The 2011 demolition of the old Coláiste Choilm building brought back many memories for former staff members. The last member of the staff when the school moved from Convent Road to High Street/O’Moore Street was Séamus O’Dea, who died in 2017 at the age of 93.
In an interview many years ago with the Offaly Express, Mr O’Dea recalled how he joined the staff of the old St Columba’s Classical School in 1955. Located at the junction of Convent Road and St Bridget’s Place, that school had opened in 1912.
It was operated by the Christian Brothers, who originally came to Tullamore in 1862, left in the 1890s and returned in 1912.
“The move to High Street was the brainchild of Brothers Creed and Murphy. There were no grants in those days, the Brothers raised funds locally,” recalled Mr O’Dea.
In 1959, First Year students began classes at the High Street location, under the tuition of the late Pat Carty. The main body of staff and students moved the following year.
“The prefabs were put up by Bantile from Banagher. They had a lifespan of 25 to 30 years,” Mr O’Dea stated, pointing out that they remained in use at the time of the interview (and until demolition).
The Brothers had already been living in High Street for some years prior to the school’s construction. Mr O’Dea recalls that when he joined the staff, it consisted of Brothers Creed (the principal) and Murphy, Bill Sheedy and himself. There were 109 pupils, but by the time he retired in 1989, numbers had reached 430.
The year 1959 saw the late Mr Carty join the staff. As a teacher of English, he was a legendary figure to decades of students. The same year saw the late Tom Mullins, the school’s first guidance counsellor, join the staff, where he remained for 15 years.
Mr O’Dea was the school’s first vice-principal, with Mr Carty the second. He recalled a number of colleagues who are now deceased – in addition to Mr Carty, they included Mrs Anne Ryan, the first female staff member, as well as Mrs Louise Carragher, and Mr John Friend-Pereira.
Since Mr O’Dea’s death, two other colleagues have died – John Cahill and Mary Glennon.
Still on the staff when a purpose-built extension went up in the 1980s after extensive fund-raising, Mr O’Dea taught geography and recalled that the school had a primary section for decades, until it closed in the late 1970s.
Brother Creed was his first principal, followed in succession by Brothers Geraghty, Giffney, Murphy, O’Connor (all RIP), Murray, O’Connor again (he spent two years in the school from 1978-80, moved to Cork for a period and later returned to Tullamore) and McGovern.
Although corporal punishment was a feature of Irish schools in those days, Mr O’Dea recalled that Brother Creed was ahead of his time and did not believe in it.
He remembered that in the days before free education and school transport, boys cycled in from Kilbeggan, Clara, Geashill and Rhode, extremely keen to get an education.
Mr O’Dea remembered with pride that his past pupils included two successive Offaly County Managers, Niall Sweeney and Pat Gallagher, as well as two Tullamore Town Engineers, Patsy Rouse and Brendan Clarke. They also included many who excelled in sport, including the Furlong brothers.
Remembered with great affection by his past pupils, Mr O’Dea was predeceased by his wife May and son Niall, and survived by his daughter Mary and sons Declan, Pádraig and Frank.
Published as part of the County Offaly 2025 Commemorative Programme with the support of Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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