UCG Grads of 1978, 1979 & 1980

Commerce Students February 1980

Click on picture for larger image

This is an interesting photograph that I recently came across.
I believe that it is of the Faculty of Commerce students that arrived in UCG in September 1977 and graduated in 1980.
It was probably taken in February of 1980.
I based this assumption on the fact that some of the students are wearing what I believe are Student Union Presidential (VOTE FOR ....!) election stickers.
One of the candidates in that election is actually in the front row- Eddie Ward (third from the left).
Can you help identify the individuals in the group? Click here to find out who has already been labelled!

Mary ‘Ma’ O’Driscoll, UCG Lady Dean of Residence

The death occurred a number of weeks ago of the much-loved Mary ‘Ma’ O’Driscoll, the Lady Dean of Residence at UCG for many years.
Even for us in the late 1970s, she was very much a throwback to a long vanished and more innocent era when a 'Lady Superintendent' watched over female students to ensure that they behaved properly at all times.
She told me once of her early days as a Dean of Residence in the college when she would be traditionally presented with a bouquet of flowers by female attendees at a college dance before taking her high seat at the top of the hall when she, along with the Catholic chaplain, kept a close eye on the night's proceedings to ensure that no 'inappropriate' close dancing or 'hanky panky' went on! Which was made even more difficult for the youngsters by the fact that, in those far-off days, women had to back at their college-sanctioned lodgings by 10am.

By the mid 1970s, the world had changed beyond recognition with late night discos, house parties, music pubs, feminism and gay rights becoming part of the Galway student scene. But 'Ma', as she was affectionately known, still provided a sympathetic ear and friendly support to generations of students.
She will always be remembered with great fondness by all those that knew her.
May she rest if peace

Death of Richie Cazabon, lead singer of Nightrider

Nightrider

Richie Cazabon, known by many UCG students of the late 1970s and early 1980s as the lead singer of the band Nightrider, died a few days ago.
At the end of his Leaving Cert year, he and his school friends formed a music group that played cover versions of Thin Lizzy, who were then Ireland's most famous rock band on the international circuit. With his afro hair style, ethnicity and musical tastes, Richie was Galway's answer to Phil Lynott! His band, originally known as White Ivy, got their first gig playing at Caroline Graham and Speedie's joint 21st Birthday Bash in O'Leary's Bar in Salthill.

They later changed their name to Nightrider. Though none of the members were then university students, nevertheless they were very popular on the college circuit. They actually played the famous Unity Variety Concert that became the launch pad for the FUZE.
Richie himself was a personal friend of many students during that era.
May Richie Rest in Peace Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam

Was It As Good For You As It Was For Me?

Reflections from participants of the 78/79 Reunion of Nov 7th 2009

It was Fun! Fun ! Fun! Its so lovely seeing so many of our classmates well and happy. The disco was great- you’d know that we don’t get out too often!! And was a great way to end the evening. It doesn’t feel like 31 years, does it!?
Linda Gillen Byrne

I'm writing this in a state of happy exhaustion after a wonderful weekend!
The Reunion was a triumph yet again, with the delight of Hubert's insights into James Joyce, the surreal entertainment of Lit and Deb, and the terrific evening performances , with the songs of the FUZE sounding as fresh, vibrant and original as the day they were minted.
Ursula Killeen

Just wanted to say a very big ‘Thank You’ for organising the great Reunion on Saturday night. I really enjoyed it and it was such a success - once again!...
Getting the Fuze together and to have Gerry Sexton there was amazing!!
I met up with such wonderful people and such great stories. We have all been through the mill so to speak and it is wonderful to meet up at a 'happy occasion' rather than the usual 'funeral' or hear of old friends for sad or tragic reasons. Thanks so much!
Maria Silke

It was a great day - right from the very start. I honestly thought I'd stay for an hour or two and then head off, but found myself staying right up until the very end! It was great to see so many "old" faces looking so young. Many of them I hadn't seen since leaving UCG (can't get used to NUIG) in 1980 with the H.Dip. in my hand.
The day was brilliantly organised from start to finish, and great fun! It was marvellous to hear Hubert lecture again. I thought it was only in my fond memories that he was so brilliant, witty and incisive. It was good to find out that he was exactly as I'd remembered. And the photo slide show - well, what can I say? What a time we had of it back then! As for the Lit 'n' Deb .... what a performance!

Tom Cassidy in full flow! Tom requested that this photo is NOT to be used for his Memoriam Card!

Many of the people I spoke to that evening I had only known to see when at college, so it was even more interesting to have the chance to actually meet and chat.
As for the Fuze & Gerry Sexton's disco, what a night! Thoroughly enjoyable…. Joyce was right when she said it was worth the journey - the people were great, the atmosphere was fun! What a joy to see everyone in such great spirits.
So, thanks again!
Edel Cleary

Just a quick message to thank all the committee once again for a really enjoyable reunion on Saturday last. It was great fun and wonderful to meet up with so many from our student days…how wonderful it was to see ye all on Saturday night and thanks for such a great event! I had a ball, although I probably don't need to tell you that, it was probably very obvious from my general state! I haven't danced so much in years and I enjoyed every minute of the night…it was a very special night and I'm really grateful…
Eugene Scanlan

Congratulations to Maria and all the committee for organising a fantastic weekend. I haven’t laughed so much in years!
Joe Rice

"...we are lucky to have been able to reconnect with so many people and its brought such pleasure and a sense of recognition that we were lucky 30 years ago and lucky now. I am certain that I will stay in contact (with so many)..."
Maria O'Malley

Thanks for organising the reunion party…Good to see the old faces .. some unchanged by the years and others a lot better than they were .... I thought at college that we would have changed the world maybe we have in a small way.
Margaret Geraghty

Well done on a truly wonderful night and day for the over 50s!!!,who still know a thing or 2 about partying and disco dancing till the early hours!!
Catherine Hickey

Ye "pulled it out of the bag" yet again--another great reunion! Thanks again.
Mary Murphy

Firstly, thanks for doing such a sterling job in organising this year’s reunion - AGAIN. I know fun was had by all.
Eileen Mahoney

"Bravo…that was a wonderful gathering that none of us will ever forget.
Joyce McGreevy

Hope they all enjoyed the get together on Saturday last!
Gerry Sexton

…My husband and I really enjoyed ourselves…It was so nice to meet some old friends ( or rather friends from the past!). My husband really enjoyed the night…He went to UCD and was so surprised by the friendliness of everyone in Galway. It was a great place to go to college and the characters we met during our time there were unbelievable. In those days we really didn't know how good we had it. Everyday was as interesting as the next!
Cora Stack

What a great night, thank you and the committee for organizing such a memorable event. Dare I say it was better that last year, the smaller numbers made it more intimate, sure what can you expect when you get the cream of the crop!
Liz Cassidy

I am writing to thank you and your team for a great reunion. It was great fun to meet up with old friends and acquaintances and we had such a good laugh...great medicine!! It was fabulous to walk in and immediately reconnect with people I hadn't met for 30 years, listen to and relate stories from those halcyon days...the connections remain despite the absence of sight or sound.
Gwen Culligan

It was great to see such a good attendance, with revelers dancing to Gerry's disco right up to the very end of the night.
Happy times indeed, and well done again,
Caroline Graham

I just loved the weekend!!!
Sinead O’Neill

Thanks so much for another wonderful night…great thought and work into the whole weekend again…The music was great, very nostalgic.
Eileen Keary

The afternoon began with a riveting lecture from the forever wonderful Prof Hubert McDermott...He treated us to a beautiful take on James Joyce's The Dead, unwrapping the layers within it, and highlighting the Galway connections with humour and hubris as ever. He played a clip for us - how wonderful was Donal McCann eh? (Was still thinking about the whole story when stuck in traffic at the Bodkin roundabout on the way home). Have to go read the story now. I had to leave early, but I think about now everyone has finished their meal, and the music (Seisiún Mór, The Fuse, Disco with the Big G) should be starting. It was great to see Emer Walsh, Una Tierney, Eleanor Geoghegan, Kathlyn Hennelly, Una Byrne, Fergal Hassett, Liam Breathnach, Gerry Sexton and everyone there
Mags Amond (posting on her website).

Click here for further photographs from the Nov 7th Reunion

Many apologies came from those that could not attend the Reunion. The comments of one of the 'missing' came from Eugene Quinn, who reminiscing about an single event from his college days, probably best summarises the fondness that many of us still have for the old alma mater.

Thank you for your invite to the 78/79 UCG graduate reunion. Unfortunately I live too far away in Australia to make it this time. Speaking of long journeys to distant places, Joe and I traveled to the University of Bradford in Feb '78 to represent UCG at a Debating tournament. This was in the days where only Aer Arann could be viewed from my window, Sean O'Rourke was yet to take to the air waves and only the Cadets of Renmore could have four wheels. When Mary, Joe & I arrived in Bradford we had a quick cuppa and went straight into a photo shot for the local press. The snow was thick on the ground in Bradford and this place, for me, was a long way from windy Galway. We traveled by train to Dun Laoghaire, overnight boat to Liverpool and then train again along the wonderful canals of outer Manchester & across the Pennines & Yorkshire moors. On our return we stayed overnight in the residences of the University of Lancaster. As most of the U of L students were away for the week-end, the place was much too quiet and only during the summer months would UCG obtain such a low decibel reading. Since then Joe has gone on to help throw open the gates of the Maze Prison with the inspiration and conviction that I'm sure was nurtured during his undergraduate years in Galway. We encountered at UCG a strong indication that the island of Ireland had a lot to offer particularly in an environment where respect for each individual is fostered and diversity encouraged. Having been sentenced to Van Demon's land for more 21 years now, I very much welcome to get out on parole and visit the motherland. I am still on my bike but don't get wet now as often as when I headed up Dr Mannix drive in a force 10 gale.
Dia Dhuit and best wishes to all,
Eugene Quinn

Seisiún Mór!

The great

Johnny 'Ringo' McDonag

(of 'De Dannan' & 'Arcady' fame)
& Sean Ryan
will be joining the bould Eamon Behan
& friends
at the Seisiún Mor in the College Bar from 6pm.

We are advising all would-be attendees for the Nov 7th Reunion to book your tickets with the Alumni Office asap for what promises to be an exciting schedule of fun-packed events!

Contact Colm O'Dwyer Alumni Office at 091 493750 or email: alumni@nuigalway.ie

__________________
Motion for the Lit 'n' Deb re-enactment on Nov 7th

That This House Believes That You
Cannot Trust Anyone Over 50 Years Old!

For: Joe Rice & Ronan Tynan
Against: Tom Cassidy & Benny Irwin (photo left)

P.S. Thanks to Maria O'Malley for the motion

Remembering their behaviour

as students
while attending UCG,
a very anxious
Hubert McDermott
surveys his notes for his lecture to the graduates attending the Nov 7th Reunion on the topic of
Finnegan's Wake

The following of our friends from UCG days have confirmed their attendance for the November 7th 2009 Reunion:
Brien Allen, Maeliosa Stafford, Maria O'Malley, Sinead O'Neill, Bernie Mannion, Mary McGwynn, Mary Logan, Jonah Sullivan, Speedie Smith, Oliver Foley, Tom Cassidy, Joe Rice, Eileen Mahoney, Eileen Keary, Mary Flanagan, Mary Murphy, Linda Gillen Byrne, Emer Dyar, Victor Laing, Hubert McDermott, , Joyce McGreevy, Margaret Mary Amond, Kevin Byrne, Catherine Hickey, Peadar O'Maoileoin, Maeve McDonogh, Seamus Gilroy, Eamon Brennan, Eamon Behan, Grainne McMorrow, Riona Hughes, Liz Cassidy, Maura Henderson, Jim Browne (NUIG President), Gerry Sexton, Gerry Humphries, Sean McGovern, Ursula Killeen, Maria Silke, Brigid Broekhoven, Cepta Mannion (ex-SU Travel Office), John Loftus, Martin Ridge, Fidelma Dunne O'Higgins, Eugenia Kelly, Enda O'Reilly, Mike McArdle, Paul Clarke, Kathy de Hora, Charlie Byrne, Ann Freeley, Mary King, Cepta Clifford, Mick Brougham, Ann O'Meara, Liam Breathnach, Sheila Moroney, Karena Doyle, David O'Malley, Tom Costello, Billy Moyles, Ailbhe O'Flaherty, John Mulcahy, Alibhe Mulcahy, Donie O'Keefe, Norrie Nugent, Mary Durnin, John Durnin, Kyran O'Gorman, Charlie McBride, Benny Irwin, Brendan Doheny, Stephen O'Grady, Mary Dundon, Dave Niland, Celestine Rowland, Bartley Fannin, Una Byrne, Eugene Scanlan, Liz White, Mike Hanley, Ronan Tynan, Breda Brennan, Annette Burke, Richard Burke, Ger Clarke, John Coll, Noel Fleming, Brendan Fogarty, Padhraic Harris, Mary Heaney, Mary Irwin, Anne Kenny, Gerard Moyles, Brendan Murray, Jackie O'Dowd, Bernadette McAleer, Una Tierney, Mary Keaveney, Tadhg Kenny, Maureen Joyce, Mary Johnson, Patrick Lanham, Barbara Loftus, Carmel McCarthy, Mary Mulligan, Stephen O'Grady, John Fitzpatrick, Caroline Graham, Edel Cleary, Bernadette Lally, John Morgan, Colm Finnegan, Martin Ludden, Anne Freely, John Cunningham, Brian Hanney, Gina Roche, Carole Harte, Deirdre Cunningham, Elizabeth Fahy, Paul Gannon, Brenda Murphy, Catherine Hennelly, Mary Johnston, Mary Mulligan, Nora Neary, Mary O'Hara, Liam Smyth, Mary Corbett, James Harrold, Ultan de Burca, Cora Stack, Sean McEoin, Robert Duffy, Edward Fahey, Margaret Geraghty, Muriel Fahey, Eddie Munnelly & Breda Dowling, Eleanor Geoghegan, David Jackson, Kathleen Turley, Helen Murray, Donal Downes, Fergal Hassett & Kevin Connolly.
If your name is not on this list & you will be attending, please email bspeedie@eircom.net asap. Likewise, if you also know of others that intend to be there, please forward details.
Míle Buíochas!

__________

Leaving Behind a Lasting & Valuable Legacy to our old Alma Mater

Even though they were in 3 different countries, Joe Rice, Joyce McGreevy & Speedie earlier this week held an Online Video (brainstorming) Conference via Skype to discuss ways that the graduates assembling for the November 7th Reunion could create something innovative and different that would form a lasting contribution to NUI Galway and to society.
It was agreed that Joyce & Joe would co-chair a short informal forum at the winter gathering whereby participants could present ideas on how this could be achieved. This would allow people from all backgrounds, experiences and expertise to debate the possibilities and methods on producing some lasting and beneficial legacy which could vary from sponsoring a research scholarship, publishing a thematic book or fund-raising for a worthy cause.

Out of Fun, the Goodness will Come!

Many graduates were inspired by the fact that our fun-packed light-hearted 2008 Reunion produced a surplus that provided houses for poor indigenous communities in Honduras through a current NUIG student/staff volunteer programme known as 'Habitat for Humanity'. So much so that they wanted us to build on the 'feel-good' factor generated and come up with further schemes that could help make a positive difference to people's lives in the college and elsewhere.

Do You Remember...

The Brilliant Fun-Packed 'Rag Week' Programme!?

(Click on Image to View Larger Version)

Padraic Breathnach & Charlie McBride leading a Student Union Protest?

Listening to a denim-clad Terry Smith Playing his Guitar while Queuing Up outside the Claddagh Palace on a Saturday Night?

When

UCG
had
its
own
humourous
'Agony Aunt'
Page
with
a
'Dear Angela'
columnist
known
as
'Contra'
(aka Paul Moore)!?

(Click on Image to View Larger Version)

The great actors & actresses of Druid Theatre?

(Click on Pictures to View Larger Version)

When
there
was
a
college
officership
known
as
the
'Lady
Superintendent'
occupied
by
the
very
kind
Mrs. O'Driscoll?

May & Ailish on Graduation Day?

Those Sun-drenched Botany Field Trips?

(Click on Pictures to View Larger Version)

The UCG Diving Club's wonderful Party Posters?

'Smokie Joes' in the day-time (café)

'Smokie Joes' in the night-time (folk club)?

Barry Moore

The Rag Week 'Pub Crawls'?

How those those never-ending speeches in Latin on Graduation Day use to effect our thoughts & concentration!?

(Click on Pictures to View Larger Version)

Trying so hard to keep those caps from slipping off on a windy Graduation Day?

When Seapoint use to played host to big name music acts such as the Undertones & the Cimarrons?

How intense & serious were the students that served on the Students' Union Assembly?

The Fun & Frolics of 'Crazy Boat Race' in Rag Week?

Posing with your college friends & classmates on Graduation Day?

The Army Lads having to Dress up in all their Finery whenever they went out for a Beer?

Lennie when he had to be taken off the stage at the Unity Variety Show when he tried to do a 'Patricia the Stripper' routine?

The craic in the old student watering holes such as the Skeff on Thursday nights?

The Science Dress Dances?

Going to the Back-Room of the Skeff with other committee members for a few drinks & a chat with distinguished guest speakers after a college society lecture?

Student Union Stalwarts such as

Jerome Hynes (Societies Officer '80/'81), Grainne McMorrow (SU President '79/'80) & Peter McEvoy (SU Administrative Officer) at opening of UCG College Bar Oct 1980

U2 Playing Student Gigs in Galway?

Student Protests Marches to Eyre Square (& the pubs afterwards!)?

______________
Newsflash! FUZE To Reform for Nov 7th Reunion!!

Before the Stunning, Before the Sawdoctors, there was the FUZE!

Thanks to the efforts of our fellow graduate Ursula Killeen, Galway's first rock group to achieve national fame will reform for the first time in over 25 years to play at the UCG Grad Reunion Bash!
Five or the band members were UCG students who got together in early 1979 and launched themselves onto an unsuspecting world at the Unity Variety Show; later supported U2 & Pretenders... and achieved success in the Pop Single Charts with 'Stone Age Man' & 'It's A Sunday Morning' before splitting up in 1982.

Interestingly, their first gig outside the UCG campus was sharing the bill with Big G at a HistriSoc Party in Salthill. So history will repeat itself in November when DJ Gerry Sexton will return with his magical 'Ration of Passion' 70s-themed Disco!

The full events programme will be published later this week on the website. The NUIG Alumni Office will send out a postal invitation to all 1978 & 1979 graduates at the weekend.

___________________________

Drama Soc's spell-binding productions?