Rita Carlos Graduation in 1922
Item
Format
JPEG
Title
Rita Carlos Graduation in 1922
Identifier
VHG0024
Depiction
A lady in her academic gown and holding a parchment / scroll
Description
Margaret (Rita) Carlos entered UCG in 1919 and graduated with a 1st Class Honours BA degree in 1922, followed by a Higher Diploma in Education in 1923. She married Patt Larkin on 3rd September 1926 and had nine children. Rita Carlos Larkin died on 1st April 1987.
Margaret (Rita) Carlos was born in Woodquay, Galway on 7 Sept. 1900 to Charles Carlos and Charlotte Shortle. She was the eldest of six children, two of whom were lost in the Spanish Flu epidemic. Her father, Charles, was an RIC officer who rose to the rank of Head Constable before his transfer out of Galway. He retired from the R.I.C. in 1912, and moved the family to Ballina, where he changed career to become an Income Tax Collector and Estate Agent. Her mother, Charlotte, was a National School Teacher and held several teaching posts in the west of Ireland, the final posting in Belmullet, Co. Mayo. Rita and her siblings attended school at St. Mary’s Mercy Convent in Ballina. In due course, as the country became more unsettled during the War of Independence, the two older girls, Rita and Nina, were moved to Dublin to board at the Dominican convent in Eccles Street. Rita showed much promise at this school, winning several school prizes, and publishing essays in prose and poetry in a variety of publications. She attended a sitting of the First Dáil on the 10th of April in 1919. The two sisters completed their education in Eccles Street, Rita in 1919 and Nina in 1920. Rita returned to Galway in 1919, winning an Ordinary Entrance Scholarship to U.C.G. for the 1919-20 session. In July 1919, as part of her entrance examination, Rita was the winner of the Peel Prize in English, achieving the highest marks ever awarded for that distinction. In 1922, her B.A. degree examination was considered brilliant, and she won first place, attaining First Class Honours on a very high percentage. She partook in all the usual student activities, and played Camogie for the college. She enjoyed rowing on the Corrib, also was an avid collector of photographs, especially of her family and friends. She followed her B.A. Degree by studying for the Higher Diploma in Education (H. Dip.), which she was awarded with 2nd Class Honours in 1923. She taught at the Presentation Convent in Galway as part of her H.Dip. studies during 1922-23. She was preparing her thesis for M.A. in 1923, but interrupted her studies when an unexpected opportunity arose. Her professional teaching career began at the newly founded Benedictine Abbey at Kylemore, where the Irish Dames of Ypres found a home after their convent in Belgium suffered wartime demolition. Rita was the first teacher employed there, specialising in French and English; and spent the school year there in 1923-24. The following year she moved to Britain, and secured a position at the Bar Convent in Blossom Street, York city, run by the Congregation of Jesus, for 1925. The following academic year (1926), she took a short-term position at Saint Michael’s College in Irvine, Ayreshire, run by the Sisters of the Cross & Passion. Rita was a keen photographer. She married Patt Larkin on 3rd Sept. 1926, and went on to have nine children, five of whom became graduates of U.C.G. She died in her 87th year on 1st Apr. 1987.
Margaret (Rita) Carlos was born in Woodquay, Galway on 7 Sept. 1900 to Charles Carlos and Charlotte Shortle. She was the eldest of six children, two of whom were lost in the Spanish Flu epidemic. Her father, Charles, was an RIC officer who rose to the rank of Head Constable before his transfer out of Galway. He retired from the R.I.C. in 1912, and moved the family to Ballina, where he changed career to become an Income Tax Collector and Estate Agent. Her mother, Charlotte, was a National School Teacher and held several teaching posts in the west of Ireland, the final posting in Belmullet, Co. Mayo. Rita and her siblings attended school at St. Mary’s Mercy Convent in Ballina. In due course, as the country became more unsettled during the War of Independence, the two older girls, Rita and Nina, were moved to Dublin to board at the Dominican convent in Eccles Street. Rita showed much promise at this school, winning several school prizes, and publishing essays in prose and poetry in a variety of publications. She attended a sitting of the First Dáil on the 10th of April in 1919. The two sisters completed their education in Eccles Street, Rita in 1919 and Nina in 1920. Rita returned to Galway in 1919, winning an Ordinary Entrance Scholarship to U.C.G. for the 1919-20 session. In July 1919, as part of her entrance examination, Rita was the winner of the Peel Prize in English, achieving the highest marks ever awarded for that distinction. In 1922, her B.A. degree examination was considered brilliant, and she won first place, attaining First Class Honours on a very high percentage. She partook in all the usual student activities, and played Camogie for the college. She enjoyed rowing on the Corrib, also was an avid collector of photographs, especially of her family and friends. She followed her B.A. Degree by studying for the Higher Diploma in Education (H. Dip.), which she was awarded with 2nd Class Honours in 1923. She taught at the Presentation Convent in Galway as part of her H.Dip. studies during 1922-23. She was preparing her thesis for M.A. in 1923, but interrupted her studies when an unexpected opportunity arose. Her professional teaching career began at the newly founded Benedictine Abbey at Kylemore, where the Irish Dames of Ypres found a home after their convent in Belgium suffered wartime demolition. Rita was the first teacher employed there, specialising in French and English; and spent the school year there in 1923-24. The following year she moved to Britain, and secured a position at the Bar Convent in Blossom Street, York city, run by the Congregation of Jesus, for 1925. The following academic year (1926), she took a short-term position at Saint Michael’s College in Irvine, Ayreshire, run by the Sisters of the Cross & Passion. Rita was a keen photographer. She married Patt Larkin on 3rd Sept. 1926, and went on to have nine children, five of whom became graduates of U.C.G. She died in her 87th year on 1st Apr. 1987.
People
Margaret (Rita) Carlos
References
Personal communication: Patrick Larkin, via email correspondence on 7 July 2023
Contributor
Bibliographic Citation
Patrick Larkin, S.G. Jennings, ‘Rita Carlos Graduation in 1922’, Visual History Retired Staff Collection, University of Galway Digital Collections, Asset Id 14145, Archival Record Id VHRS
Spatial Coverage
Temporal Coverage
Period
1920s
Category
b&w
portrait
off-campus
indoors
Keywords
Academic gown
Academic hat
Academic scroll
Language
English
Publisher
University of Galway Library
Rights
This image may be used for non-commercial purposes under CC BY-NC-SA
see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/