Galway Bay radio documentary remembers Garbally’s stars of ‘69

Sawdoctors manager and Galway Arts Festival founder Ollie Jennings has embarked on a new career as a documentary maker.

“A labour of love” is how he describes his debut feature – on Garbally College’s Class of ’69 – which will be broadcast on Galway Bay fm next Thursday morning (October 16) at 11.10am.

It’s a colourful 25-minute insight into the lives of boarders there, some of whom include former Lions and Irish rugby captain Ciaran Fitzgerald, Galway All-Star hurler Seán Silke and former Junior Minister Noel Treacy.

And the documentary gives a perfectly-balanced snapshot of the reality of the time – the loneliness of life as a boarder and not seeing family members for months on end; the cruel regime of corporal punishment and pressure to join the priesthood – along with the humour of pranks of teenage boys, snippets from teachers and music of the day.

Bishop John Kirby – a maths teacher and senior rugby coach in the school at the time – expresses regret over the use of ‘caning’ in the documentary.

It was an era where boarders had to attend a Latin Mass every morning at 7.30, where togging out for rugby was compulsory (with no prospect of a hot shower afterwards),where ‘six of the best’ was the order of the day and where students staged a first-ever secondary school strike to show solidarity for classmates who were expelled.

“Corporal punishment was still the order of the day. I regret that at this stage, but that was the way it was. It was a tough regime,” said Bishop Kirby, whom we learn was nicknamed ‘Drip’.

Students themselves opted for “legalised aggression”.

“The thing I liked about the rugby was the physical contact and the fact that you could get into a fight legally,” Ciaran Fitzgerald says. He was also a keen boxer, having won three All-Ireland juvenile boxing medals.

And it wasn’t just opponents from other schools that the ‘bruiser’ Ciarán took on.

Former Junior Minister and current Chairman of the Galway GAA County Board, Noel ‘Sticks’ Treacy said: “I was cornered to fight Ciarán in a boxing exhibition in the Garbally gym. I let go a hard punch straight into the gob to Ciarán and I remember waking up on the tarmac outside with Fr Marron over me trying to revive me after getting a one-two from Ciaran!

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.