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ROCKWELL COLLEGE UNION GOVERNING BODY
ANNUAL REPORT
2004 - 2005
Introduction
The President and Governing Body of the Rockwell College Union are
please to present the 80th Annual Report of the Union. 2004/ 2005
was another very successful year for the Union, with good quality
Union events and progress made on key issues such as website development
and membership.
This was a particularly successful year in the recruitment of new
and younger members to the Governing Body and subsequently attendance
by younger past pupils at events was particularly strong. A current
Rockwell student was appointed as Union Representative, in order
to generate awareness of the Union amongst present Rockwell students
and increase membership amongst recent school leavers.
Membership
Jim Holmes has done a huge amount of work over the past year as
Hon Membership Secretary. The year has seen some growth in membership
from a combination of recent leavers availing of the seven-year
membership and some older past pupils becoming reconnected with
the Union. One of the keys to a vibrant membership is the running
of quality events which will attract a good attendance. We must
also blend this interest with a willingness to pay the correct annual
subscription. This will facilitate the administration of the Union
and ease the financial pressure on the individual events. Thus,
we have begun a programme of writing to standing order subscribers
to ensure they are up to date with current subscription rates.
We write to the parents of recent leavers to invite
the past pupil to join the Rockwell College Union and the last year
has also seen the welcome addition to the Governing Body of recent
Rockwell students. This will help to encourage the involvement of
a younger and growing membership which is essential for the future.
The savings in time and cost which we have gained
through the use of Email and our website are significant. We continue
to grow our database of Email addresses and now depend heavily on
this effective form of communication. Provided we concentrate on
the foregoing elements we can look to the future with confidence.
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 AIB Corporate Banking sponsoring
the Business Lunch in November and Anglo Irish Bank sponsoring the
Annual Dinner in March. 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
2004 recorded income of €28,398 and expenditure (before donations,
see below) of €7,935. €45,000 was raised in 2204 and was
presented to the College for the Development Fund by the out-going
President, Patrick Curran, at the AGM in May 2004. During the year,
almost €40,000 was used to fund new school desks.
This year, the Union will donate €20,000
to the College Development Fund, as well as €2,000 to the Missions.
In addition a generous donation of €25,000 has been received
from the leading chartered surveyors and commercial property consultants,
Harrington Bannon which will also be added to the College Development
Fund. The Fund Account has joint signatories from the College and
the Union and projects which are ear-marked for funding are subject
to competitive tendering and to the approval of the Union President.
Our thanks to Tom Madigan for his work as Honorary Treasurer.
Investment in Rockwell’s development Programme
The College currently has an ambitious development programme planned
to enhance the learning and sporting facilities (including the construction
of an all weather multi purpose pitch). Once approved, the development
programme will require a significant investment. This investment
is imperative if Rockwell is to maintain its position as a leading
second level establishment. Past pupils of Rockwell can play a very
important role in contributing to the development of the infrastructure
of the College today and over the years to come.
Website
The development of the website was a major priority of the Governing
Body over the past year. A Website Committee was established to
investigate the issues and develop a strategy going forward. Brendan
Sutton and Mark Moran led this team and presented a well considered
report to the Governing Body. A key thrust of the report was to
concentrate on how the Union can drive increased “traffic”
through the site. Recommendations included the establishment of
a Working Group to gather and up-date email addresses of past pupils,
including present Rockwell Leaving Cert students. Email will be
targeted to increase communication with members, for example, it
is proposed to establish a quarterly e-newsletter with links to
stories and photos on the website. This Committee will continue
to work on the recommendations of the report so that the full potential
of this medium can be realised.
Diarmaid Ó Conchubhair (2002) continued his work as Webmaster
of the site, for which we are very grateful.
AGM 2004
The 79th Rockwell College Union AGM was held on 18th May 2004 in
Rockwell. Billy Murphy (1977) was elected President of the Union,
John Duffy (1978) was appointed Vice President and Robert Gallagher
(1979) was elected Second Vice President. Tom Madigan was re-elected
Hon Treasurer, and Jim Holmes was appointed as Hon Membership Secretary.
Angela Quinlan was re-appointed as Hon Secretary, but subsequently
resigned to continue to her studies in Paris. Aisling Gildea took
over as Hon Secretary in September.
Prize Day
The President attended the 140th Rockwell College Prize Day in May
2004. The Student of the Year Gold Medal was awarded to Emma-Jane
Morrissey, the James Joy Senior Debating Gold Medal was presented
to Tiarnan Fitzgibbon and the Thomas McDonagh Literary Award went
to Peter Maloney. It was an enjoyable day, superbly organised by
Pat O’ Sullivan and his team at Rockwell.
New Governing Body Members
At the October Governing Body meeting our President Billy Murphy
welcomed three new members from the class of 2004 to the meeting,
Mary O'Connell, Lorna Pierse and Aidan Byrne, who are all studying
at Trinity College Dublin. Others who joined the Governing Body
are Emma Jane Morrissey, J.D. Flynn, Owen O'Sullivan and David Roche
(all 2004).
We were also pleased to welcome Mark Moran (1979)
who is the Chief Executive of the Mater Private Hospital. Tiarnan
Fitzgibbon, who is a 7th year student in Rockwell, was appointed
Union Representative, to act as a link between the past and present
students. Attendance at the Governing Body meetings during the year
was strong and our thanks go to the Brennan family for the facility
of the Northbrook Hotel for our meetings.
Our thanks are also due to the Hon Secretary, Aisling Gildea for
the very efficient administration of the meetings.
Golf Society
This year’s golf activity was disappointing as the ambition
set at the start of the year remains to be realised. The President’s
Prize was organised by Morgan Pierce and took place in Dundrum House
Hotel on 9th September 2004. It was a beautiful day and the course
was in excellent shape, although attendance was low. Thanks are
due to Morgan Pierce for this work during the year.
Munster Dinner
It was planned to have a Union dinner in Cork during the year and
a lot of work was done by Dearbhail Gildea to facilitate this however
there was insufficient support from those in the Cork area to justify
the event and the decision was taken not to proceed with the event
this year. Our thanks go to Dearbhail for all her endeavour in this
regard.
Interview Techniques & Mock Interviews
This event took place on 11th November 2004 in Rockwell and was
organised by Clodagh Beresford. This is a very practical way in
which the Governing Body can assist the school. Seventeen interviewers
took part from a broad range of careers. This included many members
of the Governing Body, along with some non-Rockwellians, which was
welcomed. Feedback from the students was very positive and was seen
as a very useful experience for all involved. Thanks are due to
Clodagh and to Pat O’ Sullivan for this very worthwhile exercise.
Business Lunch
The Annual Business Lunch was held on Friday 28th November 2004,
in the Shelhourne Hotel. The guest speaker was Brody Sweeney (Class
1979), Managing Director of O’Brien's Sandwich Bars, who gave
an excellent speech. The event was a great success, with 96 people
in attendance, including 10 from the class of 2004. This represents
a “full house” which is testament to the attractiveness
of the format, date and city centre venue. The raffle raised €1,765,
which was an increase on the previous year, and an overall profit
of €4,798 was made, which was helped by sponsorship from AIB
Corporate Banking. Congratulations and thanks to Mark Smyth and
his Committee for organising such a successful event.
Annual Mass
The Annual Mass took place on 28th November 2004, in St. Mary’s
College, Rathmines. This is a very appropriate event to pay respect
to our deceased past pupils, teachers and religious. Fr Billy Cleary,
President of Rockwell College, officiated at the Mass and the Rockwell
College Choir performed under the guidance of Fr Peter Raftery.
The Union greatly appreciates the attendance of the choir at the
mass. Thanks to Fr. Edward Sterling for compiling the obituary list,
Fr. Cleary for officiating, Fr Raftery and Mrs Kathleen Smith for
organising the Choir and Risteard O’ Colmain for organising
the event once again.
Presidents’ Dinner
The Presidents' Dinner took place once again at the Fitzwilliam
Lawn Tennis Club on 14th December 2004, 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, Pat
Curran (1975), for organising this very enjoyable evening.
Diary
The 2004 Union Diary was sent to 689 paying members of the Union
and the Leaving Cert class in Rockwell. The Diary made a profit
of €2,973, which was largely due to the continued support of
advertisers. Once again this year's diary was a hugely successful
publication and was well received by Union members. It is a practical
tool that enables the Union to communicate information to the members,
such as contact details of all Union members, a directory of occupations,
a list of the Governing Body members and other details on the Union
and College. Sean Tobin and his Committee are to be thanked for
their hard work. Special thanks are also due to Jim Holmes for his
assistance in the distribution to members.
Annual Dinner
The Annual Dinner was held on 11th March 2005 in the Shelbourne
Hotel, Dublin. The night was a great success, with 268 attendees,
of which 20 were recent past pupils. The Union subsidised the price
of tickets for those up to 5 years out of Rockwell. Feature years
also had a strong turn-out, particularly the classes of 1965, 1975,
1980, 1990 and 1995. Dr. Gerry McMahon (1975) successfully performed
the duties of Master of Ceremonies.
The Rockwell Person of the Year award was bestowed
upon Fr. Aidan Lehane, for his contribution to education and sport
in Rockwell over many years. An excellent introductory speech was
made by Michael Butler which captured many of the highlights of
Fr Lehane’s career to date. A good proportion of the attendees
came from the 1960s and early 1970s, who turned out to honour their
former teacher, coach and mentor. This included representatives
of the four winning teams, who won the Munster Cup during Fr. Lehane's
era. A presentation of a trip to the Lions tour of New Zealand was
made to Fr. Lehane, along with a piece of crystal, kindly sponsored
by Dublin Crystal.
The Dinner made a profit of €7,657. This
was largely achieved through sponsorship of €3,500 from Anglo
Irish Bank and the raffle, which raised €3610.
Very special thanks are due to Yvonne Kennedy and the Dinner Committee
for their hard work delivering a hugely successful event. Thanks
are also due to Andy Butler, Domhnall Blair, Tadgh Houlihan and
Michael Butler for their input.
The President, Billy Murphy and Hon Secretary,
Aisling Gildea attended the annual dinners of our sister colleges
during the year. Jim Holmes deputised for the President at the Templeogue
College Dinner.
Rockwell Time Out
Once again the annual retreat was coordinated by Risteard O Colmain.
The event was rebranded this year as the “Rockwell Time Out”
and took place on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Sixteen people
attended, which was better than usual, and included past pupils
from every decade from the 1930s to the 1980s. Fr. Eamon Mulchay
gave an exceptionally inspiring talk, which was highly commended.
Thanks to the Community for the accommodation and hospitality shown
to all.
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
10 years. Thanks also to Pat O Sullivan, Principal of Rockwell College,
for his support of the Union and his attendance at Union events.
Conclusions
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 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. Membership continues to grow and
through greater use of the website, we will continue to communicate
with past pupils of Rockwell and deliver a successful programme
of events over the coming year.
A very special thank you to all Governing Body members, for their
dedicated work and support throughout the year.
Obituary List
The Rockwell College Union notes with regret the deaths of past
students and religous during the year.
| Fr Richard Caplice CSSP |
(St. Joseph’s) |
| Fr Senan Corry CSSP |
1939 |
| Vincent Daly |
1956 |
| Michael Dwane |
1939 |
| Michael Fogarty |
1989 |
| T. Kerines |
1959 |
| Arthur Lawlor |
1940 |
| Fr Gerard Arthur Lord CSSp |
1944 |
| Thomas Francis Maher |
1981 |
| Fr Michael Maher CSSp |
1944 |
| Fergal McGloughney |
1961 |
| Fr Eamonn McSweeney CSSp |
1942, Pr. 1945-47 |
| Mons. Nash |
- |
| Canon Eman Neville PP |
1942 |
| Michael Nolan |
1970 |
| Lucy O Beirne |
Past Teacher |
| Fr Patrick O Connor CSSp |
Prefect 1946-47 |
| Denis O Connor |
1934 |
| Liam O Connor |
1965 |
| Brenda O Driscoll |
Baltimore |
| Pat O Gorman |
1950 |
| Liam O Kelly |
1983 |
| Denis P Ormond |
1975 |
| Gerard Richardson |
1968 |
| Eamonn Noel Roycroft |
1940 |
| James Ryan |
- |
| Fr John Anselm Walsh CSSp |
1941 |
| Patrick J Walshe |
1939, Pr. 1943-45 |
| Sean Whelan |
1962 |
Billy Murphy
President
16th May 2005
Aisling Gildea
Honorary Secretary
16th May 2005
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Copyright © 2005 Rockwell College
Union - Last Updated:
Saturday, May 27, 2006 21:43
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