The owner of these photographs wishes to remain anonymous.
We are very grateful for his generosity.
Photo No. 1: The Front of the College, 1900. Photo No. 2: French Refugees at the College.
At the end of World War II a group of French refugees were given accommodation in and
around Cavan town. Pictured here are a number of these refugees in the college. Also in
the photograph is Bishop Lyons.
Photo No. 3: The Gallant John Joe and the Sam Maguire
1948.
In September 1948 the college had two very distinguished visitors, the Sam Maguire Cup and
the captain of the victorious Cavan team, John Joe O'Reilly. Here we see him, not only
holding up the cup, but holding it up with a student sitting in it! The student was Peter
Shaffrey.
Photo No. 4: P. J. Duke's Visit to the College 1947.
Another hero of Cavan football visited the college in 1947. In this photograph we see P.J.
Duke signing autographs for students. Also in the photo are Fr P.J. McManus and T.P.
O'Reilly, another member of the Cavan team.
Photo No. 5: An Aerial View of the College, 1949.
In October 1949 Cavan town hosted the Owen Roe O'Neill Tercentenary Celebrations. The
Irish Army attended and were camped on the college grounds. Their camp can be seen in the
upper half of the photograph. Again, recent past students may notice another change. There
was no 'Senior Pitch' in those days.
Photo No. 6: 'The Halls' 1947.
At the back of the college, before the building of the New Wing, there were two outside
classrooms. Called 'The Halls', they were in use as classrooms up until 1941. After 1941
they were used as Billiard Rooms until they were demolished in 1957.
Photo No. 7: Corpus Christi Procession in Cavan Town
1947. Photo No. 8: 'Stuffing' and Photo
No. 9: Another 'Stuffing' (1947).
One form of entertainment among students used to be an activity they called 'stuffing'. A
group of students would pull grass and stuff it under a fellow student's pullover or
shirt. These photographs capture a 'stuffing' event in 1947. 'Stuffing' was prohibited by
college authorities quite a number of years ago.
Photo No. 10: Work on the New Pitch , Photo No. 11: Earth Mover and Photo No.
12: Official Opening.
In 1954 work began on the new football pitch known as 'Senior Pitch'. The first two
photographs show some of the construction work on the new pitch and the third shows the
throw-in at the start of the Cavan v Meath challenge game that marked the official opening
of the pitch in 1956.
Photo No. 13: The Refectory (1954).
Until the 1950's both teaching staff and students dined in the College Refectory. The
section of the refectory used by the staff was situated on a raised platform. In this
photograph, taken in 1954, the platform can be seen at the upper end of the refectory.
Photo No. 14: Students on Retreat (1956).
As part of the Catholic ethos of the college students would have retreats on a regular
basis in order to give them an opportunity to reflect on themselves and their lives. In
the format of the traditional retreat students would be expected to stay silent and were
not allowed to communicate with each other for the duration of the retreat, which might
last 2 or 3 days. In this photograph we see students walking about the grounds during such
a retreat in 1956.
Photo No. 15: Another Aerial View of the College (1964).
The photograph shows the college buildings before the construction on the new blocks of
class rooms that started in the mid 1960's.
