We did not all start together, nor did we all finish together; but for a time we worked together.
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Debbie (Beirne) McKenna: Really great to see the website up and running and keeping everyone up-to-date. It’s great. Was actually shocked though to see so may RIP's, some from my own year. No one knows the time or place. Right? It’s sad.
Mom, Ursula Beirne, worked there in the canteen for many years - boiled fruit cake, yummy salad sandwiches, etc. Remember? Well, she left when pregnant -- my sister Louise is now 16 going on 17.
I am doing really well and am very happy. Lucky to have 3 healthy and happy children: Lauren 13, Max 7 and Alex 5.
When I left St Laurence's I went to Ringsend Tech to repeat the Leaving (in the days before you guys did a repeat course which is extremely successful, I see!). Anyway, repeated but didn't do much better (too lazy at the time). Fell in love and got married quite young (22). Went and worked for a few years in Nixdorf in Bray. Hated, hated it! Decided to go back to education. Went into Dublin and did a full-time business course for a couple of months, then went to FAS in Loughlinstown and did the Desktop Publishing course (in the days when that technology was all brand new).
Microsoft came in to recruit and I was one of the lucky ones. Started work for Microsoft in '89 as an editor for their manuals. Once in that
environment, I soon worked my way up the corporate ladder: Artist,
Localisation Co-ordinator, Project Manager, Senior Project Manager and User Education Manager. I had a wonderful career and travelled a lot - all over Europe and also to Seattle , MS headquarters. I learnt a lot and had a ball. When I left I was a senior manager with many reports working on many projects.
During this time I had my first child, Lauren, and my mom took care of her so I could go back to work. Then separated from my husband and finally divorced. Met another wonderful man, Andreas, in MS and we got married last year but not before having 2 children together, Max and Alex. He also worked in MS and is German. But with both of us working in MS, we both couldn't keep up the travel and the exhausting work hours so when I had Max, I went back after maternity leave but had to call it a day. It was a choice between my kids or work and my kids won and I was in a wonderful position that I could retire!
We live in Enniskerry, a beautiful part of the country. At the moment we are getting house renovated so we had to move out. We are currently renting an apartment across the road from St. Laurence's !! I pass it a million times a day going to and from dropping my kids off and picking up from schools.
Have met with Sandra Dutton a few times but otherwise have not really run into anyone. It’s a pity!
I have very fond memories of that special school. It was fun and the
Brothers and teachers were always very kind and good to us.
Hope you all are keeping well and look forward to any class reunions in the future! [May ‘06]
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Anne-Kirsten (Bowen) MacLachlan: Hello to all. After St. Laurence, I went to Trinity to pursue a degree in Science, followed by a Masters in France . The life of a scientist at a bench did not appeal to me, so I joined Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (now Aventis) in clinical research, in Paris . After a few years of clinical trial work in France , I returned to Ireland . I continued to work in the pharmaceutical world, am married (12 years this September) and have 3 children, Carolyn (11), Christian (8) and Alix (3). I stopped full time work some years ago, but continue to do work on a contract basis. I also teach French part-time. [July '06] |
Suzanne (Brock) Fisher: Hi to all past students. I am married with 3 children. Give me a shout if you are in the area and we can meet for coffee and chat. Best wishes, Suzanne [Dec. '05] |
Carol Byrne: I think it's absolutely fantastic to see the website up and running. It's great to read what's happening at the school and also what people have been up to for the past 22 years! Talk about making you feel old.
For me, most of those years have been spent overseas (sorry Mam and Dad). After leaving Laurence's, I went to Waterford Regional (now Waterford Institute of Technology WIT) and got a degree in Business Studies. Not wasting any time after that, I moved to London, where I eventually got my Management Accounting qualification.
With that tucked under my belt, I decided it was time to go travelling for a year (the usual places: USA , New Zealand , Australia , Malaysia and Thailand ). What a fantastic experience! Would definitely recommend it to anyone still thinking of doing it – whatever your age.
Eventually, after 13 years and working as a management accountant for various companies including Time Magazine and MGM Home Entertainment, I finally decided to say goodbye to London and move to Sydney . I've been here now for nearly 4 years and absolutely love it (I even became an Aussie citizen last year!). The lifestyle is much more laid back and relaxed and the great weather means lots of outdoor activities and generally pretty happy people. Plus, working for the national airline Qantas, means I get to go home every year and have the opportunity to travel lots, which I love.
I look forward to staying in touch and will hopefully catch up with some people the next time I'm back in Dublin (perhaps mid 2007).
Am happy to be on the school’s mailing list and would love to hear from fellow past pupils living in Sydney .
All the best. [Dec. 2006] |
Karen (Davidson) Mathews: Great to see the web site up and running. I have just had a great time reading about old friends.
After leaving school I went to college in Athlone to study Construction but soon found that it wasn't for me. I moved to London working for Architectural firms. I met my husband there and we returned to Ireland in 1990. We have 4 beautiful chidren: Daniel 15, Douglas 11, Olivia 5 and Lorna 3. I am now working from home in County Wicklow, for a large architectural firm and tending to my growing family.
I would love to get in touch with some of the old crowd and hope to attend the reunoin on the 9th of September. Please feel free to post my note on the class page and to include me in the directory. [Aug. ‘06]
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Anna (Hammond) King: I am married 7 years to my husband, Alan and have two children ..Lily and Aidan. I took up hairdressing when I left school and worked full time in the trade until I had my children. I live in Bray and work part time now. [Nov. '05]
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Michelle (Hand) Donohoe: Hi to all my classmates. It has been 24 years since I left St. Laurences. Last Friday I met Bro. Jim in the school. He didn’t look any older. Just being there, it brought a lot of memories back.
Since leaving school I went to work in the Burlington Hotel as a waitress. Sadly in June this year I was made redundant.
I am married 21 years and have two sons: Robbie is 19 and Craig is 15.
What a great website Bro. Jim. [Aug. '06] |
Eugene Ivory: The website is a great idea to get back in touch. I can’t tell you how many memories came flooding back when I had a look around and started to read some of the stuff others had written. It’s wonderful to be able to look back with such a great sense of fun and gratefulness to the Brothers and all the staff at St Laurence.
Well what’s been happening with me since then… I repeated my Leaving Cert in 83/84 in St. Laurence, so technically I didn’t leave until 1984. (It took me two runs at the high-jump to get over it.) Since then I have been very blessed in my life. I did a BA at TCD. Have moved around a bit in the career going initially into insurance, then moving to the food industry and then into IT. I now have a management consulting company with a couple of colleagues. I married Kay in 1992 and have two children Della 3½ & Luke 2½.
I have so many memories of the place it’s hard to know where to start:-
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* The Bazaars and working on Fred’s Hot Dog stand. |
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* Working for Fred after school and during the holidays cleaning and caring for the place |
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* English class with Mr Murtagh. |
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* Putting on “Twelfth Night“ which Gerard O’Neill, directed with Gerry Murtagh (“Uncle Gerry” as he had us call him) |
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* Helping to organise Discos with Nick Cushnahan , Tom Bashford , Brian Meagher, Dave Mahon, Dara & Richard Shakespeare,
Martin Wright & Billy Flynn, Chris Bowen and Suzanne Moore……. |
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* Having to come in early for Bro Jim’s Math classes. Sitting down the back with Ferdia Butler, each as confused as the other as to what was going on. |
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* Watching Madeleine O’Shea’s slow turn from the blackboard, licking the chalk from her fingers with a look of disbelief and knowing that at that very moment how much of what I had just said was NOT the right answer. |
There are so many people that I would love to see and talk with again. Looking through the years, I am also shocked to see so many people who will no longer be able to exchange memories.
I’ll keep an eye on the website. Looking forward to seeing how it develops. [July ‘06] |
Eleanor (Kelly) Bryan: I met my husband Mark here in Dublin before we moved to London in 1985 – as a lot of us either moved to the States or England . We stayed there for 15 years, until 7 years ago when Mark and I moved back with our 3 beautiful kids.
Now living and working in Bray – I work transporting people with disabilities and also helping people to start-up their own business.
Would love to catch up with old friends! Well done, Bro Jim on the Website!!! [June'06] |
Colin Lacey: I now live in Cambridge , with my wife of nearly 10 years, Sue, and two lovely daughters, Emma (8) and Katie (7). After repeating the Leaving Certificate in '84 I dropped out of Trinity and went to work in Germany before returning to Galway RTC to study Mechanical Engineering. (I always knew the calculus would come in handy!) After graduating I worked for Thermo King in Galway and Vienna before moving to Cambridge in 1993. I am now Aftersales Director with a commercial catering company based in Aldershot , near Heathrow Airport (South West London).
My parents and extended family still live in Wyattville Close and I get across to visit them a couple of times a year. It’s hard to keep up with the pace of change in Loughlinstown as the walls get higher and the road network and buildings grow.
I still look back with very fond memories on my time at St. Laurence, most notably:
- The rugby team and Seamus Moran's Renault 4 (We used to have to lean over to one side to stop the suspension rubbing on the wheel) and when Gerry Murtagh used to bring his English class out to support us! Plus a great number of fellow pupils who played for Seapoint Rugby Club. Alas torn cruciate ligaments ended my career on the pitch.
- Its great to see photos of Twelfth Night (with my twin Deirdre Moore!), and indeed to remember the punk version of Julius Caesar. And to think that I had Marie Staunton lying on the floor in front of me....."O pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth that I am, meek and gentle with these butchers..."
- Gerry Murtagh's chess club after school, playing Dungeons and Dragons at Brian McGlone's on a Friday night and going to Blinkers at Leopardstown racecourse with Danny Swan and the Costello twins: Declan and Cartan.
- Starting Bro. Jim's Maths class at 08:15 !!!
All in all, it is great to look back on some very happy years. I hope all my past teachers and fellow pupils are keeping well (accepting with sadness those who are no longer with us).
It has been fascinating to read the website and look at all the photos. Well done for keeping those memories going. Keep up the good work. [Nov. '06]
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Liam Motherway: I've just seen the past pupil's page on the school website and was delighted to see old friends. The contacts area is excellent and it's great to read what people are doing. Could you please add my e-mail address to your contacts? I am living in England but get back to Dublin a couple of times a year. If an event coincides with a visit I would love to catch up. [Oct 07] |
Celine (Murphy) Blacow: Hi all – remember me? I was Celine Murphy but now it’s Celine Blacow . It’s really good to see the website up and running and very interesting to read everyone’s biog’s! Looking at the photos had me in stitches; did we really look that bad?!
As for me, after leaving Laurence’s, I went to Cathal Brugha Street to study Food Science. I never did work in that area afterwards but it was a really good education in life (and in drinking too much but the less said about that, the better).
I then went to work at Trinity College as a conservationist in the Long Room and in the Conservation Laboratory where I worked for approximately 5 years on 15 th and 16 th century books and maps. When I decided I had had enough of that (it’s a very small industry and you’re basically waiting for someone to drop dead before you can get a promotion), I worked in administration – in various small companies before moving to Dun Laoghaire VEC, working for several years and then being promoted to the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
During this time, I studied at night to gain my BA (Hons) in Business Studies. I am currently the School Administrator in the School of Creative Arts , looking after all the administration involved in the running of an art/design/film/media school with 700+ students and 150+ staff. I have been working here since 1997 and really enjoy it – for those in the know, Amanda Ralph (class of 84) is also working here (she told me about the website).
In other news, I am extremely happily married to an English guy, Malcolm, who is in the process of writing a novel and we’re, at the moment, in the process of buying our house (nightmare!).
It’s really nice to read about everyone and it’d be good to keep in touch. [Oct. ‘06]
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David Percy: Hi all. Even though I only attended the college for only two years before returning to Canada , I have nothing but fond memories of those times. Looking over the list of fellow classmates, I chuckle to myself at all the fun times we had. It’s great to hear that everyone is doing so well and I hope more people add to this website. I have always wondered what happened to everyone.
Upon completing school in Canada , I joined the Canadian Coast Guard and worked my way up from a Rescue Specialist to a Captain of a Search and Rescue Hovercraft. I have recently left the Coast Guard and am taking some time off with my wife (no children) in rural Canada to get my land legs back.
I will keep an eye on this site for future updates and everyone take care. [June '06] |
David Quigley: Great to see all the class names after 20+ years and notes from others. After spending a bunch of time in the UK and France. I am now living in New York and am happily married and enjoying life. Cheers. [March '06] |
Janet Rorke-Wills: My sister , Anne ( another past pupil ) , told me that there is a class reunion today; so I checked out the web site and am blown away by how good it is!
It brings back a lot of really good memories to see all the photos and the list of everyone’s name, although it's very sad to see RIP beside some of the names.
After leaving St. Laurence I went to Cathal Brugha St and studied to be a chef. I worked in many hotels in Ireland and then in London for a couple of years. I returned to Ireland , and continued to work in the catering industry.
I've been married to my wonderful husband, Brian for 14 years now, and we have two beautiful children; Daragh (10) and Shona (8). We live in Australia ( Melbourne ). We migrated after falling in love with the place while holidaying here 6 years ago, and we haven't looked back since. My qualifications and skills gave us the chance to move here and the gas thing is that I haven't worked as a chef since I set foot in the country!! I'm enjoying taking care of my family and doing some little bits of part time work here and there.
At the moment we're in the process of trying to find a high school to send Daragh, and all I find myself saying is: " I know exactly where to send him if I still lived in Dublin." So here's hoping that we find a school that will match even a little to what St. Laurence’s taught me.
Please pass on a BIG G'DAY to everyone at the reunion tonight; I would love to be able to be there.
Also anyone who visits the website , do get in touch, it would be great to see how people are getting on.
Well done Bro Jim on the website, you've done a really great job!
Regards to all. [Sept. ‘06]
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Tony Wright: What a great idea to put the list out there for people to write back and catch up, sorry to see the RIP beside some of my old school mates. I must admit I have rarely been back to the school since I left but my parents still live right there, my children have played numerous times up at the fields but I always seem to be home when school is out.
I have been home quite often over the years both for work and vacation.
I'm living in the states (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) with my wife of 16 years, Terese and two children Brendan (9 in 4th grade) and Emma (6 in 1st grade). Life is excellent over here - after doing the Leaving in St Laurence's, I worked as a chef for several years but pursued a career in Coaching Education- (Football or soccer as it's know as over here). I work full time in the industry now and help run a soccer club in Milwaukee. www.fcmilwaukee.com - Sports has always been a passion for me and now I have the perfect job.
I will forward this web site address to the people I stay in contact with and follow up when I am home. Maybe a reunion would be in the cards !!!
Hope all is well with you and the rest of the brothers back home in Dublin. [Dec '05]
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