History
Science had always played an important role in the Green, and a number of Past Pupils who distinguished themselves in the field of Science. There was Mary Kehoe, M. Sc., Professor of Science at Carysfort Training college; Bridget Shelly, M. Sc., Assistant Lecturer in Zoology in U.C.D.; Carmel Humphries, M. Sc., D. Sc., Professor of Zoology, U.C.D; Mairin de Valera, M. Sc., Ph. D., Lecturer in Botany in U.C. Galway; Helen Doyle (Mrs. O’Reilly), M. Sc., Ph. D., Assistant Lecturer in Botany, U.C.D.
Perhaps the most famous of the past pupils of the Green is Mary Jo Lavin, who has won international acclaim for her novels and short stories. Elsewhere you will find a list of some other Past Pupils who have distinguished themselves in various fields, too numerous to include in this article. Neither is it possible to mention all those who down through the years have chosen the better part, and joined Loreto and other Orders. Many of them are still labouring in the Lord’s vineyard and passing on the torch, in almost all the countries of the world. Nor must we forget the ‘silent majority’, the thousands who have never hit the headlines, but who have lived full and dedicated lives, each in her own sphere. Their influence lives on in their children and grandchildren, and in all those whom they have helped and influenced by their example and by their ‘little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love’. Many, many are ‘ar shlí na fírinne’, but very many happily are with us still.
Space does not permit me to chronicle the successes of the Green Choirs and of the Orchestra, which has had many distinguished Conductors since Dr. Larchet’s time, including Miss Terry O’Connor (herself a Past Pupil of the Green). Dr. Anthony Hughes and Colman Pearse and Dr. Brian Boydell.