CM Faculty and Students Explore Their Irish Heritage on 2018 Irish Immersion Trip
CM's Irish Studies Program met with Ireland's Chief Government Whip Joe McHugh and served the County Galway community along the way.
West Roxbury, Mass.— When Ireland’s Chief Government Whip Joe McHugh met with six rising sophomores from Catholic Memorial School in Dublin this past June, he echoed a simple yet distinct message in the likeness of school founder Brother Edmund Rice.
“ÁdhMór, BíMór, SaoíMór,” said Mr. McHugh from his office near the Irish Parliament.
“ÁdhMór, BíMór, SaoíMór,” said Mr. McHugh from his office near the Irish Parliament.
“Good luck, be better, and learn more.”
Led by faculty members Mary Concannon and Principal Thomas Beatty through CM’s Irish Studies Program, the 2018 Irish Immersion Trip put Mr. McHugh’s words into action through its decade-long partnership with the Irish education program called Muintearas.
“The Muintearas program works in Gaeltacht, Irish speaking areas and provides training and educational opportunity for those who may have dropped out of school early or may even plan to emigrate,”said Ms. Concannon, who started the Irish Studies Program alongside Brother Anthony Cavet 15 years ago.
“The idea of working with economically disadvantaged areas ties into the mission of our school. We’re living and interacting with the local people in their day-to-day life; not simply sightseeing.”
Outside the European Union, CM remains the only high school to offer an Irish language elective. Br. Cavet and Ms. Concannon launched the Irish Studies Program at the request of students following the introduction of Italian and Mandarin into the school curriculum. The school sends its students to Ireland regularly to work alongside the Irish community.
The Irish Studies Program inspired Mr. McHugh to visit CM in 2014. When he saw students speaking the language here in America, Mr. McHugh committed himself to learning it at a more proficient level according to Ms. Concannon.
The group of six students included Sean Reid, Patrick Greeley, Jack Sullivan, Phil Barden, Macdara Casper, and Owen Brady, all of whom played an instrumental role in bringing Mr. McHugh’s message to life. Starting in Galway, the trip exposed students to traditional wood-carving workshops, basket weaving sessions, hurling matches, and an Irish Mass at the Knock Apparition Chapel.
Each boy played a role during the liturgy. They continued serving the community at two Knock National Schools where they taught children how to play American football and baseball. Living in a family-run guesthouse located along County Galway’s seacoast, the students learned how to work in bogs and how to fish alongside their Irish hosts.
“We have to have a person to drive us around, a coordinator for workshops and a person to help make meals,” said Ms. Concannon.“All those people receive extra employment because we’re there. On our end of things, the kids see the real world and life behind the scenes.”
Mr. Beatty and a handful of students also took the opportunity to meet a few of their distant relatives with help from Muintearas director Sean Costello.
The Irish Studies Program offers the trip to the CM community based on faculty availability on a year-to-year basis. This year, the school received a €4,000 grant from Ireland’s Fulbright Commission Summer Program as a reward for their commitment to the Irish languages
Ms. Concannon offers Irish I and Irish II as electives through the World Language Department. Every year, her dedication to the Irish language builds a bridge between CM and its Irish heritage.
The Irish Studies Program offers the trip to the CM community based on faculty availability on a year-to-year basis. This year, the school received a €4,000 grant from Ireland’s Fulbright Commission Summer Program as a reward for their commitment to the Irish languages
Ms. Concannon offers Irish I and Irish II as electives through the World Language Department. Every year, her dedication to the Irish language builds a bridge between CM and its Irish heritage.
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Catholic Memorial
Catholic Memorial
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Catholic Memorial, the Christian Brothers School of Boston, prepares boys for college, manhood and a world full of unknown challenges, ambiguity and complex problems and the importance of relationships.
