Setting

Dungarvan CBS lies on the idyllic Atlantic coast of the south of Ireland. Dungarvan is the administrative centre of County Waterford. It is a thriving industrial centre. The town's Irish name means "Garbhan's fort". Saint Garbhan founded a church here in the seventh century. The town lies on the N25 road (European route E30), which connects Cork, Waterford and Rosslare Europort. The expansion of the school has coincided with the growth of the town.

CBS Dungarvan appoints new Principal

The students of CBS Dungarvan began the school year with a new Principal appointed by the Board of Management to the Christian Brothers’ Boys’ Secondary School. Mr. John Murphy, a highly respected staff member in the school where he first began teaching in 1976, carries an extensive educational portfolio to his new position. In addition to his career in the teaching of Physics, Chemistry and Science in CBS, John has always been proactive in personal upskilling and in providing continuing professional development for teachers throughout the country. Over the past number of years, he has been a regular visitor to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he himself benefitted from the highly professional upskilling provided by the Institute of Physics (IOP). He has a specific interest in examinations and assessments and holds the position of Advising Examiner in Higher Physics with the State Examinations Commission.

The new principal has strong links with a number of educational bodies such as the Irish Science Teachers’ Association (ISTA), the Second Level Support Service (SLSS) and Discover Science and Engineering. For almost twenty years, he has traversed the country while providing upskilling courses for teachers in modern teaching methodologies and new technology. His expertise in these areas was copper-fastened when he travelled to the United States on a few occasions to undertake intensive training with international scientific suppliers, Pasco based in San Francisco, and Vernier in Portland, Oregon. One of his last tasks as a teacher involved the mentoring of a group of students in the use of the latest datalogging technology to research experiments linked with two famous Waterford scientists, E.T.S. Walton (Nobel Prize winner) and Robert Boyle. The project aroused such interest in the scientific fraternity, that a precedent was set when the Vernier Scientific U.S. company, gave prominence to the students’ work on their home web page.

‘My wish is that every one of our students will have the opportunity to reach his full potential in a safe and caring environment’, John commented. Having quoted a phrase attributed to the mentoring process that originated in Greek and Roman times -- ‘A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could, because someone else thought they could’, he went on to say: ‘I urge each teacher on the staff to subscribe to this and as a consequence, every student in our care will be enriched and affirmed from the moment they first cross the threshold of CBS Dungarvan.’

John has expressed his gratitude for the widespread support he has already received from teachers, parents, pupils and the Dungarvan community in general and has pledged that he will do his utmost to ensure that the school continues to live up to the ethos enshrined in the Edmund Rice Schools’ Charter.

Rice Cup Medals Presentation to Victorious Dungarvan CBS Team

The night assigned for the presentation of the Rice Cup medals to the victorious Dungarvan CBS team proved to be a most enjoyable function for all who attended.

Mr. John Murphy, Principal, opened the proceedings by welcoming the large attendance who filled the Main Assembly Hall. He welcomed in particular, Tom Cunningham and Austin Flynn, past pupils of the school and All-Ireland medal winners in 1959 and Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh, 2009 All Star and Waterford County hurler, who very “kindly agreed” to present the medals on the night. John made reference to the fact that Austin Flynn’s grandson, Cormac, and Joe Harney’s (himself an All-Ireland medal winner) grandson, Michéal, were both members of the winning team.

John Murphy in his opening address, also extended a ‘céad mile fáilte’ to the GAA Board officers who were in attendance:- Ann Hogan, Patricia Walsh, Gerry Cullinane and Michael Hogan. He also thanked John A. Murphy, reporter for ‘The Examiner’ for attending. He concluded his opening remarks by welcoming all the parents; the victorious Rice Cup panel; all other students; teachers; Parents Advisory Council members; Mr. Maurice Kearney from St. Joseph’s Primary School; visiting primary school Principals and teachers, and Mr. Dan Murphy from the CBS Board of Management.

In congratulating the Rice Cup team, Mr. John Murphy said it was an ‘historic night’ for Dungarvan CBS and he expressed the hope that one day some of those young Rice Cup medal winners may ‘grace the hallowed sod’ of Croke Park and help to bring the Liam McCarthy cup once again back to the Déise.

John thanked all the personnel behind the scenes who were responsible for preparing the team on their successful journey. He said that they were ‘very fortunate’ in the CBS that so many of the teachers were willing to dedicate their time and energy to the preparation of school teams. He thanked in particular, Mr. Doran, the team manager, (a “Cat’s Man”, added John, who brought the “Cody touch” to the whole operation) and his assistants – Mr. Collins (from the “Rebel County”) and Mr. Scanlon (from the “Premier County”). John then thanked the parents and all the other supporters who had travelled in such large numbers to all the matches. Without that kind of support, he added, success would not be forthcoming.

Before finishing his remarks, Mr. Murphy said he wanted to publicly again offer a ‘míle buíochas’ to Waterford County Council and Dungarvan Town Council for granting these young victorious hurlers a Civic Reception in the Civic Offices last June. John concluded by saying that this Rice Cup winning team was awarded the Granville Sports Award for the month of May and that it was named ‘Team of the Month’ for September by the ‘Munster Express’ newspaper.

Three All Ireland Medal Winners,Tom Cunningham ('59), Michael Harney ('09), Austin Flynn ('59) pictured with Mr John Murphy (Principal), D Doran (Manager) and P Collins

Michael Brick Walsh and Michael Harney with GAA Board Officers-Ms P Walsh (Western Board na nOg), Ms A Hogan (Servicing Officer for Post Primary Schools Board), Mr J Murphy (Principal CBS) Mr M Hogan (Treasurer of County Board) and Mr G Cullinan (Chairman of Post Primary Schools Board)

Michael Brick Walsh with the St. Josephs N.S. boys contingent and their former Principal, Mr M Kearney. Also included are Mr P Curran, Ms M Curran, Mr T Ryan and Mr J Murphy

Mr Michael Brick Walsh with the Scoil Garbhain boys contingent and their former Principal, Ms Silvia Bean Ui Sheanlaoich

Michael Brick Walsh with the Whitechurch NS boys contingent and their former Principal,Mr Michael Culloo. Also included are R Looby, M Shine, and J Murphy (Principal CBS)

Michael Brick Walsh with the Abbeyside NS boys contingent and their former teacherMr Paddy O'Dea

Michael Brick Walsh with the Glenbeg NS boys contingent and their former Principal Ms Breda Cleary Also included are Austin Flynn and Mr John Murphy (Principal CBS)

Michael Brick Walsh , 09 All-Star, holding the All Ireland Rice Cup with Michael Harney Captain of the CBS winning team. Included also are the members of the Parents Advisory Council and Principal Mr J Murphy

(Photos by Pat Crowley)

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