One man’s search to reunite the St. Michael’s class of 1957

Over the last two years, one man Paddy Maguire, has been trying to rack down the class of 1957 that started their secondary education at St. Michael’s.

To this end, 19 ‘mature’ guys, from various parts of Fermanagh, Tyrone and Monaghan – with one from Dublin – recently came together for a photograph.

The location was the car park at the side of St Michael’s Parish Community Centre in Belmore Street. They assembled at the spot where, 65 years ago, they had another photo taken.

The place at that time was a schoolyard, the building behind them was St Michael’s Grammar School and they were in their early months of secondary education.

With them then were 42 other First Years. (Two were absent on that day).

In the years since, those 63, and their families, have scattered across the world. Today, their homes are spread from California to Australia.

Paddy’s drive to find all his classmates has taken time and patience, he has found almost all of them or, sadly, the families of 13 who have died.

Having made contact, he has been persuading them to cast their minds back to those days in the ‘old’ St Michael’s and write about what they remember from that time over 60 years ago. He has also asked them to record something about their lives since then. He has received over 40 contributions.

Paddy has gathered the memories and stories and, for those too young to know much about the world in the 1950s, provided a backdrop to their young lives back then.

That backdrop includes significant developments in the history of St Michael’s College – 1957 was the year when the priests of the Clogher Diocese became responsible for the school, having taken over from the Presentation Brothers.

The intake of that year was the last group to receive their initial secondary education in Belmore Street.

By September 1958, the new College at Drumclay was operating, though it would be some time before the building was complete. In the meantime, until 1960, the boys of ’57 remained in Belmore Street.

Paddy’s hard work and the consequent book that has emerged ‘Whatever became of The Boys of ‘57’, will be launched in St. Michael’s College, on the evening of Friday, December 9.

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