On June 12th, 2024, Clongowes welcomed French Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Mr. Vincent Guérend, for the annual Fr Peter Kenney Day event hosted by Fr Rector Michael Sheil S.J. This celebration in honour of Fr Peter Kenney’s founding of the college in 1814, highlighted the accomplishments of distinguished Old Clongownians who have been awarded the Légion d’Honneur. The Légion d’Honneur, established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, is France’s highest merit order, recognizing exceptional contributions to the nation in civilian or military service.
The Old Clongownian honourees include Patrick James Smyth (OC 1839), Henri Russell (OC 1852), William Lombard Murphy (OC 1892), Conor Maguire (OC 1907), Gerald O’Kelly (OC 1907), Henri J Coisne (OC 1909), Henry Place (OC 1940), and Michael WJ Smurfit (OC 1953). Fr Sheil delivered an insightful presentation on the lives of some of these remarkable individuals, followed by Ambassador Guérend, who spoke about the longstanding and increasingly significant ties between Ireland and France.
The celebration continued with a Mass in the Boys’ Chapel, celebrated by Fr Sheil and Fr Barney McGuckian S.J. After Mass, the Clongowes Union unveiled a new portrait of former College Headmaster Fr Philip Fogarty S.J. (1976-1987), which now hangs outside the Boys’ Chapel.
Fr Peter Kenney Day offers an excellent occasion for Old Clongownians to reconnect with classmates, reminisce, and revisit the places that shaped their youth.
