Did you go to a Christian Brothers school?
Unhappiest days of your life?
You may not like this so:
Next Saturday Mary McAleese will join Christian Brothers and survivors past-pupils in the Convention Centre, Dublin, to mark the [250th] anniversary year [of the birth of the order’s founder Edmund Ignatius Rice.
All are welcome.
Jim Bradley, who went to CBS Westland Row, writes:
Just as there can be no denial that some who purported to follow the teachings of Edmund Rice lost their way and besmirched his legacy, others, the silent majority, upheld his philosophy in a true Christian tradition and their legacy should not be forgotten. It must be acknowledged, however, that there are past pupils who did not have the same good experience that most of us did. We are all brought together, however, by our common bond of being past pupils. They have a very special and equal place in the Edmund Rice community.
Recognising The Achievements Of Edmund Rice’s Order, And Its Failures (Jim Bradley, Irish Times)
Alternatively:
Some Catholic orders, the Christian Brothers in particular, imparted a potent mixture of muscular Christianity, an often rabid patriotism and an authoritarian and puritan lifestyle. A particular political style combining a bullying style of argument with holier-than-thou postures characterised some of the the products of their schools.
From Preventing The Future By Tom Garvin (Gill & Macmillan)
(Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)
