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Amare
et Servire….
Freshford remembered
Amare
et Servire, the clarion call rang out
To far and near, to East and West, and then
to North and South
We heard the call, we made our choice, much
hope mid trepidation
To love and serve those most in need, the world
our destination
On
a dark September morning we left our folk in
tears
By train and bus we journied forth and tried
to hide our fears
And late that night at journey’s end there stood
St.Joseph’s School
Upon the hill near Freshford town where the
black and amber rules
In
those early days we learned the ropes, were
taught what’s wrong and right
From six o’clock when the first bell rang ‘till
we said our prayers at night
With the benefit of cold water we waked and
washed and dressed
Then struggled down for morning prayers, God
must have been impressed
Then
after Mass we dressed our beds and readied for
the day
Then to the ‘ref’ with breakfast served, porridge,
bread and tae
The morning chores had to be done, then classes
before nine
Till the mid-day bell would ring again, soon
followed by lunchtime
Soon
after lunch each had a job, as part of manual
labour
To wash, or sweep or other chore, I became an
apprentice barber
When class was over in the afternoon our mind
soon turned to sport
Where basketball and football thrived, to these
we did resort
But
on such days that walks were called, reluctantly
we went
To Geata Ban or Tullaroan or the easier Dwan’s
Monument
Foot sore and sometimes hungry we struggled
back to base
Where supper gave us back some strength for
the blisters to erase
More
study followed suppertime, then lights out near
to nine
When one hundred plus took to their beds in
neat and ordered lines
Each said a prayer while some shed tears for
family and for friends
And hoped next day would bring some cheer when
loneliness might end
But soon we all made many friends as the term
passed quickly by
The sport was great, the food was good, our
spirits now on high
The rules were firm but also fair, discipline
would prevail
The priests and nuns gave every help, all-caring,
without fail
Variety we had plenty but pleasures we had few
We had potatoe sowing and picking and silage
trampling too
We thinned the beet in spring time and crowned
its crop in frost
Technology had not yet arrived, to our discomfort
and our cost
The orchard was a popular spot at certain times
of year
Just pears and apples tempting, Eve never did
appear
Some Sunday nights the films rolled in the bigger
study hall
Technicolour, black and white, our treats were
good, if small
For Holy week no holidays, just a time for quiet
reflection
Three days retreat, no word to speak, hell bent
on sin’s rejection
Early to bed on Saturday night, then woken for
midnight mass
Lumen Christi opened our sleepy eyes as Easter
came to pass
Summer now was beckoning as home thoughts came
to the fore
Where we’d spend some time away from school,
in September back for more
Suit cases dropped from attic store, excitement
without bounds
Friendships confirmed, addresses exchanged,
hand shakes, smiles all around
But Freshford was much more than this, and for
all not quite the same
We learned, we grew then parted ways to play
in life’s own game
That early call seems distant now, yet there’s
something we’ve retained
To help each other on the way, God grant that
it remain
Dick Carmody , following a conversation with
Sean Ganly on Thursday,12th November, 2003
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0502
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