Alberto Hurtado Bursary Programme and its Endowment Fund

Official Launch of the Alberto Hurtado Endowment Fund at the Merrion Hotel

The official launch of the Alberto Hurtado Endowment Fund took place in the Merrion Hotel, Dublin, on Tuesday 28^th January 2020. The evening was to mark the launch of the Fund, after two years of preparation, and to celebrate the AHP which has become such an integral and rich part of Clongowes Life in its relatively short existence. The Fund is another landmark in the brief history of our Bursary Programme and the evening gave recognition to all those who have worked so hard to bring us to this point.

The assembled guests were introduced to the evening’s speakers by the School’s headmaster Mr. Chris Lumb.  The keynote address was given by Fr. Leonard Moloney SJ, Provincial of the Irish Jesuit Province and former headmaster of Clongowes.  As headmaster at the time of the launch of the AHP and as a key force behind its creation, Fr Moloney, showing a certain nostalgia for his days in Clongowes, gave his heartfelt thanks to all those who brought the AHP to life; recognising the central role played by Martin Wallace, Deputy Headmaster at the time the AHP was launched.  Fr. Moloney SJ conveyed the Province’s support of the Alberto Hurtado Endowment Fund by pledging a €2m donation which matched the initial seed capital.

A discussion panel followed, expertly moderated by Martin Wallace, Former Deputy Headmaster. Two Old Clongownians, who graduated from the Bursary Programme: Seán McMahon OC’16 and Eoghan McLoughlin OC’15 were joined by two current students: Julian Jimenez Ospina and Michael Quinn Keogh. Each different in their own way, they engaged in a discussion of their Clongowes’ experiences and their hopes and aspirations in a natural, sincere, and confident manner. The audience was captured by the discussion. One past pupil of Clongowes commented that it was impossible not to be immensely proud of these young men and of those that have helped them, at home and at School, to become such men of confidence, conscience, and compassion.

The evening’s speeches were rounded off by a talk on the Endowment Fund by Joe Rooney from the Foundation. He recognised the generosity of one fellow past pupil whose seven-figure donation allowed the Foundation to move ahead and start planning for the AHEF. Donations from other past pupils allowed the Fund to launch with € 2m, which as noted above, was matched on the evening. The Fund’s target, in today’s money, is €20m and so much hard work lies ahead.