Honouring our academic achievers each year since 1894

With our 123rd Speech Night fast approaching it is timely to think of the very first “Annual Exhibition” as it was then called. It was held on the afternoon of Wednesday 17 October 1894 in the “spacious hall” of the original building.

The College Principal has presided over such proceedings for many decades, but in 1894 the Sisters who had prepared the concert items took a backstage role and it was Cardinal Moran who spoke for everyone. According to the newspaper report, the hall was full with parents, officials, ex-students and supporters eager to encourage this first public display of the new school.

It began with a choir of 30 voices, followed by piano duets and solos and a French dialogue. After the interval there was an operetta called “The Naiad’s Spell” complete with scenery and costumes. A lot of work must have gone into preparation: comment was made about the “fishermaidens seated on the rocks mending their nets, behind them the dark blue sea”.

There is no record of prizegiving in this first end-of-year performance, but in 1895 there was an “Annual Entertainment” held in November and a prizegiving event on 16 December. Apart from academic subjects, prizes were given for “deportment”, “regular attendance”, “order and neatness”, “needlework” and “oil painting”. All of the recipients were girls except mysteriously for “Master F. Brennan” who shared the Physics prize with “Miss Cosgrove”.

Over the years Speech Nights have been held in various places including outdoors and in Rosay Hall, the hall that preceded our present hall. Some have included prizegiving. In some years no prizes were awarded: for example in 1931 when prize money was instead given to charity. However, Speech Night as we now call it, has always been an important event to mark the end of the year’s activities.

Mrs Jenny Allison
College Archivist