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SCC History and extracts from various meetings.
Physical Education in the City of Dublin Vocational Schools was first introduced under a scheme agreed between the Department of Education and the Department of Defence, dating from 1928, whereby soldiers were seconded part-time to schools to give this instruction. The passing of the 1930 Vocational Education Act recommended for technical schools in urban areas a list of subjects that included physical culture.
In 1922, M.J.Doogan was appointed in charge of the Army Physical Training school and organised physical training courses. It was M.J.Doogan whom the Chief and Staff recommended in 1928 to assist the City of Dublin Technical Schools. Doogan immediately set to work and in the results of competitions, Tailteann Games, Gymnastic Section.
In 1933 M.J.Doogan, in conducting Summer Courses for teachers employed by Irish Vocational Education Committees to train instructor in Physical Training. M.J. Doogan took on all sports and gymnastics; he trained boxers, organised the sports events and kept the ground of the CDVEC in Terenure in excellent condition. He retired in 1968 after 40 years of dedicated service to the City of Dublin Vocational Schools.
In November 1930 the newly formed City of Dublin V.E.C. which now included the Pembroke and Rathmines Townships, acquired the use of one of the Old Wesley Rugby Football Club’s grounds for the season for £5 to cater for organised games, the ground formerly used at Pembroke Park being considered to be unsuitable.
In August 1931 the CDVEC after deciding to hire the same grounds as last year for games for Rathmines students as well as a playing ground for the Camogie Club, also considered the question of a general sports ground and decided to refer it to a General Committee who ordered that suitable Sports Fields be advertised for.
In May 1932 the City of Dublin VEC decided to establish Physical Training Classes on two evenings per week for women and two evenings per week for men.
Then in August 1935 a special meeting of the CDVEC sat to consider the acquisition of a sports ground on the Southside and agreed to lease the sports grounds at Terenure. These grounds contained 14.4 acres, 2 pavilions already on site, a men’s and ladies’ pavilion.
Mr. Doogan, Physical Training Instructor, estimated that 5 full size playing pitches could be laid out for football, hurling, camogie, etc, as well as provision for basketball and 5 lawn tennis courts.
The Emergency had a general curtailing effect on activities due to the black-out regulations and transport curtailment but the C.S.U came through a difficult period intact and looked to a new decade of progress.
When the War ended the C.S.U. took a new lease of life and in October 1945 organised its sub-committees as follows: Gaelic Football and Hurling, Sports, Camogie, and Boxing.
In January 1946 it was decided to appoint a sub-committee to start basketball and netball and to contact the new Amateur Basketball Association.
In April 1948 the Bohemian Football Club presented a shield and set of medals for an annual competition under the Association Football code.
In January 1950 it was unanimously agreed to hold the Fancy Dress Ball in the Mansion House and to give first and second prizes for the following costumes, most topical, prettiest, best pair most original and advertising.
1951, Social Function: It was agreed to hold a Smoking Concert in Jurys Hotel on Saturday, 16th June at 7.30pm and to set up a sub-committee consisting of one teacher from each school to organise the function. No students to be allowed. It was also agreed to grant £10 in aid of the function.
By the mid 1950’s School attendance had improved and more boys and girls transferred on to Vocational Schools. Education was always highly valued in Ireland and the C.S.U worked untiringly to integrate physical education with the curriculum.
June 1958: The appointment of six new Physical Education Teachers welcomed by the C.S.U.
November 1961: Boxing: 340 boys weighed in for the Novice Boding, 160 entries had been received and 32 bouts were held in the stadium on the 2nd December.
April 1963 saw the visit of American Schools boys. The Dublin Schools gave an exhibition of Hurling, Gaelic Football and Rounder in the Sports grounds Terenure and the Americans gave a baseball exhibition.
June 1963: The Gaelic Football team won the All-Ireland Championship for the second time in succession.
1965: All-Ireland Vocational Schools G.A.A.
The “Ard Comhairle” was complimented on playing the Football Final in Croke Park. Numerous speakers paid tribute to the high standard of football and it was requested that the Hon. Secretary C.S.U. write to “Ard Comhairle” conveying our congratulations.June 1968: Mr. M. Gleeson, C.E.O. then addressed the meeting; he referred to the big “Explosion” taking place in Education and particularly in Vocational Education in Dublin City. He said the C.S.U. of the past 32 years had grown from strength to strength and from success to success; and loyalty of those teachers associated with and actively concerned in the organisation of the various Physical Education activities, which are so organised, that they cater for the “General Benefit” and enjoyment, of all our students in Dublin. Continuing, the Chief Executive Officer said the greatest turning point in the “successful march” of the C.S.U. was when the Vocational Educational Committee gave the order that no student was to be debarred from any activity. Complimenting the sports sub-committee on majestic organisation and efficiency on the smooth running of the inter-school sports, he stressed the importance of continued organisation at this level.
March 1970: A group of 17 students from Ballyfermot accompanied by 6 teachers visited London to play three Soccer Matches against London Schools.
June 1970: Chariman’s Address: Mr. George Dunne the outgoing Chairman paid tribute to all who helped him in his term of office. He was particularly pleased with the growth of Volleyball and Basketball in our Schools.
September 1970 Activities of C.S.U. including Rounder’s, Camogie, Netball, Sports, Swimming, Gaelic Football, Hurling, Soccer Basketball, Volleyball, Handball, Boxing, Cross-Country, Inter County Hurling and Football, Debating.
1971: Final Report on organisation of C.S.U.: Mr. B. Conway, Chairman of the sub-committee, introduced the report and stated that the C.S.U. was not only a sporting organisation but also a Cultural one. The recent Art Exhibition was an example of this and he visualised a “CULTURAL CARNIVAL” to take place in the Spring Term that might include Drama Dance, Feis, Concert, etc.
April 1972: Tailteann Games: Mr.J. McCusker (North Strand) stated that this year the dates for the Games were from the 1st t 22nd July. Activities would include Handball, Irish Dancing, Swimming, Diving, Athletics, Volleyball and Basketball.
February 1973: Cultural activities were in full swing with Junior Debates, Senior Debates, Question Time, Concert, and Chess being held. The Ceili was being postponed to select a venue. A School Magazine Competition was also being run and a production of King Lear was to be held in Finglas Vocational School.
May 1974: Handball: Inter-School Competitions took place at the Croke Park Alleys on 24th April 1974. Eight teams took part in the Junior Section and six in the senior.
1975: The population of the schools had increased greatly. New sports also were added such as badminton and golf.
February 1975: Outdoor Pursuits: Fourteen schools were now taking part in regular one day outings and in the case of some schools for a longer period.
1977: New title for C.S.U.: “Sports and Cultural Committee”.
April 1997: “Sports for all” weekend, setting up a Sports Advisory Council for Dublin City. All Sports Associations as well as the Physical Education Teachers’ Association were invited to send representatives to the inaugural meeting.
May 1979: Election of SCC member to the “Sports Advisory Council”. It was the unanimous decision of the meeting that the Hon. Secretary SCC should represent Council on the Sports Advisory Councillor Dublin City.
November 1979: Sixteen Schools have entered for the Debating Contests.
December 1979: The Cross-Country Championships were held at the Phoenix Park on Wednesday, 5th December. The events were run off smoothly and in favourable weather conditions. In all over three hundred students took part. Winners and Runners-up received prizes.
1980: Basketball / Volleyball: Competitions in both codes took place for Boys and Girls at Senior, Intermediate, Junior and Minor level. The standard as always and turn out of students was first class.
Cultural Activities: Undoubtedly a highly successful year for Debating, Question Time and Drama. A successful Drama evening was held in the “Gleeson Hall” College of Technology on 31st march. The debating and Question Time for boys’ and girls’ schools organised at Senior and Junior level attracted entries from sixteen schools.
Field Games (Boys): The Field Games programme consisting of Soccer, Hurling, and Gaelic Football at Senior, Intermediate and Junior level was successfully completed, again.
Swimming: This year saw a change of venue for both the boys and girls Swimming Galas. The girls’ competitions were held at the E.S.B Pool and the boys’ Gala at the Pool in the Coolmine Sports Complex.
Athletics: The Annual Inter-Schools Athletics Championships took place at the Terenure Championships took place at the Terenure Sports Grounds on Saturday, 17th May, 1980 with a total of seventy-one events, this was a very full programme. It was generally agreed that this was the best Athletics meeting to date, in terms of participation, standards and overall organisation. The programme of events surpassed that of previous years.
1981: The Public Speaking Competition which was organised on the suggestion of Mr. Liam Arundel, Chief Executive Officer, was even more successful than could have been expected in its first year.
This year saw the introduction of a soccer competition for Senior/Inter Girls. This competition played a Terenure proved very successful and it is to be hoped that it will continue in future years.
The Rounders Competition held at Terenure attracted a large number of entries and from reports would appear to be a very popular game with all students.
September 1983: A Badminton Competition was launched.
May 1984: On the 17th and 18th May, twenty one players selected from three schools, Clogher Road, Killester and Ringsend took part in Hurling Exhibition games at the G.A.A. Centenary Exhibition at the R.D.S. Ballsbridge.
The Annual Athletic Championships took place at the Terenure Grounds on Saturday, 19th May. All schools participated in the events. It is worth noting that this meeting with 73 events is the second largest Athletic Championships to be held in the Country.
Orienteering/Golf: The orienteering and golf competitions held during the year were very well supported and from all accounts highly successful.
Rounders: The Rounders competition for girls’ schools was held at Terenure Grounds on 23rd May and involved over two hundred student from seven schools. The programme was run off very successfully and all concerned had a most enjoyable day.
Cuirm Cheoil: The Cuirm Cheoil was held over three evenings in the Mansion House during March. The President Dr. Patrick Hillary attended on the third evening. The programme was drawn up by a ‘workshop group’ consisting of a number of teachers of Irish with Ms. Brede Foy as co-ordinator to develop an Irish Programme for students in second level schools.
December 1984: 50th Anniversary: The Chairperson of the SCC reported on a Meeting which took place in the Dublin College of Catering, to consider special activities which might be promoted in 1985. Having considered a full list of topics, the Committee recommended that the following be developed:
- School Essay Competition
- Poster Competition within Schools
- Publicity for all Competitions
- Introduction of School CamogieIn the 1980’s and the 1990’s the increase in the numbers of Post Leaving Certificate students in our schools has been a very notable development. They have contributed proportionately to SCC funds and efforts have been made to accommodate their interests. There are many activities now for senior students in the CDVEC and it seems to be a permanent feature of student enrolment.
May 1995: The introduction of additional games which provides for the student who may not wish to become involved in the larger team games has proved very successful, as can be seen from the excellent response to the activities such as orienteering, golf badminton and more recently lawn tennis. We should in my view continue to expand in this direction, thus ensuring that the maximum number of students are catered for at all times.
Lawn Tennis: This year saw the introduction of Lawn Tennis. Five teams participated in the event which was held at Eamonn Ceannt Stadium in Crumlin.
Promotion of Gaelic Games: At a meeting in May of 1983, which was attended by over sixty teachers from the three VEC’s it was agreed to organise competitions in both hurling and football at under 14 years age level and also to promote Camogie and handball.
Athletics: In the finals of the Championships held in Belfield, on Saturday, 17th May, 1986, no less than thirty three new records were set, 14 girls’ events and 19 in the boys’ section. Five schools shared in the overall track events and were presented with shields to mark their successes.
1988: Tennis: The Tennis Championships were held in Bushy Park, Terenure, on Wednesday 27th April. Team competitions were held for both boys and girls at Intermediate and Senior level. In addition, there were individual championships at senior level in singles and doubles for both boys and girls, and also mixed doubles competition. In all seventy matches were played producing some excellent tennis.
December 1988: Swimming: The Annual Swimming Gala held in Rathmines Pool on Thursday 15th 1988. Seventeen schools took part.
February 1990: Visit of French Students – Rugby. A group of French students visited Dublin. Two rugby matches against CDVEC teams were arranged.
Senior Girls’s Football and Junior Boys’ Hurling were added to the programme during the year just past.
The following competitions also took place during the year 1989/90 (Non points competitions): Irish Music / Song (62 events), Rowling (40 students), and Canoeing (45 students).
April 1991: Snooker: More than one hundred students took part over ten Wednesday afternoons. Colaiste Dhulaigh emerged as the overall winners with North Strand in second place.
September 1991: Restart of Cultural Events: Cultural Capital of Europe: Successful competitions had already been run in Public Speaking, Senior Debating, Senior Short Story, Senior Poetry and Poetry Ireland, Junior Poetry/Short Story. Further events were planned – Junior Art and Crafts, Photography Festival, Evening of Drama (Senior), Junior Drama, and Table Quiz. The Traditional Folk Music and Dance Festival had been a great success.
Hurling: a 30-man squad was rewarded with a comfortable win over Limerick by 4-3 to 1-5 Ten CDVEC represented on the panel.
Rugby: The inaugural CDVEC Tournament had been a success with four entries.
Table Quiz: At Junior and Senior Level these ever-popular events were well supported, and excellently conducted.
April 1993: Reports: The Junior Art Competition was praised for the good standard on exhibition. Two hundred entries of a high standard.
Cookery: This inaugural event had entries from six schools. Ringsend, Cabra and Marino were prize-winners.
Adult Students: The expansion of PLC, VPT, and VTOS classes within the scheme saw SCC cater for students from 12 years to 70 years plus. The Prison Service Education Units were interested in being involved in some activities.
Rock-Climbing: The introduction of Indoor Wall Climbing was suggested. It was agreed that the usual invitation system should operate to established demand before nominating the event for official SCC status at A.G.M.
October 1994: Report of Board of Studies: The Hon Secretary stated that about 12,000 students had enrolled with CDVEC for 1994/1995. Jubilee Year 1995: C.E.O. expressed the wish to have some special events to mark the occasion and that some funds might be available for this purpose.
1995 Jubilee Year: Diamond Jubilee Book planned and launched.
2000 The SCC CD-ROM, a snapshot of the millennium year went into production.
Compiled and Edited by Jim Cooke.
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