SPOCA Historical Photos

A large number of photos and other images which SPOCA has drawn together over many years has been collated, organized and catalogued diligently and with great effort by Jim Smith in recent times. That set of images is now available on a separate website which is part of the Victorian Collections site. At the time of its creation, then-President Peter Rogan sent a letter (click button below) to Patricians announcing the launch of that website which is available to all for viewing and reminiscing.

Other Historical Documents

There are many additional records which detail various aspects and recollections of the history of the College as told by alumni from many decades going back over one hundred years. The following list summarizes the contents of those items, each of which can be accessed individually by clicking on the relevant file name in the second list.

1. 1892 – A School Photo (with names)

2. 1896 – A School Photo (no names on photo but next item [#3] may help - can anyone link a name to a face?)

3. 1896 – Names of students enrolled in 1st Qtr 1896

4. 1906 – An article from The Argus (9 March 1906) describes the early history of the College (also in Notables section)

5. 1922 – A history of the College contained in the first issue of The Patrician yearbook

6. 1960 – A new School Song was 'unveiled' (lyrics & score)

7. 1965 – A talk by Fr. Michael Costigan delivered on the Centenary of the Jesuit involvement in the history of the College

8. 2012 – After Dinner Talk by Tony Gaynor with many memorable anecdotes

9. 2015 – Michael Head wrote a set of notes which accompanied a talk he gave on the history of the Irish Jesuits in Australia

10. 2018 – Fr. Jo Dirks wrote a series of recollections of "The College in the Fifties" in the form of a poem

11. 2018 – Greg Bourke delivered a homily during the Mass conducted to mark the 50th anniversary of the Closure

12. 2020 - Letter to Patricians announcing the launch of the Digital Images website

For those interested in ancestry (of Colleges rather than families), the link below is worth reading. Clongowes Wood SJ College in Ireland sent the first Jesuits to St Patrick's, including the first rector of the College in 1865.  Fr Joseph Lentaigne SJ had previously been rector of Clongowes Wood which could therefore be considered a 'parent' College.

Clicking this link will transfer to the website of that College for further background. The College was also part of the itinerary for the "Ireland Trip 2018" and is described in the trip details in the Archived Events section.