CULTURAL LIFE

Gravel Football Match 19th Century

GRAVEL FOOTBALL

Declan O’Keeffe, College Historian, was asked to contribute a chapter on behalf of Clongowes to a book entitled Puddings Bullies and Squashes, Early Public School Football Codes.

Below is an excerpt from the book that deals with the uniquely Clongowes game: gravel football: “The game was played on a gravel surface (to save the cricket grounds in the winter) with tall pine goalposts (without crossbars) facing one another diagonally across the ground. The balls, made in advance of each game by the college shoemaker, were small, weighed about twenty-five ounces, quickly became misshapen and had to be replaced several times in a match. One Old Clongownian described his first view ‘of boys kicking very pebbly looking footballs’ and explained that ‘the flabby football…when… wet…became paved all over with little particles of gravel’. In this condition, it was ‘truly horrible, a terror to many and a prolific source of fights’.

Play was advanced mainly through the primary skill of ‘forcing’ – that is dribbling the ball towards the opponents’ goal and one point was awarded for every score. The game was played from the start of September until St. Patrick’s Day, when the season concluded with the Colours Matches. These gala occasions, which foreshadowed the schools’ rugby finals of today, were a high point in the college calendar and were preceded by preliminary rounds to decide which team sported red and which green. Following a ceremonial march to the ground ‘with colours flying’ the rector gave ‘the initial kick-off’ before retiring ‘amid cheers’. Christopher Palles, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, first president of the Clongowes [past pupils] Union, and arguably ‘the most distinguished Old Clongownian of [his] day’ recalled that for every goal scored on St Patrick’s Day ‘there was an extra pancake at dinner for the scorer, with the thoughtful proviso that a boy could transfer his extra pancakes to his friends!’ Gravel football was extraordinarily popular in both Clongowes and Tullabeg as described in James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as well as in the writings of other Old Clongownians. This chapter tells the story of ‘gravel’, which had its own detailed set of laws, (including the peculiar provision that the first score was reckoned as only a half, to make draws impossible) and its place in the Ratio Studiorum that formally established the system of Jesuit education.”

TREE PLANTING

To mark World Earth Day as part of our Green Schools Programme, Mr Conry’s Young Social Innovators class planted trees around the campus to commemorate the day.

NIALL DE BURCA RETURNS

Niall de Burca, Ireland’s foremost traditional storyteller returned to Clongowes once again in November.

The students spread out on the benches in the People’s Church backs straight, somewhat unsure about what to expect from this statuesque man, dressed in black with a somewhat odd choice of career. Within minutes his voice lured them forward as its array of tones and voices had them teleported to a Donegal of ancient Ireland for a story about the Prince of Donegal. The story delivered humour, utterances of Gaeilge, action, romance, tension and trickery. It captivated his audience of digital natives for nearly 25 minutes. A more light-hearted interactive tale followed and the first group of students left in no doubt as to the skills of captivation and delivery this man from Galway possesses.

During his second story the boys were enticed by his multiple voices into a different set of stories, equally, if not more compelling for the fearsome hag appeared, fascinating and chilling the boys in equal measure. Again they were transported by another story of days long passed, a young priest travelling home from Maynooth to Mayo is tricked by a hag, his future apparently destroyed until a cunning Corkonian priest friend intervenes and the hag is outwitted. De Burca ended this session too with an interactive story as he highlighted how the English language had gained words from countries the world over. The session culminated in how it came to be that the Irish are the freckled people.

Students unsure of this storyteller initially, left knowing they’d witnessed a master at his craft and were gifted ancient stories to share with family and friends, in keeping with this great tradition.

Ms Jane O’Loughlin – School Librarian

5K PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE

Ms O’Loughlin challenged students and staff to submit photographs during lockdown as part of a great initiative. Each week a new theme was announced and boys and staff got to work to produce some beautiful images.

GOLDEN

by M McElligott

LITTLE BLEATING LAMBS

by T. Carrol

NATURE’S BEAUTY

by J O’Loughlin

HIKING by D O’Keeffe