Contribution of De La Salle College Waterford is recognised

The contribution of De La Salle College, Waterford, to the education of the country has been recognised with the awarding of two renowned historical Blue Plaques from Waterford Civic Trust.

De La Salle College was the scene of a joyful and celebratory event on Friday, 29 April, when two Waterford Civic Trust Heritage Blue Plaques were unveiled. One plaque honours the De La Salle Teacher Training College, which operated in what is now the secondary school building from 1891 to 1939. The second plaque remembers a distinguished member of the training college staff, Br Potamian O’Reilly (1846 – 1917) who was appointed professor of physics in 1893.

On 13 April 1896, Brother Potamian performed one of the first ever X-rays in Ireland, revealing a small steel splinter in a woman’s hand which a doctor was then able to successfully remove.

Long overdue honour

In welcoming those in attendance, the chair of Waterford Civic Trust, Eugene Broderick, referred to the fact that recognition of the achievements of the training college and Brother Potamian was long overdue. The secretary of the Trust, Desmond Griffin, spoke of the importance of the training college as a centre of third level education in Waterford. He described its closure in 1939 as a huge setback for ambitions to establish a university in Waterford.

Glorious history

Fergus Dunne, a former teacher in De La Salle secondary school, and author of the widely-praised ‘De La Salle Teacher Training College Waterford 1891 to 1939’, gave a fascinating overview of the training college history. During the 48 years of its existence, it is estimated that over 4,000 teachers were trained there and were employed in primary schools throughout the 32 counties of Ireland. Click here to read the full overview.

Mary McDonagh, a science teacher in De La Salle, gave an account of Brother Potamian’s illustrious career. He wrote numerous scientific papers on electricity and magnetism and participated in major exhibition events in London, Vienna, Paris and Chicago. Four months after performing his x-ray, he was transferred to New York. When he died there in 1917, the New York Herald described Brother Potamian as “one of the pioneers in radiography”.

Day of pride

The principal of De La Salle, Michael Walsh, the Provincial of the De La Salle Order, Brother Ben Hanlon and Brother Tommy Walsh, each expressed their satisfaction that Waterford Civic Trust had honoured the former training college and Brother Potamian. The three speakers agreed that it was a great day for De La Salle.