Letter to the Editor: Naming of new Newry Arts Centre

I recently learned of the campaign to retain Sean Hollywood's name on Newry's new Arts Centre. The news brought back some wonderful memories of a man who, more than half a century ago, made a lasting impression on me.

I was a full-time boarder at St Colman's College, Newry, from 1964 until 1971. Sean Hollywood was my English teacher during my later years there, and I remember him with enormous affection and admiration.

Sean was much more than an excellent teacher of English literature. He had a passion for poetry, drama and the theatre, and, perhaps more importantly, a remarkable ability to communicate that enthusiasm to his pupils.

Two memories in particular have remained with me throughout my life.

The first is of seeing Sean perform with the Newpoint Players in Brian Friel's ‘Philadelphia, Here I Come!’ It was quite an experience to see one's English teacher transformed into a character on stage. His involvement in theatre was not simply an extracurricular interest. It was an essential part of who he was.

My second recollection is rather more personal, and one which has stayed with me for some fifty-seven years.

Around 1969, Sean arranged to take a small group of us, three or four boys, to a performance in Newry by the celebrated Irish actor Micheál Mac Liammóir. It was his celebrated one-man show 'The Importance of Being Oscar’.

I particularly remember the preparation for our outing.

In those days, although St Colman's had an official school uniform, we did not ordinarily wear it. Yet, for this particular occasion, we were each kitted out in a blue college blazer bearing the St Colman's crest on the breast pocket and the accompanying blue-and-white tie.

We were evidently going somewhere important, and we were expected to look the part!

The performance itself was memorable, but what happened afterwards was even more extraordinary and unexpected when Sean took us backstage and introduced us personally to Micheál Mac Liammóir in his dressing room.

At sixteen years of age, I doubt that any of us fully appreciated the significance of meeting one of the great figures of Irish theatre. Mac Liammóir, co-founder of Dublin's Gate Theatre, was already a legendary figure in Irish cultural life.

It was only in later years, reflecting upon that evening, that I came to appreciate what an extraordinary privilege Sean had arranged for us.

And that, to my mind, captures something essential about the man.

Sean Hollywood did not confine education to the classroom. He opened doors. He introduced young people to literature, poetry and the performing arts, not simply as subjects to be studied for examinations, but as experiences to be enjoyed and treasured throughout life.

I know that many other former pupils and lives that he touched throughout Newry and beyond have similar memories of his kindness, encouragement and enthusiasm.

I was delighted to learn that his niece, Councillor Doire Finn, is campaigning to ensure that his name remains associated with Newry's Arts Centre and I have gladly added my signature to the petition.

I understand that the Council adopted a policy in 2020 concerning the naming of public buildings after individuals. Whatever the merits of that policy, I would respectfully suggest that the present circumstances are fundamentally different.

This is not a proposal to confer a new honour by naming a building after someone for the first time. That decision was taken in 2003, when the Arts Centre was named in Sean Hollywood's memory.

What is now proposed is the replacement of an existing cultural facility which has borne his name for more than twenty years.

Surely the continuation of that established name should be distinguished from the naming of an entirely new institution. Even if the Council considers its policy applicable, these circumstances provide a compelling case for an exception.

To remove his name now would be to undo an honour already bestowed, rather than merely decline to bestow a new one.

A community's cultural heritage is not simply a matter of buildings, however impressive or modern they may be. It is also about the people who inspired others, nurtured talent and enriched the lives of those around them.

Sean Hollywood was one of those people.

I would respectfully ask the elected representatives of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to reconsider this matter and find a way of preserving his name in the new Arts Centre.

Nearly six decades after sitting in his classroom, I still remember Sean Hollywood with affection and gratitude. Surely that is as fine a testament to a teacher as one could wish for.

Let us ensure that future generations have the opportunity to know whose name the Arts Centre bears, and why.

Diarmuid McKeown Former pupil, St Colman's College, Newry 1964–1971