A middling scholar, never at the bottom, never at the top, Joe Doyle loved his schooldays

I grew up in Donnybrook, Dublin, and started school with the Sisters of Charity in Milltown. Later, I crossed the road to Milltown Boys School. It was a brand new school, opened in 1942, right in the middle of the war years. That was most unusual, since building material was scarce.

My mother was keen for me to go to the Christian Brothers, but there were long waiting lists. When I was nine, I was accepted into Westland Row CBS. In those days it was considered a privilege to get into the Christian Brothers' schools, because they had the reputation of being great educators. People came from all over the city to Westland Row and from as far away as Bray and Greystones.

I stayed at the school until I was 18. I was very happy and enjoyed my time there. The only thing I regretted was the limited sports facilities. We had to go out to the public park in Ringsend for games.

At school, we played Gaelic games, but I preferred soccer and cricket. I sent my own children to CUS in Leeson Street so that they could play the games I missed out on. Sport is an important part of education.

I was a middle-ranking scholar, never at the top, but never at the bottom. I did my best with my limited ability. I did the Leaving Cert in 1954. Unfortunately, most of my class had to go to abroad to get jobs, to England, Australia and America.

I was fortunate in that I got a job with Dublin Corporation as a clerical officer. In the October, the job of parish clerk at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Donnybrook, became vacant and the parish priest asked me to accept it. I was there for 29 years, until I got elected to Dail Eireann in 1982.

The late PV Doyle was a student at Westland Row - before my time - and he later donated the PV Doyle Trophy to be awarded to the Row Man of the Year, who is chosen by past pupils. This year, during my Lord Mayorship, I was the recipient of the trophy, which was a great honour.

I had thought that all my former teachers had passed on, but was delighted to discover that Brother Kiely, now in his eighties, is in O'Connell Schools. We recently had a lovely reunion here in the Mansion House.

Some of our teachers had wonderful nicknames. One teacher was called Firbo after a famous boxer. Our principal, Brother O'Hanlon, was known as Gandhi - when we heard that Gandhi had died, we all thought we'd get two days off school! As 11-year-olds, we were unaware of the existence of the real Gandhi.

I always had a streak of politics in me. I had a great interest in history and, as a young person reading about the Treaty, believed that Fine Gael had taken the honourable course.

During my time at school, boys were far more disciplined than they are today. Parents had very little disposable income. People struggled to make ends meet and children appreciated parents' efforts. The Brothers were wonderful people. They devoted their lives to the school and their pupils.