Educating Ireland Project 2018
Introduction:
The school I have chosen to do my research on for this assignment is the school I am currently teaching in St. Raphaela’s. St. Raphaela’s is a voluntary secondary school for girls. It is built on the religious and educational philosophy of The Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and their foundress, St. Raphaela Mary. It is a school that has been around since 1971 but the site on which it has been built is steeped in history that has progressed through much of the advancements and policy changes within Irelands education system through the years. In this essay I will highlight some of these areas, policies and the history of the school I teach in now St. Raphaela’s, founded by The Handmaids of the Sacred Heart and what it was known as before Marillac secondary school which was run by the Daughters of Charity through past periods of time. The Handmaids of the Sacred Heart took over from the Daughters of Charity when they left at the request of John Mc Quaid.
The history of St. Raphaela Mary and founding of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:
St. Raphaela Mary founded The Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Spain in 1877 with another sister. She dreamed of her sisters working across the globe. She passed in 1925 to her delight her sisters were opening a house in London just before she passed. This house was key in the handmaidens eventually coming to Dublin in 1942 where they opened a retreat center in Finglas, they moved from Finglas to Blackrock before being invited by the Archbishop of Dublin to move to what is now today St.Raphaela’s in 1971.
The secondary school and primary school of St.Rapheala’s were not named after St.Raphaela then but as Saint Philomena’s Primary School and Marillac secondary school. Marillac wasn’t the main building that is there today obviously but began its life as several small prefab buildings near the small body of water just behind the Stillorgan Luas Stop over the green gate. This body of water was known as the swimming pool in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. On the 10th of September in 1967 Donogh O’Malley the Irish education minister at the time announced a scheme for free education in Ireland on this day. “He announced that from 1969 all schools up to Intermediate level would be free and that free buses would bring students from rural area to school.” (http://irelandinhistory.blogspot.com/2012/09/10-september-1967-donogh-omalley-irish.html) This had a significant impact on the future of Marillac and the schooling system in Ireland as a whole, it led to more students attending schools across Ireland. “At the time, about a third – or 17,000 children – who finished primary school were dropping out of education; at 15 years of age fewer than 50 per cent were still in full-time education. By 16, only 36 per cent were still at school. Within a decade of the policy change, participation rates in second-level had doubled.” (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/fifty-years-after-free-secondary-education-what-big-idea-do-we-need-in-2017-1.2967984) This free education scheme that came into the Irish schooling system led to the school quickly becoming a center of excellence for many eminent Irish women, who in turn owe their success to what is now St.Raphaela’s Secondary School.
In 1971 the Daughters of Charity left the schools and the sisters of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart took it over from them when Archbishop of Dublin John McQuaid invited them to. The Daughters of Charity were founded by St. Louise de Marillac in Paris in 1963. Therefore, the school was originally called Marillac Secondary School when it originally opened after her. “The Daughters of Charity came to Ireland in 1855 at the request of Dr. Dixon Archbishop of Armagh while the country was still recovering from the effects of the famine.” (https://www.ceist.ie/about-us/congregations/daughters-of-charity-2/) The sisters first set up in Drogheda opening night schools for girls and helped to care for the poor. As we know the curriculum for girls in these schools isn’t like today. There was an expectation on education for girls to be more based around the management of the home. “While studying the same subject as man, she must study them in a different way and for another purpose. For her the study of letters and sciences must be more directly cultural; it should lack the competitive note. It is moreover desirable that in the curriculum of girls’ course of study there should be a decided bias towards the practical arts and accomplishments called into play in the management of the home.” (E. Leen).
Then in 1971 the Daughters of Charities left the schools and the sisters of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart stepped in, in their place at the request of the archbishop of Dublin John Mc Quaid. At this turning point in the school's history the school changed its name to what it is known as today St. Raphaela’s Secondary school in 1977 when St. Raphaela Mary was canonized. Below is the old crest and motto of Marillac secondary school on the left and the current crest and motto of the school today for St. Raphaela’s Secondary school on the right:
On the left is the Marillac Secondary School Crest with the motto barely visible “Caritas Christi urget nos.” meaning the charity of Christ urges us. This crest and motto were replaced by the current day crest and motto seen on the right. The motto reads “Ad finem fidelis” meaning faithful until the end.
St. Raphaela Mary herself passed on the 6th of January 1925 in Rome and on the 23rd of January 1977 she was canonized by Paul VI who said this woman had lived the Gospel with all its consequences. From then on, we evoke her Saint Rafaela Maria of the Sacred Heart.
The site on which the school is currently situated today was originally owned by a glassmaker's family called the Pilkington’s. They are the original proprietors of the Westbury House which is where the convent house is today. The Westbury House was built in 1750. The Pilkington’s sold the land to the Devlin’s who in turn passed it on to the Daughters of Charity where it was no longer known as the Westbury House but as the convent house at it is known today.
The Devlin’s left behind a fully functioning farm which isn’t hard to imagine by the beautiful land in the location and a large body of water nearby, “the swimming pool”. The sisters looked after the farm in the coming years to support the orphanage and themselves. The sisters opened the primary school, Saint Philomena’s and started an orphanage for boys in the year 1932. The sisters remained on this site until 1971 until they left, and the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart were invited by the archbishop of Dublin to use the land to open a secondary school.
There was a necessity for a secondary school in the area around the 1960’s. There are a number of factors that highlight this need, but the main reason was that in the 1960’s the institutional care of children in orphanages was no longer considered necessary, this led to children leaving St. Philomena’s and into smaller caring units. So, The Daughters of charity were a surplus to demand and paved the way for The Handmaids of the Sacred Heart to take up residence in the vicinity. The demand for a non-fee-paying school like Marillac secondary school became more apparent as there was only one school in the area at the time, Mount Annville a fee-paying school. The next nearest school was in Milltown which from my anecdotal experience is a very long journey for a young female to travel each day with a school bag to and from each day. So, there was a demand for a secondary non-fee-paying school for girls in the Stillorgan area. This is the reason that led to John Charles Mc Quaid suggesting would the Daughters of Charity be willing to open a secondary school.
A group of people who stemmed the beginning for what we know today as St.Raphaela’s met on the 19th of February 1965 made up of a band of two inspectors Mr. O’Flynn and Mr. Lindsay, Sister Mary, Sister Hughes and Sister Visitatrice and finally the architect Mr. Duffy. They all went to survey the are to validate its potential for the vision they had for a secondary school in the area. Again, from my anecdotal experience the land on which the school is built, and surrounding area is amazing at it is difficult to see why it was chosen to be used for the plot for the beginning of the history to this amazing school. While the inspection was a success it wasn’t without its flaws, the inspectors were impressed with the land but weren’t accepting of the fact that the convent house be used for the secondary school in the long run. They were happy for the convent house to be used up until there have been new buildings put in place. They were given four to five years to provide these buildings. Highlighting even more the need for a secondary school for girls in this area is that the Department of Education provided a grant for 60% for the addition of these buildings in ensuring this secondary school provided all necessary amenities. The Department of education were anxious to do this right first time around to not have to invest more money into additional buildings. It was recommended that the school make provisions for rooms for specific subjects, such as geography, languages and adequately sized library. Mr. Duffy failed to see the logic in these recommendations that came from the Department of Education and felt that they were a bit ‘lavish’ and would be more fitting for a fee-paying school.
Extract from a meeting with Mr. Duffy, Architect July 1965.
Details of the meeting held at Department of Education, Hume Street 1965
As we can clearly see Mr. Duffy didn’t get what he requested as there was a single room for both geography and languages. This further highlights the Department of Education’s reluctance to build an inadequate school and have to put more money into it. It was estimated that it cost £200,000 for the provision for the secondary school site where St. Raphaela’s is today.