Laois school reunion rekindles memories after 40 years
Back (l to r): Danny Byrne, Ray Moore, John Fitzgerald, Brendan Carroll, Tony Bloomer, Fergal Conroy, Oliver Peake, John O Brien, Ray Coss, Paul Hunt. Front (l to r): Michael Deane (teacher), Alan Comerford, Paul Holohan, Catherine Young, Marie Kelly, Mick Lynch, Niall DeBarra
OLD school friends took a ramble down memory lane, when the class of '81 - '86 at Mountmellick's Tech School celebrated a 40th anniversary reunion.
More than 30 students and teachers revisited the school and its grounds over the May bank holiday weekend, to rekindle fond memories of four decades past. They came from all corners of Ireland that included Derry, Galway, Cork, Meath and Dublin, together with several who are still living locally.
They congregated for a cup of tea in the Home Economics room, where photos from previous reunions were on display. Past-pupil Ray Moore brought some pieces of metalwork that he had made there all those years ago. One of the woodwork teachers, Michael Deane, was also there to share many memories from his 12 years at the school.
As they visited all the original rooms, memories came flooding back from within those four walls. The Metalwork room reminded some of leaving the chuck in the lathe unintentionally, to see it leave a dent in the side wall when the machine was started.
What was obvious to the former students is that they're so lucky to have their original school standing, when so many other schools nationally have been demolished for apartments and other uses. The memories will always be there for them.
Later in the evening, they all converged on Turley’s pub for drinks and finger-food and were joined by many other classmates, who chatted the night away. Absent friends were toasted as classmates Alan Jones, Martin McEvoy, John Dunne, Paddy Grumley and Marie Barnett were remembered, along with former teachers Frank Higgins and principal Leon DeBarra.
Some hadn't seen others in nearly 40 years but that didn’t matter. One said: "They just clicked as if it was yesterday. Unfortunately, the only time most of these guys and girls meet is at funerals, so it's so important to have reunions like this. On the evidence of this evening, they'll certainly be marking the 50th anniversary.”
The group thanked Larry Delaney and Brenda Duggan from the Tech building for giving them access to the grounds, as well as the staff of Turley's Pub for making it such an enjoyable evening.
