IN THE acres of newsprint and the hours of broadcast time that have been devoted to probing the persona of Brian Cowen, there have been some references to his education by the Cistercian monks at Mount St Joseph Abbey, Roscrea. It may be, however, that this aspect of his formation can bear a little more elucidation. And it may, perhaps, afford some useful insights into his makeup, writes Conor Brady.
Mount St Joseph sits in the valley of the Little Brosna river, where south Offaly blends into North Tipperary. Here, in 1878, Cistercian monks of the Strict Observance - or Trappists - from Melleray, founded an abbey and later a boarding school for boys.
Cistercian College is now one of just three Catholic, seven-day, boys' boarding schools on the island. It is the only boarding school in the world, founded by and still operated by Trappist monks - albeit now through a board of governors. It has 300 students. Fees are around €10,000 a year plus extras. The college stands on a fine campus, surrounded by woodland, close by the abbey.
The abbey is built in the classic Cistercian tradition, set down at Citeaux and Clairvaux in France in the 11th century. It is said that a monk who knew the plan of Citeaux could find his way today, blindfolded, with perfect certainty, through the cloisters and principal rooms of Mount St Joseph.
Brian Cowen went as a student to Cistercian College from 1973 to 1978. His uncle, Fr Andrew, was a monk of the abbey, serving as dean of games at the college and as a teacher of history. Later, he was master of novices in the abbey.
Andrew was a forceful personality. Himself a past-student of the college, he was a fine sportsman and athlete. He was elected as house captain by his fellow students in his final year. He radiated energy and restlessness and he would have been something of a beacon for the young Brian. Ironically, he died and was buried in the abbey cemetery a month before his nephew became Taoiseach. Brian was with monks of the community at his bedside when he died.
Some of the Brian Cowen that is now being revealed in his public utterances, in his allusions to community coherence, in his invocation of traditional values, in his emphasis on the practical, may reflect the conditioning that he would have had as a student at Mount St Joseph.
The Cistercian ideal is intensely spiritual yet down-to-earth. It is expressed in the abbey motto, Insideat Coelis Animo Sed Corpore Terris- "With the mind fixed on Heaven, the body must dwell upon on the earth".
The Cistercians broke away from the Benedictines in 1098. Led by St Robert of Molesme, they formed a new monastery at Cistercium or Citeaux. Cistercians divide time between work, prayer and study, meeting for Divine Office in choir six times daily.
These values infused the school that was founded by the abbey, being grafted into a varied curriculum with a strong tradition of oratory and debating. Cowen excelled at these, in both Irish and English. Some say he was the most powerful debater in Roscrea since the late Augustine Martin. He could hold his own on the sports field but he was at his most formidable in the senior debating society. The society records disclose no use of the "F"-word!
The Irish language is in everyday use in the school. Much of Brian Cowen's Irish comes from Breandán Ó Ruairc, who joined the academic staff in the 1970s. As later generations of Irish monks joined the abbey, they took Irish chosen-names, instead of the French or Latin ones used by their predecessors. Names such as Ciarán, Colmcille, Flannan and Kevin replaced Bernard, Aelred, Athanasius, Celsus and so on.
The abbey and school were originally endowed by Count Arthur Moore, an Irish Party MP. Perhaps that may partly explain the numbers of past students who are or who have been active in politics. The offspring of some of the State's foremost political families - of all main parties - have gone through Roscrea. They include Mulcahys, Andrews, Enrights, Crottys, Nolans, Springs, Gibbons, Reynolds and many others.
Two other aspects of life at Mount St Joseph may also perhaps be factored into the psyche of the new Taoiseach. Along with high academic achievement and its emphasis on debating and oratory, Roscrea built upon the tradition of science-based agriculture developed by the medieval Cistercians. They were the most productive farmers in Europe, cultivating land and raising stock. They knew how to rotate crops, how to breed livestock, how to run fish-farms.
Mount St Joseph was noted for breeding silk-worms from which sacred vestments were woven. The abbey mill still produces stone-ground meal for bread and porridge. Contented herds graze the acres of the abbey farm. One does not go through the Cistercian College without sensing the ambient power of nature and the draw of the land. Today, no fewer than six science-based subjects are taught in the school. The current president, Dan Smyth, is himself a former science teacher.
The other salient characteristic of the Cistercian rule is that of hospitality. All monasteries of the Benedictine tradition maintain a "guest house" where the troubled or weary will be made welcome. Mount St Joseph's guest house maintains an open door, even though the community of monks is now down to about 20 men.
Brian Cowen is a frequent visitor at Mount St Joseph and considers himself part of its extended family. That relationship should be given some weighting in any evaluation of the man.
Conor Brady went to school at Mount St Joseph. He is currently a member of its board of governors.