ST. COLMAN'S COLLEGE,
Fermoy, Cork.
excerpt from "An
Colmanac", 1961- Cork City Library
....."The
lay professors have always played a very important part in the life of St.
Colman's. The majority of the lay
professors of this early period are mere names to us now. The list includes D. TIERNEY, Peter
KAVANAGH, T. HARDING, P. RIORDAN, LL, D., John RYAN (Nancy's ggrandfather), and Signor SILVANI. On the
original staff, however, was one layman, Thomas Lloyd COUGHLAN, about whom we
have, fortunately, some information.
For some time he was Protestant Curate in Cobh, where he was in charge
of a large school. He was converted to
the Catholic Church about 1851, and taught for some time in England. When St. Colman's was opened, he was invited
to teach Classics there. He was
ordained a priest in Cobh in 1871, and died in Youghal in 1873.
Apart
from the President and the Dean, there were two other priests on the first
staff - Fr. GOLDEN and F. P.J. DOYLE.
Fr. GOLDEN had a brilliant career in Maynooth and Dr. WHITEHEAD,
President of Maynooth, presented him to the Bishop of Cloyne as the best
student in the College. He was ordained
early, and was appointed to teach History and English in St. Colman's. His health was not good, however, and in
1864, he was transferred from the College.
He died as a young man and is buried in Kilpeadar. Fr. DOYLE was Professor of French for four
years. He was then transferred to a
curacy, but returned again to the College in 1866 as its third President. He died Parish Priest of Castlemagner in
1892..........
Fr.
David WALSH, the second President....... who departed this life on October 9,
1867, in the 36th year of his age and the 12th of his ministry. He was President for a very short period and
in September 1866 had to resign, because of ill-health. He spent some time in France and Italy, and
died in Castlemartyr in 1867.
Fr.
William FITZGERALD, D.D., succeeded Fr. DOYLE as President in 1869.......In
1877 he was appointed Bishop of Ross...... he is buried in the Cathedral in
Cobh.
The
next President was F. S.J. WIGMORE. He
taught English and Science in St. Colman's, and was President from 1877 to
1880....... He died Parish Priest of
Mallow in 1917.
At
the end of each year, usually within the first week in July, an exhibition of
class work was held, and prizes distributed........ We notice some names which
are very familiar, others not so familiar: T. CROSBIE (Cork Examiner), W.J.
MAGNIER (Solicitor), W. ROCHE, M.D.; T. DILWORTH, M.D.; E. O'SULLIVAN, M.D.;
E.C. DENNEHY (M. & L., Fermoy), J. P. CURRAN (M. & L. Mitchelstown), J.
HALLINAN, M. STRANGE (Waterford), E. RONAYNE (Castlemartyr), M. BLAKE, J.L.
MANNIX, Mr. and Mrs. O'GORMAN (Janeville), Mr., Mrs. and Misses TERRY
(Ballyanihan), R. Geary (YOUGHAL), Dr. and Mrs. SISK."
The following is a newspaper
account of Exhibition and Prize-day, 1875.
Dr.
MC CARTHY, Bishop of Cloyne, presided.......
The Rev. E. B. O'CONNOLL's class were then examined in Irish History,
and the answering students showed a very deep knowledge of this subject..... A
very pretty duet 'Music and Song' was well rendered and was followed by a
recitation of a translation from SCHILLER....... Professor RYAN's classes were
then examined in Botany and Vegetable Physiology, the steam engine, and the
Laws of Motion. The programme was concluded
by a variety of class dancing under the direction of Professor SILVANI.
A
little booklet of about thirty pages containing the names of the prize-winning
students was printed and distributed among the visitors. The type of prize varied; generally books were distributed. In 1873, Fr. Michael O'RIORDAN, a former
priest of the Diocese of Cloyne, then residing in Brooklyn, U.S.A., sent a
'very valuable collection of books' for distribution on Prize-day.
Transcribed by Mimi Stevens