Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent,  4 April 2013

“Technical Memories (Part 50) –Green’s Act of Generosity”

The Vocational Educational Bill was passed into legislation on 29 July 1930. The act was important in widening the extent of technical education and expanded the school system to provide general and practical training in preparation for employment. It established 38 VECs representative of local authorities and local interests. Each of these was a statutory body with power to acquire and own land. They were subject only to the Minister of Education. The system remained multi-denominational, co-educational and under lay management. The Act was proof that the State accepted that it had a duty to guarantee the Irish technical education system would meet the trade and industry requirements of the country.

Initially, the 38 VECs comprised four County Borough schemes, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Waterford; 27 counties of Saorstát Éireann with Tipperary North and South Riding comprising separate VECs and seven scheduled Urban districts – Bray, Drogheda, Dun Laoghaire, Galway, Sligo, Tralee and Waterford. The Minister was allowed to designate a VEC area where compulsory continuation education for youth from 14-16 years of age would be brought in. This was invoked in Cork, Limerick and Waterford. As time progressed, the number of Vocational schools increased from 77 in the school year 1931-32 to 206 in 1938-39. The number of full time courses also increased. Much of the development was in the small towns and larger villages rather than in larger towns. By 1932, the VECs had 23 per cent of second-level students.

In his principal’s report of 1930, D J Coakley noted that that the School of Commerce was well placed to provide a more than satisfactory commercial education. The school also aspired to provide full-time day continuation education for young people between 14 and 16 years, commercial education for students of 16 years of age and upwards, and part time classes to meet the specialised requirements of employees. In the previous two years, D J Coakley had been planning an expansion of the college through attaining new premises. Previous end of year reports had criticised the lack of space to expand the operation.  These comments were also echoed when the School held a twenty-first anniversary celebration on 29 September 1929, in the Victoria Hotel on St Patrick’s Street followed by a public dinner on 8 November 1929. These events were attended by the then Lord Mayor Seán French, Cork City Councillors, Department Inspectors, Chamber of Commerce and Shipping members, the President of University College Cork, Professor P J Merriman and Professor Alfred O’Rahilly, registrar, UCC. Various representatives from local government and professional institutes attended as well as managers and owners of huge companies from Cork City and its environs.

With such a captive audience, Mr J C Foley, chairman of the School outlined the history of the establishment and its role in the life of the city; “I need not refer in detail to the remarkable progress of the school, to its roll of over 600 students, divided into morning, afternoon and night session; to the number of its students who have obtained responsible positions here and elsewhere. The best indication I can find of the influence of the school on the industrial development of the city is to take the reasoned opinion of one of our foremost city accountants, who some years previously publicly stated that since the school was established the standard of accounting in the city business houses had shown a marked improvement”. Mr Foley also had happy recollections of a special class for shopkeepers, which was in existence or some years.

Continuing on Mr Foley noted that the buildings were altogether unsuited for the work carried on there; “the business men of Cork who stood by its cradle and watched with pride its progress to manhood should now mark their appreciation by a present of a new building, large and comfortable enough to allow for further developments”. He also announced the donation of a free site for the development of a new school;  “it is with considerable pleasure that I make the announcement that what our well-known highly respected and generous fellow citizen did for technical education by the presentation of a free site, will be done by another equally highly esteemed citizen for commercial education”.

At a meeting of Cork Corporation in mid July 1930, the Lord Mayor F J Daly presiding with the City Manager announced that a unanimous donor, who had purchased a site on Father Mathew Quay for £2,500, had offered it to the Corporation for the erection of a new School of Commerce. The Council accepted the offer, and passed a resolution of thanks to the generous donor. They passed on the offer to the City of Cork Vocational Educational Committee. Gerard O’Dwyer’s excellent book (2008) on the history of the College reveals that the donor was William T Green. William was very interested in the commercial and educational life of Cork City. He was elected President of the Cork Incorporated Chamber of Commerce and Shipping in 1904. He was involved in the original proposal to the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction to provide a School of Commerce for the City.

To be continued….

Caption:

685a. William T Green, donor of site for the present Cork College of Commerce (picture: Cork City Library)