of years. Thanks also to Pat O Sullivan, Principal of Rockwell College, for his support of the Union and his attendance at Union events.
Conclusion
This year has been another very successful year for the Rockwell College Union. All Union functions were extremely well attended and successfully organised. The Annual Dinner, Business Lunch and Union Diary all made significant profits which has allowed the Union to contribute such large amounts of money to the school and to the Missions, which is one of our primary objectives.
A very special thank you to all Governing Body members, for their dedicated work and support throughout the year.
| Mike Brosnan |
1979 |
| Thomas Byrne |
1944 |
| Conor Crowley |
1965 |
| Vincent Daly |
1956 |
| Michael Dwan |
1939 |
| Michael Fogarty |
1990 |
| Seán Kelly |
1950 |
| Thomas Maher |
1981 |
| Tom Maher |
1972 |
| Thomas McDonnell |
1941 |
| John Moran |
1996 |
| Liam O'Connor |
1964 |
| Michael O'Dea |
1949 |
| Ciarán O'Donoghue |
1965 |
| C. S. O'Mahony |
1945 |
| Fachtna O'Regan |
1946 |
| Denis Ormand |
1975 |
| Fr. Séamus Owens C.S.Sp. |
1934 |
| Dick D'Arcy |
- |
| Patrick Walshe |
1939 |
| John B. O'Dwyer |
1986 |
| Paddy Joy |
1954 |
| Oliver O'Toole |
1994 (Agricultural College) |
John Duffy
President
8th May 2006
Aisling Gildea
Honorary Secretary
8th May 2006
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