Gabhaim buíochas libh as ucht cuireadh a thabhairt dom chuig Scoil Ríoga Cabhán don ócáid stairiúil seo - ceiliúradh ceithre chéad bliain na scoile.
Thank you all for the kind invitation to Royal School Cavan on this momentous occasion, the celebration of the 400th Anniversary of this school and, in particular, the celebration of the appointment of the first headmaster Mr John Robinson.
I also wish to thank the Chairperson of the Board of Governors, Bishop Ken Clarke, the Chairperson of the Board of Management Canon Mark Lidwill, and the Headmaster, Edward Lindsay.
The school has a very long-standing tradition in this country. In 1608, it was established by charter by King James I, alongside four other Royal Schools in Ireland, to cater originally for the education of protestant students, both day and boarding. But for some considerable time now, you have accepted students from other faiths as well as none, and this has been a positive development.
Today, the school is co-educational and caters for 45 boarders and 200 day students, a figure which commendably has shown a steady growth over the last few years.
Your school has had a very interesting history, particularly when I think about your past headmasters, and this will be of particular interest to history scholars. Did you know that in the 17th and 18th centuries, the headmastership was sold or traded? That meant that the person with the most money got the job - I wonder was there a bidding war? Wouldn’t it have been interesting if your principal had to bid for his job?
Did you also know that in 1769, Dr Sheridan, who was a friend of Jonathan Swift, the famous author, almost collapsed the school after he tried to cure his asthma with a strange concoction of whiskey, garlic, bitter orange and snake root, which apparently he took every day!
I have no idea what made it so toxic so I will leave it to your own imagination as to what went wrong. However, I strongly recommend that the science department here does not try to reproduce the same brew in some experiment.
The state intervened in the early 19th Century when the Clare Street Board took over the running of the school.
However, things really only improved when two distinguished heads, father and son, each in succession, became headmaster.
In 1924, John Anderson was appointed and served over 40 years and he was eventually succeeded by his son Douglas Anderson in 1970.
In this age of technology where you take Laptops, computers, I-phones and I-pods for granted, you should also know that it was Douglas who first brought your school into the modern age and introduced computers, which was a very enlightened move for the time.
Ivan Bolton, who is the most recent past headmaster was appointed in 1989. Ivan is also well known as one of the founder members, and the first honorary treasurer, of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals in the 1990s.
In Ivan’s reign, the school underwent a major building programme and spent much money on new construction and refurbishment. Ivan welcomed students from all parts of the world and this policy of inclusion is continuing under your current principal, Edward Lindsay.
I hear that you have been busy celebrating your 400th anniversary. Obviously you like a good party. Your first celebration was in 2008 in conjunction with the other sister Royal schools. It is good to know that you have continued to nurture and develop those relationships today.
This has been a remarkable and memorable year for marking and renewing relationships, especially with our closest neighbouring island, Britain.
The historic visit to Ireland in May of Queen Elizabeth II was hugely successful on every level. It brought home to everyone on the island of Ireland the importance of our ties as near neighbours. As a country, as people North and South, we have all benefitted from the goodwill and warmth demonstrated during the course of that extraordinary week. I was struck by the sense of reconciliation and of healing across the traditions we share that came through during the visit, in particular the moving ceremonies at the Garden of Remembrance and at Islandbridge. I intend to build on that the spirit of reconciliation on a cross border basis as this decade progresses.
I am also aware that you had a very successful celebration earlier this month at which my colleague Minister Ciaran Cannon attended.
It is very important that you have taken the time to reflect on the last 400 years of the school’s history and that, at this time, you are remembering the appointment of the very first headmaster of Cavan Royal School, John Robinson.
I have no doubt that your own headmaster, Edward Lindsay, is committed to progressing this school further and to that end will follow in the footsteps of the many esteemed headmasters who have gone before him. I wish you continued success in all of your endeavours.
Your mission is to bring the curriculum of the school and the facilities offered entirely into line with the demanding and changing educational requirements of the new millennium.
Despite the relatively small numbers of students, you have continued to explore and cater for their needs by expanding your curriculum. I am thinking here of the recent introduction of Technology into Senior Cycle.
To return to other accomplishments, it is good to acknowledge the victory your girls had in the All Ireland Table Tennis competition in the Under 15 category last year, and the success of the senior boys as winners of the Cavan-Monaghan soccer competition.
I know that you have had outstanding success with many of your mini-companies at national level.
I have now seen for myself an outstanding example of your creativity! I want to thank you for the generosity that you, the students, have shown in presenting me with this beautifully-embroidered tee-shirt. Congratulations to you all.
The school’s extensive extra-curricular programme is to be recognised as a vital and important part of school life and its provision is a credit to all concerned.
I would like to thank you all once again for inviting me here today. You deserve every success for the future.