Floreat Columba

To coincide with the 175th anniversary, the Sub-Warden, Julian Girdham, has just published Floreat Columba, a book based on the first 100 years of The Columban, the school magazine. It is a rich compilation about all sorts of elements of College life from 1879 to 1979, from the most serious (the effects of the world wars, the fire that nearly destroyed the College in 1896) to the most bizarre and off-beat (a College Museum of scorpions, monkey-skins and spiders’ nests, ice-skating in Marlay estate, the death of a pet owl in a desk, a deer visiting classes for biscuits and cake, a rat being poisoned by a Library book, and much more).

You can find out more about the book here, and see many of the illustrations. It costs €10, including a DVD of the original files, and can be reserved for collection in the College by emailing jgirdham@staff.stcolumbas.ie. Postage is extra.