A contribution was made from the collection taken on the night to the Irish Cancer Society of Ireland.

Message from Patricia

Hello everyone,

Well, the 30 year Reunion is over. We all had a fabulous night.
I would like to thank a few people. Ruth Cummins for her devotion to finding everyone. John Byrne for his music of the 70's. Monica O Farrell for getting us Crowes Cellar Bar at no cost and Conor Mac Liam for all his work on the webiste and blog page.
With the money collected I bought Ruth a 'pamper day' in a spa in Wicklow. John Byrne hired the P.A. system at his own cost. I had hoped to buy a small present for Conor but he was unable to attend due to his wife, Susie's illness. So I have taken it on myself to send a small donation to The Irish Cancer Society from us, the Class of '77.
Let's hope that we will all meet soon again as we will all be celebrating the Golden age of 50 within the next 3 years.

Patricia Worth

Damian Ryan is away

Ruth, hi,

Not sure if he told you but Damian is away for the whole month (climbing Denali... again!) without access to the internet. I am sure he would have liked to send something - maybe when he gets back if it's not too late?

Have a good reunion!

Renia ("Mrs". Ryan and his secretary in his absence...)

Greetings from Steven

You've no idea how much I'd like to be there with you all. Attached are a couple of mug shots of me. The young and innocent photo was taken while I was at Sandymount. The other picture is of me with my cousin at a party last week in England. I'm the one on the left :)

Have a great reunion and say hi to all. My email address is available to anyone who wants it from Ruth.

Steven Willers

Crowe's Pub

It would appear that word has spread about the reunion and people are flocking to the venue early.

Sorry...

Ruth,

have a great reunion, sorry I can't make it . Say hello to everybody

Message sent from Ms. Pauline Bonner, in Donegal.

Sorry I will miss it

Hello Ruth and Patricia

Where does the time go? I have to say I cringed when I got your letter about our 30 year reunion - I can't believe it is that long since we all left Sandymount High. Unfortunately I won't be able to make the 'do' as I am living in England now but I hope you all have a wonderful time. No doubt it will be a very emotional evening and I will be sad to miss it. You have done a great job trying to get everybody together. I have had a look at Conor's website which is brilliant. Thanks Conor.
I hope life is treating you well. I still visit Dublin regularly as my Mother , 2 brothers and 1 sister still live there.
A brief summary of my life so far......I live in Southport , a seaside town in the north west of England. We moved here in 1997 having lived in Yorkshire before that. I am married to Steve and we have a daughter Hannah (4) who we adopted from China in 2003. I work as a teacher of the visually impaired in a school for students with severe learning difficulties. My specialism is multiple difficulties and visual impairment (MDVI) so the students I work with have many disabilities and it is challenging work but Iove it. I am part time at the moment but plan to go back full time in september when Hannah starts school. We are presently planning our first big trip as a family to Australia in July. My sister Edel lives there with partner and 2 sons so it will be great for the chlidren to meet up again as we haven't seen Edel since 2004. I'm not sure if I am looking forward to or dreading a long haul trip with a 4 year old but it will definitely be interesting.

I will raise a glass to you all on the 9th!

Best wishes

Lilian (Rafferty)

Sorry Can't be there

Hello Ruth


Do pass on my best wishes to everyone. It's been great to keep in touch

Enjoy saturday and thanks for the invitation

Seamus (Watson 1A)

Seamus had been hoping to attend but a member of his family is sick and he is unable to leave UK at moment.

Greetings from Australia

Attached is a photo of my family. My wife Dee and girl Aisling who is five. Also our little dog Toto. Say hello to all and wish we were there. Have a great night.Take care, John (Levins)

Music to set the Scene

8.00-8.30pm Odd and Awful records (eg: Mouldy Old Dough, Berni Flint):

8.30-9.00pmTV Themes (eg: Brady Bunch, Skippy):

9.00-11.00pmTop 30 and album trax (eg: Rollers, Bowie, David Essex):

Slow set 11-11.15pm:

Disco: 11.15pm-12.30am.

That running order is dependent on a) the mood on the night and b)whether the house PA is any use. The slow set is there for those who might be into it.

Sports Day

Maura Talbot and Ruth Cummins at Sports Day participating in a three-legged race.

Mr. Burke

Mr. Nolan

Mr. Nolan, also known as zip.

Mr. Lyng

Picture of Mr. Lyng, vice principal and geography teacher, taken in 1977.

The Sandymount Saga Interview

An interview with Mrs. Cannon in Superspoof. (Click on image to enlarge)

From Marie Byrne

Hi there,

Thanks for your email. Yes I was there in 1977 in omega 1. I'm living in London now so may not be able to go but I wouldn't mind the details anyway just in case. I havn't really noticed any familiar names from my time at Sandymount, have you had much luck in gathering people?

Marie

Rosemary Murphy

Sorry to be so late replying to you about the school reunion, unfortunately I will not be able to attend. Thank you for the invite.

Rosemarie Farrell.

A member or not a member of Class '77?

Hello Ruth,

I was in shs from 1972 until 1976,so I do not qualify as a member of the class of 77. As far as I remember I was in 1 Lambda. I was definitely in the prefabs when I started in shs. As I will be away in June I would not have been able to attend anyway,but thanks for the invite..................John Colohan

Sorry can't make it

Unfortunately I am unable to make it as I live in England and will also be on holidays for that date, but I do hope the night goes well.

Best wishes to all.

Dave Kane

Sorry not this time

Thank you for your incredible efforts to make contact with me. You really showed great persistence and dedication to the task and I must commend you accordingly. I really am impressed.

Unfortunately I am committed to a previous engagement on the night in question and I regret, accordingly, that I will not be in a position to attend on this occasion.

I wish you all a very happy reunion I am sure that there will be great hilarity on the evening.

Best wishes to you all and especially yourself and Patricia.

Ciarán Smyth

Sorry I won't be there

I will not be available to attend but wish you all the best unfortunately I will be on holidays then.

Regards
Irene Kealy

Best Wishes

I would love to get an update on everyone so please feel free to give my email to anyone who wants it. Wishing you a very successful night , if I happen to be in Dublin on the 9th I will turn up.

All the best

Karin Buckley

Best Wishes

I hope you have a good night out and I would be keen for the 40th reunion.
Take care to all,
John Levins

Class of 77 June 1977

Can you spot yourself in this photograph? How many of the class can you name from this photograph?

Masies Retirement in 1973

Line up of teachers from left to right: Mr. Coll (maths in 1st year), Mr. Doyle (latin), Mr. Shaughnessy, Ms. Delahunty, Mr. Sheehan (geography), Mr. Cannon jnr (Quack), Miss Murray (secretary), and Mrs. Cannon (Masie). Thanks to Stephen Finn for this gem. Click to enlarge if necessary.

Niamh Vaughan

Niamh and her husband, Bill, who will be coming over from Australia for the Reunion in June. They married in March 2007.

1 Alpha Names

Thomas Berry: Fairly quiet. Hot tempered when roused.
Can be aggressive. Likes any sort of music.

Tony Corr: Very humorous. Excellent at art. Sometimes moody.
He laughs a lot and from his impressions he likes girls.
Likes jazz music.

Paul Flood: Generally good tempered. Sometimes moody. Likes pop.
Seems to be a nice guy.

Padraic Gilligan: Loves pop music. Likes drawing and is quite capable of
looking after himself. Has a good temper generally.

Mark Kelly: Always getting into fights. Never seems to get hurt.
Very much able to hold his own.

Kenneth McKenna: Same as Mark Kelly. Likes rugby and pop.

Justin O’Dea: Doesn’t fight much. Hears all the news and likes pop.
Sometimes is quite aggressive.

Phelim O’Doherty: Likes the odd fight. Never worries about anything and
always seems to be in a good humour.

Liam Prendergast: Never in trouble. Seems to be quite placid though quite
surprising when shocked or aroused. Friendly.

Anthony Quigley: Good at maths. Likes pop and has a good sense of humour.
Gets into trouble sometimes.

Padraic Teehan: Always in trouble with his classmates. Fairly friendly.
Hot tempered when roused.

Aidan Scanlon: Likes music. Hot tempered when roused. Friendly when
he wants to be. Likes playing the organ.

Vivian Walsh: Friendly enough. Unpredictable at times. Hasn’t got
much of a temper.

Ronald Woods: Quite placid. Very friendly generally. Likes seeing
justice done.

Paul McEnroe: Has a good nature. Likes rugby. Quite friendly and
associates with Tony Corr.


Thomas Parker: From his attitude he likes girls, likes pop music.
Sometimes friendly.

Eithne Brannigan: Expressive herself openly but has some weird ideas.
Likes some pop music.

Katherine Browne: Good tempered, good natured. Likes a laugh.

Lilian Cole: Likes a good laugh. Fairly good natured.

Lilian Rafferty: Never seems to be in trouble. Fairly placid.

Karen Buckley: Also placid. Good natured most of the time.

Grace Purtill: Not placid. Sometimes humourus. Likes pop and hockey.
Seems to be a groovy person.

Mary McSherry: Newish. Very placid. Likes most people and usually joins in
everything.

Jean Fenlon: Extremely placid. Does not express herself much.

Catherine Raynor: Expresses herself openly. Always talks, mostly laughs and
does well in class.

Susan Fitzgerald: Quite funny. Likes pop. Never at a loss for words.
Laughs at everything.

Rosemary Murphy: Likes singing and music. Joins in most activities.
Seems to be alright.

And last but by no means least the one and only …………………..
Aoife Scully who is very humorous and has a good nature.

Karin Buckley's Pub

After a tip off I visited this pub in Torremolinos in Spain. It is owned by Karin Buckley and her husband. Karin is unable to come to the reunion but sends her best wishes to everyone and looks forward to hearing how it went and seeing some of the photos on the website.

Photo Website

Photos of Class of '75 and '77 uploaded to http://macliam.org/SandymountHighPhotos/ I've uploaded them full size (i.e. good quality for printing) to my own site, so anyone can download them any they like.

More History

Sandymount High School was a coeducational secondary school on Herbert Road, Sandymount, Dublin. Founded in 1947, it was initially controversial because, as a non-denominational school, it wasn't owned by a church. Instead it was owned by the Cannon family, who also provided the two headmasters the school had.
While the school had gym - basically exercise classes - for Intermediate Certificate students, the school had no compulsory sports or sports team while Conall Cannon, the second headmaster, was in charge of the school: allegedly he hated having compulsory sports while he was a student.
Unusually, it had a rival school next door: Marian College, which opened several years afterwards and was run by the Catholic Church.
The school was closed in 1999 and the land sold for development. The site now contains a gated community called Cannon Place.
Famous former pupils include Fionnuala Flanagan, Charlie Bird and Eamonn Dunphy.

Communication

Why not add yourself to the Class of 77 at www.lostschoolfriends.ie , there is no charge for this website.

History Lesson

History of Sandymount Area. In the 16th century, the Sandymount area was a rabbit warren called Scallet Hill and was covered in gorse and furze, It had originally belonged to Richard de St. Olaf, after passing through the hands of the Bagods and Fitzwilliams, it came, at the same time as Simmonscourt, into the possession of the Priory of the Holy Trinity. Subsequently, this area now covered by Strand Road and Sydney Parade, returned to the hands of the Fitzwilliam family. A herring fishery occupied the shore from Merrion to Ringsend. During the early part of the 18th century, the soil was found suitable for brick making, and the sea border from Merrion to Sandymount occupied by what was now known as Lord Merrion's brickfields. A village called Brickfield sprang up, and not far from it was an inn called Conniving House, renowned for its fish dinners and excellent ale. By the end of the 18th century, the whole area had given way to modern Sandymount.

This makes sad reading as the only student mentioned in the article that is still with us is Johnny Johnson. We had it all ahead of us in 77 - or so we thought.

Click image to enlarge

Mr. Jim Lusby teaching in the Institute of Education in Leeson Street. Recent picture taken from exam brief.

How much do you really remember?

What was the nickname of the headmaster:
a) Oink; b) Quack; c) Moo; d) Woof; e) Baa ?


Where did the students smoke:
a) Staffroom; b) labs; c) prefabs; d) toilets; e) yard ?


Which dart station is near the school:
a) Sandycove; b) Raheny; c) Tara Street; d) Dun Laoghaire; e) Lansdowne Road ?


Which Class has had the most reunions:
a) 66; b) 77; c) 82; d) 94; e) 78 ?

What food seems to figure in a lot of the memory boards:
a) crisps; b) chocolate; c) popcorn; d) peanuts; e) chips ?

What has been built on the old school site:
a) dressing rooms for Lansdowne Road; b) apartments; c) hotel; d) shopping mall;
e) bike repair shop ?

Which of these is a past pupil of SHS:
a) Charlie Bird; b) Naoimi Campbell; c) Pat Kenny; d) Ronal Keating; e) Roy Keane ?

What was Paul Cramp's nickname:
a) Iron; b) Mercury; c) Copper; d) Tin; e) Steel ?

What was the name of one of the school magazines:
a) Fluffy; b) SHS Times; c) Spoof; d) Spaff; e) Catch Up ?

Who were Johnny and Ruth Cummins:
a) identical twins; b) brother and sister; c) cousins; d) random classmates sharing same surname; e) next door neighbours ?

Mr. J. Lusby who taught English to a large number of the Class of 77 SHS. Now teaching in The Institute of Education in Leeson Street.

Some of the Class of 77 actually started in 1971 and for one reason or another stayed back a year to join the 1972 intake. There are a few familiar names on this list of 2 Omega who went on to finish in 1977.

Superspoof Article 1972

Article in Superspoof Magazine from 1972. Click on image to enlarge.

School Brochure

Hoping to update this site regularly with school related items. Please join in. Front cover of school brochure back in the 70's.

30 Years Out Reunion for Class of 77 SHS

9th June is the date picked for the reunion. A room on the lower ground floor (basement) Of Crowes Pub in Ballsbridge has been reserved, thanks to Monica O’Farrell. John Byrne is helping with some vintage backing tracks. Suggest turning up from 8.15. We have the room until around 12.15/ 12/30. Please come earlier rather than later. No point in turning up at 11.00 from somewhere else and then deciding that actually this is fun. Please turn up early.