The weather certainly did its best to banish any 'back to school' blues as the new academic year got off to a sunshine bathed start this week. The new cohort of 150 first years were in on Monday with all year groups up and running by Wednesday. The weeks will as ever, roll on relentlessly now and it is important that all students get on board right from the start.

The Leaving Cert. Applied classes went to Dunmore East Outdoor Education centre for an action packed day of kayaking, rock climbing and other such pursuits. This will hopefully help develop a good group ethic which will help them get the most from their programme this year.

Best wishes to 3rd year student, Luke Fitzgibbon, who is representing Irish schools in the British schools swimming championships this weekend. Luke is well used to competing on the big stage now having competed at national and international level on many occasions.

With so many Kilkenny boys among the student population, the All Ireland hurling final is an obvious focus of much banter this week. No doubt our secretary Joan will be letting us hear all about the 5-in-a -row if that particular feat is achieved. There could be some sombre scenes, however,  should the curiously popular Tipp men halt the 'drive'.
We wish our own past pupl, Ger Aylward, the best of luck in the minor final. Ger lines out at corner forward from where the powerful Glenmore man was leading scorer in the semi final victory over Galway.  Continue Reading...

I received an e-mail and some photos attached from past pupil recently, a man who attended Good Counsel in the 1950's. Rather than trying to paraphrase him, I include below his own account of the photos and of some of those pictured. Obviously we would be delighted to post on the site any other material relating to the school from years past. It helps mark the long tradition of the school and is of great interest to many who passed through.
 
''I enclose 3 photos. Two are of students. The Prefect System (where the prefects were supposed to be in charge) was introduced to GCC around 1957/58 by Fr. Jackie Power and the school was divided into three house, Villanova, Casca and another.

One photo is of the Villanova house . Another photo is of the senior students around this time and the third is the winning Junior Hurling Leinster team that beat Portlaoise CBS by 1-8 to 0-3 in the final in Dr. Cullen Park in Carlow.

Most of that team played senior the following yearn and met St. Peters in the first round in Wexford Park, going down by a small margin. This was the backbone of the Peters team that won the All-Ireland B title and then the senior title in hurling. Our star player was Sean English of Ferns who later won senior All-Ireland with Wexford in 1960 and also played senior for Tipperary.''







OtherPhotographs from the 50's 
 
The photograph below is of particular interest because it shows the four legendary teachers, Maurice Foley, John Moore, Toby Kavanagh and 'Danno' Mahony with the entire school around the mid 1950s. In the 2nd row from the bottom right to left are: Tom Finucane (brother of RTE's Marian), Ken O'Hara (former head of ESB), A N Other, John Moore, Maurice Foley, Fr. Greg O'Leary, Fr. Hand (?), Fr.Jackie Power, Fr Coffey (Prior), ??,   Fr. Codd, Fr. Brendan Coffey, Toby Kavanagh, 'Danno' Mahony. Also in this photo is
Maurice Keane former CEO of Bank of Ireland and now a director of Anglo Irish Bank

 
 
The following photo is of the GCC Leaving Cert class of 1958/59.


The photograph below is of the Dungarvan Cup winning side of 1958/59 and to the right is the renowned trainer from this time in the school's history,Fr Whelton. The annual Dungarvan Cup games no longer take place, the last one having been played about 22 years ago, but there are growing links between the only 2 Augustinian schools in Ireland as the staffs of both colleges have an annual get together and representatives from both schools travel to the annual Augustinian Values Institute. In the current school year there was also a rugby blitz involving both schools and Austin Friars school fromm Carlisle in England.

 Continue Reading...