Miss Stella Mew - RIP
Last night Miss Stella Mew, former Principal of Rathdown School, passed away peacefully. She had recently been admitted to hospital and was moved to palliative care over the weekend.
Miss Mew was the foundation on which Rathdown School was built, and on which we continue to flourish today. Our thoughts and prayers are with Miss Mew, her family and friends and the entire Rathdown Community; for those who knew her and for those who benefit from her years of dedication and devotion to Rathdown School.
Miss Lowry, Principal of Hillcourt School retired in 1972, and that year the Irish Times reported the appointment of Miss Stella G Mew, who had been teacher at Alexandra College and Park House School, as well as two public schools in England. Discussions about the future of Dublin’s Protestant schools were well underway though, and Miss Mew’s future was not to remain as Headmistress of Hillcourt, but to oversee the merger of three schools in 1973 – Hillcourt, The Hall and Park House, and later a fourth in 1987 – Glengara Park, and to spend thirty years as Headmistress of the new Rathdown School.
The new Rathdown School operated from 1973 on a complicated tripartite arrangement, with ex-Hallite boarders and the Senior School accommodated in Monkstown, ex-Hillcourt boarders and the main Junior School in Glenageary, with the remnants of Park House pupils at a Junior School in Morehampton Road. The triple sites made for an unwieldy organisation, and in September 1974 they were rationalised into a single entity on Hillcourt’s site in Glenageary, though an additional branch of the Junior School continued to operate in the Morehampton Road buildings until 1978.
"Memories from Miss Mew written for the 40th Anniversary of Rathdown School in 2013".
Rathdown 40 years old – I can hardly believe it, though I remember very well the exciting days that saw the amalgamation of four schools, and the emergence of the one that is now flourishing!
I was appointed as Headmistress of Hillcourt School, Glenageary, in 1972 and moved into Tudor House which was to be my home for the next 30 years. Hillcourt then had 82 pupils aged 8 to 17 years, 78 of whom were boarders, and almost all the teaching took place in Hillcourt House. The B.S.R. (big schoolroom) was just that, and easily fitted the whole school for assemblies. The Common Room to the left of the front hall had a dividing wall and housed 2 Junior School classrooms; Palmer Hall was newly built, and there were four temporary classrooms behind it; Home Economics was taught in Tudor Kitchen and The Art Room was in a former hayloft accessed by a rickety outside ladder in Tudor yard where the Junior School is now located.
As today, Hillcourt and Tudor Houses were the first sight when one arrived at the entrance gate (now the exit gate) and to the left was a green lawn with a wooden summerhouse in the corner. It was marked for tennis in the summer, while on the right there were two hard courts generously donated by two sets of parents. Hockey and Lacrosse were played on a grass pitch roughly located where the all-weather (sand-based) pitch was afterwards built. The area at the back of Tudor House was completely overgrown, an almost impenetrable jungle.
By January 1973, it was clear that changes needed to be made, and we approached the Department of Education to request grant aid for a new school. At that time, rationalisation was becoming their theme, and they pointed out that there were several similar schools nearby, including the Hall School in Monkstown and Park House School in Donnybrook, who had already announced an amalgamation. It was therefore agreed by the Governors, and by the Department, that all three schools should amalgamate, and a flurry of activity took place to form the new school by September 1973! A new name was needed and Rathdown was chosen, after the Barony in which the Hall and Hillcourt were located. It was decided that the boarders should remain in their existing dormitories in those schools, and that Hillcourt and Park House should retain Junior Schools, while all the Senior School pupils would be taught in the Hall. Rathdown Glenageary, Monkstown and Donnybrook opened in September 1973 with shiny new name-boards outside each.
By now, the new school had over 500 pupils in total, and a huge number of staff, all trying to deal with the new situation, and, in the case of the Hillcourt staff and pupils changing from ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels to Intermediate and Leaving Certificate examinations. The newly appointed Head of Park House took charge of the Senior School while I spent most of the time in my car, between the three locations, and often driving senior boarders from Hillcourt to Monkstown in the minibus when the daily coaches failed to arrive for them. The Park House Head remained in charge of the Donnybrook Junior School, and as she was Miss Catt and I, Miss Mew, we provided a lot of amusement!
Gradually Rathdown took shape, and in time the present uniform became the norm in the classrooms as new pupils arrived and old uniforms wore out. It was finally agreed that the new school should be developed in Glenageary, and an enormous block of temporary classrooms (terrapins) was erected in the old Hillcourt orchard. Little did we know that they would be expected to last well over 20 years, before the present Senior School would be built. In time the Monkstown and Donnybrook premises closed, and in 1987, Glengara Park our nearest neighbouring school joined as a fourth member of the amalgamation. Rathdown now embarked as a single school on its own development program. The Gymnasium, the Junior School the Astroturf Hockey pitch and all the other improvements took place, and examination results reached new levels of success.
This is how things came about, but only those of us who were there as staff or pupils at the time know what an enormous challenge had been accepted, and how many difficulties had to be overcome to achieve the success that is there today. It could not have been attempted without the huge input of the Chairmen and Governors, and the outstanding cooperation, flexibility, and hard work of all the staff. It was also a lot of fun and a great privilege to be involved in such a project. I find it hard to realise that I was Principal for 30 years, but I am especially grateful to have had Bertha Browett as Secretary and Nurse Anderson in the boarding house for the whole of that time (and indeed they were there before and after my time). Their contribution, and that of all the other staff, teachers, caterers, ground staff, administration, etc. laid a firm foundation for the Rathdown of today, and goodly heritage for the present and future pupils and staff.
With good wishes and every blessing for the next 40 years!
Stella G Mew (Principal 1972 - 2022).
It was a privilege to meet Miss Mew after commencing my role in 2016. She was so kind and supportive and continued to be always available with rock of common-sense advice over subsequent years. Typical of Miss Mew, in her memories, she underplayed her considerable contribution to making Rathdown what it is today. It is not an understatement to say (and those who knew her and worked alongside her will recognise and agree) we would not be here today if not for her vision, hard work and dedication. She is literally the foundation rock upon which Rathdown is built.
Those who worked alongside her and those pupils under care will also never forget her driving – in particular trips on the school bus. Rumour has it that Miss Mew was delighted when the bus companies cancelled at the last-minute resulting in Miss Mew driving the group to wherever it was they needed to go – sports match, school trip or outing. It is not certain whether the students welcomed it though!
Miss Mew was an extraordinary woman. An absolute one off. Everyone will have their own memories of her.
One of her former pupils said:
"She gave her students such a strong sense of independence and belief that they could achieve whatever they wanted, regardless of gender. Definitely ahead of her time. And she always remembered each of them, long after they had finished school including where they went on to study in third level".
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis
Regards
Brian Moore
Principal Rathdown School