Class of ’98 - 25 Year Reunion

It may have taken a quarter of a century but on September 9 th , 2023 the Class of ’98 finally got our act together and held our first reunion since leaving CCR.

It was a case of planes, trains and automobiles across the group to get to Kilkenny, although all credit must go to the 170km cycle from Cork undertaken by one of our number … and he still managed to one of the last men standing at the end of the night!

You would be forgiven for thinking this feat might have won the athletic honours on the evening but these went to one of our more understated classmates who seemed surprised at all the fuss around his 2hr 25m marathon times!

Little did we know that the most surprising revelation of the evening was yet to come…when it was let slip that we had a model in our midst who was the face of Debenhams in his college years, adorning billboards across the UK!

Other that the grey hair, or lack thereof, it was like stepping back in time and we picked up where we left off in ’98. The mood over the evening was relaxed and light-hearted with plenty of laughter and banter as we filled in the blanks over the past 25 years.

There were obviously plenty of past-men who couldn’t be there on the night, it was great to get the opportunity to catch up with them when tracking everyone down. In the end, thanks to Katherine Donovan, Google, LinkedIn & Facebook, we managed to get 65 into the WhatsApp group. Of those that couldn’t make it, a good proportion are now spread out across the globe – the US, UK and Australia now home to most of the international contingent, with a few further afield, the most exotic location I came across being Vanuatu!

Whilst there was never any doubt on the matter, the catch-up reaffirmed the indelible bond with your classmates that only comes from attending boarding school and reassured us all that the reputation of Roscrea’s past-men is well placed; a sounder more grounded bunch of lads you would struggle to meet!

Looking forward to the next catch up already!

Pictured (L to R) James Duggan, Kevin Tighe, Tony Cahalan, John O’Brien, Peter McBreen, Andrew Byrne, Frank Hughes, Alan Kenny, Bobby Smyth, Paddy Holland, Shane Kenny, Mark Muldoon, Shane O’Keeffe, John Bradley, Ronan Glynn, Tim Frawley, Larry O’Dwyer, Pat Dalton, Sean O’Donnell.

Not pictured: Sean Byrne, Jim McDonnell.