FIRST SCHOOL TOUR 1957

We got a car to drive us to Gorey to the station to the Spring Show. In Dublin we had a magnificent day but when we were about to leave the Spring Show we noticed that one girl was missing.

Fr.Connolly searched the showgrounds for her but he couldn't find her. I searched the showgrounds for her and also failed to find her. Myself and the entire tour group (of 31 children) had to run to Landsdowne Road Station to catch the train to Gorey.

Meanwhile Fr. Connolly had remained in the showgrounds looking for the girl whom he had since found. I heard that Fr.Connolly had found the girl and had driven to Bray to catch the train. As we were waiting for news we had missed the train to Gorey so then I had to ring CIE to see if there was a bus going anywhere near Monamolin. They said that there was no bus going near Monamolin but in the meantime they had a ring from Fr.Connolly saying that he had a crowd of children and no way of getting back to Wexford.

I asked CIE to tell Fr. Connolly, if he rang, that we were at Landsdowne Road Station but when I rang them again they told me that Fr.Connolly had gone to Donnybrook and that he was to wait there for me to ring him again. We eventually met Fr. Connolly who, luckily, had an uncle working in C.I.E. He was able to contact his uncle who arranged for a bus to come for us. At last we left Dublin at about 10 o' clock. I was happy and content that, even though, we were very late we would soon be home as what more could possibly go wrong?

Well I obviously had forgotten the old adage of "not counting your chickens before they hatch." As we arrived at Redmond's Cross, the bus drove over a bicycle wheel and was punctured. The driver tried to take off the wheel but the jack broke. He had to ring Broadstone Station for yet another pickup bus to come to our rescue. Our second rescue arrived but when it had arrived in Gorey early next morning it had taken a wrong turn and arrived in Ferns. At that stage the driver decided to come through Boolavogue to Monamolin. Peter Kavanagh lived in Garrydaniel at that time and he had an old bus for rearing chickens. When the driver of the pick up bus saw Peter's "chicken bus" in the yard he mistakenly thought that it was a C.I.E yard and he pulled into the yard. Poor Peter awoke just before seven in the morning to see two buses in his yard. Finally at about 8 o'clock in the morning a bus full of extremely tired children arrived home after a very eventful tour.

In the intervening years we had many more school outings but I can honestly say none were as memorable or as exciting as our first school tour in 1957.