A ‘Mon boy’ rallies to defence of Christian Brothers

I WAS a pupil at North Monastery CBS, Cork — a ‘Mon boy’ — from 1954 to 1964 and, like your columnist Matt Cooper (May 9), the Christian Brothers left their mark on me.

Mr Cooper’s observations are factually correct. I witnessed, and sometimes experienced, much of what he describes.

However, the meaning I attach to the brothers’ behaviour and their motives differs radically from his interpretation. There is another way to tell the story.

The regime was harsh, there’s no denying that. I felt the leather on cold hands on a winter’s morning.

In 10 years I witnessed a few serious beatings, but not for trivial matters and I never thought of them as “assaults”.

We were disciplined and controlled not only by the brothers, but also by lay teachers, priests, gardaí and parents.

Yes there was fear, but also respect. How could I not respect teachers who gave me a life-long love of learning, including Shakespeare, Latin, maths and the Irish language and culture?

Some of the happiest days of my young life were spent in the west Cork Gaeltachts of Coolea and Ballingeary in the company of the brothers.

Mr Cooper says his classmates “drove themselves to succeed in spite of, not because of, the culture of the North Mon”.

This is an unkind, unfair and unproven assumption. This is his reality, filtered by his experience, beliefs and values. He cannot truly know the perspective of his classmates.

He asserts “the school did not inculcate a culture of ambition ... but I think it was a case of us being written off because we did not come from privileged backgrounds”.

Blessed Edmund Rice would be dismayed to hear that any boys held that belief because it is totally at variance with the ethos and tradition of the founder and his followers.

Surely Mr Cooper knows that Brother Rice’s mission was the education of the underprivileged?

We were proud to be Mon boys. Proud of our sporting achievements, including our unrivalled Harty Cup successes.

We were often reminded of our famous past pupils who were held up as role models for us, including Jack Lynch and many leading public servants. I was never in any doubt we too could succeed like them.

The brothers and my parents gave me that belief. I’m convinced the brothers knew they had the potential to transform our generation. They understood this better than we did ourselves, as we were mainly the children of tradesmen, workers and the unemployed. We were going to get that honours Leaving Cert and if it required discipline and control, so be it.

I’m not suggesting my schooldays were the happiest of my life. The system was not perfect — it still isn’t. There were flawed vocations, poor teachers and difficult boys.

I believe the brothers did their best. They gave us what they could and we found the rest ourselves.

Life has its disappointments, and when we compare the dreams of the young man with what we’ve actually achieved, let’s not blames the brothers for the gaps.

I agree with Matt Cooper when he says “I don’t regret having attended the North Mon for my secondary schooling”. We arrive at that conclusion in very different ways.

An Mainistir Thuaidh Abu!

Gregóir de Buitléir

The Marlings

Grange Heights

Cork