Catherine Foley (Healy)

Is cúis onóir dom cúpla focal a scríobh ar an ócáid stairiúil seo. I started in Grange in the early fifties. We were in the old school then and we had the long benches with the long desks with the inkwells. We practised writing with messy pen and nib and blotting paper was a must everyday. The floor was just plain boards and the dust seemed to rise off it like wisps of smoke. Mrs Cullen and Mr. Cashman were our teachers. Mrs Cullen lived in the schoolhouse and Mr. Cashman cycled up from Ardmore.

In 1956 we moved to the new school and we loved the glamour and the luxury. There was a stove in each room on which we heated bottles of cocoa and drinking chocolate. Over – heated, broken bottles were a regular occurrence. Shortly after the move Mr. Cashman transferred to Ardmore and Mr. Cullen came to Grange.Bhí grá mór ina chroí don Ghaeilge agus labhair sé í go líofa. It is thanks to him that I owe my knowledge and love for the Irish language.

The countryside around the school was lovely in summer. The hawthorns were always covered in a mantle of white blossom and the green foliage gave us shelter when we sat outdoors to do lessons. We took it in turns to go to the pump for a bucket of water. We went in two’s, as the bucket was too heavy for one. Never did it take so long to fill a bucket of water and spill half of it on the way back. It kind of reminds me of the “sums” we had in the book “If it takes a man a day and a half to dig a hole and a half …..”

Extra curricular activities were not part of school life then, but Mr. Cullen began teaching the tin whistle and Mrs Hallahan came after school to teach the violin and step dancing. I wish the re-union every success. I hope it will be a memorable occasion for us all – a time to meet old school pals, to remember those who have passed on R.I.P. and to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of all those who have made the re-union possible.

“In iothlainn Dé go gcastar sinn”