LARKIN, Patrick ('Patt')

VHPG0001

Patrick

Larkin

Patt Larkin

Patrick (Patt) Larkin attended UCG, obtaining a BA degree in 1922. He was appointed Professor of Education in 1925 and was Bursar of the College from 1946 to 1965. He retired in 1967. He was married to Margaret (Rita) Carlos and they had nine children. He died on his 98th birthday, 29th September 1998.

PATT Larkin was born on 28th September 1900 in Cartron, near Aughrim in County Galway. He was the youngest of 9 children of a Blacksmith, Matthew Larkin and his wife Mary Cormican. Matthew and his family provided smithing and grocery services in their local rural area, south of Aughrim village. The family lived in a large country house of 2 storeys, with extensive out-offices and utility areas appropriate to a 300-acre agricultural holding. Patt Larkin began his education in nearby Killallaghton school, and his eldest brother, Bernard (1884-1965), a national school principal, took Patt under his wing and brought him to Camcloon National School (N37) as a pupil in 1911. Barnard and his wife Charlotte Healy were the only teachers in that school, and Patt concluded his primary school education there in 1914, when he transferred to The Pines in Ballinasloe. This was the locale of the original St. Joseph’s College, and home of the Diocesan seminary, where he remained until 1919. In that year, he was to win a County Council scholarship (tenable for three years) for the 1919-20 session at U.C.G. He attended U.C.G. and graduated with a B.A. first class honours (in Greek and Latin) in 1922, and followed with a Higher Diploma in Education, awarded in 1923. In 1919, during his time as a student, he and two fellow students, refused to doff their hats at a rendition of the English national anthem provided by a military detachment in the quadrangle. All three were taken to barracks, and two of them (including Patt) were released late that night. Only four days later, he was amongst the stewards at the funeral of the assassinated Fr. Michael Griffin. He went on to become auditor of the Literary & Debating Society for 1922-23. He was awarded the Blaney Exhibition in Classics in 1923, and became a member of the Governing Body as an unofficial student representative. With Rita Carlos, he attended a sitting of the first Dáil in the Mansion House on 10th of October 1919.
In the autumn of 1923, he commenced his studies for a M.A. in Education at the University of Liverpool. Back in U.C.G., Fr. Tomás Ó Ceallaigh held the Chair of Education from 1914 onwards. In February 1924, Fr. Ó Ceallaigh set out overland in order to visit Rome. After three weeks of travel, however, he fell ill, and died in Nice, in France. Patt Larkin was pursuing his studies in Liverpool at the time, but interrupted these and returned to Galway to make his application for the now vacant Chair. He was successful in this and was appointed in 1925, being the second holder of the Chair. He became Bursar of the College in 1946, and held that post until 1965. He established the Aonad Scannáin in his Department and was committed to the use of audio-visual media as educational tools. Many of his films from that period are now held in collection A47 in the University. He was to hold the Education Chair for 42 years, retiring in 1967. He married Rita Carlos on 3rd September 1926, and they went on to have nine children, five of whom became graduates of U.C.G., as did some grandchildren. He died on his 98th birthday, 28th September, 1998.

Personal communication: Patrick Larkin, via email correspondence on 7 July 2023

P. Larkin, S.G. Jennings, ‘Patrick ('Patt') Larkin’, Visual History Retired Staff Collection, Asset Id 13825, Archival Record Id VHRS

English

University of Galway Library

23 July 2023