Vale Pauline Stevens

Over the Summer holidays, a beloved past pupil of the College, Mrs Pauline Stevens, (née Connolly), sadly passed away. 

Pauline, the mother of staff member, Louise Stevens, was a student here in the 1950s. In recent years, many mementos of Pauline’s time at Kilbreda have made their way into the Kilbreda Archives. “The Pauline Connolly Collection” includes a couple of texts which give us an insight into what students in the 50s studied. 

Leaving Kilbreda at the end of 1954, Pauline always took great interest in her old school, joining the Past Pupils’ Committee in 1959 as Vice-President. Then, many years later, on the formation of the Stewardship Council, Pauline joined that group, taking particular interest in the centenary celebrations and the history, “A View from the Tower”. “Somehow, in the 50s, excellence and confidence were considered to be not suitable attributes for young girls. I think humility was something we aspired to and perhaps that conflicted with the ideals of excellence, confidence and even creativity.” “The most positive feature I can recall would be the choir. I have many happy memories of being a member of such a great choir”. These comments come from Pauline’s response to a questionnaire for the centenary history and conclude with, “Friendships which have endured over all these years are really the highlight of my education at Kilbreda.” 

Pauline took great interest in the activities of the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project (BASP) and was quite proud of the fact that she was present at both the 50 year and 100 year celebrations.

Damian Smith

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