School Retreats! (1 Viewer)

[Denny Oubidoux]

i was just reading padraig o'morains man-issue blog and he had an entry yesterday on school retreats (they were talking about it on ryan tubridy apparently):

I went on a school retreat in the late 1960s when the Christian Brothers in Naas took us up to Manresa House, a Jesuit-run retreat centre in Clontarf.

All I remember is that:

(a) We were not allowed to talk for three days.

(b) Each morning at breakfast we listened to someone reading the lives of the saints on tape.

(c) Every night a gaunt man in a soutane burst into our rooms trying to catch us using transistor radios.

(d) One classmate had a crisis of some sort and was sent home. This was never explained.

(e) A priest who came in to give us a talk declared when we stood up on his arrival that "When I enter the room, boys, you don't stand, you kneel." He then went on to roar and shout about a girl in a miniskirt whom he had seen on the bus. Something to do with her tempting boys to "destroy a temple of the Holy Ghost." She being the temple, of course.

That's it. God bless you all.

did anyone have any good retreats? for 1st, 2nd and 3rd year my class we spent a day in the school library where we could be put sitting too far apart to talk to each other and the curtains were closed so we couldnt look out the windows and the two priests then did things like ask us to write down our worst sins and sign the page and hand it up, to be careful not to catch a glimpse of ourselves naked in the mirror in case we might get turned on by ourselves, talked a lot about self abuse etc. in 5th year some hippies came and played tapes of waves crashing while we all lay about on the floor

a few posts on beard issues wouldnt go astray on that blog

 

[Wobbler]

Never went on one. Always wanted to. Don't know why. They sound shite.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

all mine were shite anyway

 

[pete]

I've horrible memories of our entire class being made to go on a 1 day retreat when I was in 6th class. We had to walk to some priesty place in donnybrook to spend the day mostly ignoring priests. It must have been really disheartening for the poor god botherers - a room full of bored kids with pocketfuls of gravel grabbed from the driveway outside, flicking tiny stones at each other (and the back of priests' heads).

I think someone got into trouble for breaking the hood ornament off a Mercedes on Waterloo Road on the way back (to use as a throwing star, obviously). That day was also notable for being the first time I ever heard someone use the phrase "bum ride". Hopefully this had nothing to do with the priests.

All in all a day well spent.

 

[Super Dexta]

We went on a pre-leaving cert one when we were in sixth year, around this time of year. Mainly we sat around in circles and talked about our feelings and bonded a lot. And made a few human pyramids. It was good fun.

 

[cpr]

Priests houses always smell of turnip. why is that?

 

[broken arm]

i think we went on a few. they were fine.

we had an unofficial one where some woman told me my fortune and there was a hexoganal house with gold fish hanging at each point on the roof.

long story.

 

[Catwoman]

We went to Dieppe. Not really so much as a retreat as shithole really.

 

[Pantone247]

they took my whole year out to some place on the Dublin Belfast motorway for two days. Apparantly lots of people cried and talked about feeling insecure or said reveraling things about their personal lives and everyone hugged and stuff

so I heard, me and my mate didn't go so we had to stay in the library and study for two days solid which was possibly the most distressing boring and pointless waste of time ever. Pretty much punishment for not towing the Christian line...

I think we didn't go back the second day and watched Funky Monks, the making of blood sugar sex magik instead. John Fruscanite talking about stopping midtake during a solo to have a wank is a lot like spiritual enlightenment

 

[rettucs]

I remember one in Glendalough. We sat around by a wall in an old church. I think we were meant to be meditating.

then they took us to Clara-Laragh, which was deadly.

 

[Hector Grey]

one "toes" the line, pants. one does not "tow" the unless one is a tug boat and the line in question is a white star line vessel. but even then you'd be "towing the liner". seems to me you needed that study. fat lot of good it did mind.

baton.

dropped.

 

[timbot]

Went on one, it was alright. It was more like a team-building conference seminar type thing than having any real religious content. We huffed lighter fluid and smoked joints that night - it was a laugh...

 

[muffin]

We had to go on one when we became prefects in our school. It was meant to make us all bond and support each other. I don't think we did that much praying though.

 

[Pantone247]

one "toes" the line, pants. one does not "tow" the unless one is a tug boat and the line in question is a white star line vessel. but even then you'd be "towing the liner". seems to me you needed that study. fat lot of good it did mind.

baton.

dropped.

maybe you should just toen' it down

 

[Hector Grey]

maybe you should just toen' it down

toad the lyne lately?

 

[ratmonkey]

Priests houses always smell of turnip. why is that?

Priests like turnips?

 

[coast to coast]

I think I went to Glendalough once but I can't be sure. I think I'd appreciate a nice walk around Glendalough as a retreat from work today.

That said Retreats mean no homework, which is a total bonus.

 

[shidheat]

we went to a place in glendalough in 5th year. it was really nice as i remember it. the group that went along i was friendly with all of them. we messed about in water falls and chilled out listening to tapes at the house. it wasn't really that religious, just a good laugh.

 

[wild_cat]

I was removed from the one in transition year for laughing so hard that I couldnt breath and was crying laughing.


Some auld born again was doing an earth dance and then when I was forced to join in again we were all made do the earth dance. To where I was once again asked to leave until I could control myself and stop making my friends laugh.

I still count it as one of the funniest things I ve ever seen. Just remembering three of us going red in the face from trying not to laugh.

Went to Glendalough as well that year, where everyone had to eat sweet corn soup because they had to cater for me, the vegetarian. Wasnt to popular that day.

In 6th year we were meant to go away for three days but it was canceld when a couple of 6th years in 2005 looked the teachers in their room and proceeded to get fucked off their faces on pills while having fire exstingers, apprently the principal was never as embarrased.