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| Bish Bombshells of Yore - and More! Here is a blast from the past for anyone who went to The Bish, The Pres or Taylor's Hill in Galway the '80s. They're scanned in as Adobe Acrobat PDF documents, so just click on the images to download and view them! You should also be able to right-click on the images and choose Save Target As... to save to your computer. (Please note that the files are quite big and may take a while to download and open - they're well worth the wait though!) 
5,887KB | Bish Bombshell 1990
This issue had some great cartoon work, Cthulhu, and some very suspicious student names with the photos. There were also instructions on how to blow up the school... (It also looks like it was typeset on somebody's old dot-matrix printer.) Br. Angelus, again brandishing the Sword of Damocles upon all the "knacks". |  7,288KB | Bish Bombshell 1989
Br. Fidelis, Br. Angelus "Dingers" Moore, and Br. Fergus on the cover, drawn by Tom Pyne. Quite a funny article about the merits of socialism in it - only a few months before the Berlin Wall fell... By 1989 the Bish Wallflower section was starting to tread on very thin ice with regard to the comments. Note: The Leaving Cert class of 1989 have a Facebook group called "Bish Class of 89" if you're interested in getting in touch. | 
9,024KB | Bish Bombshell 1988
A good cover on this one - Mr Mc Cormack, Br. Angelus, Mr Brennan, and Mr. Dunleavy as an alternative U2. I was in Leaving Cert when this one came out, and was asked to put together the Wallflower captions with David Gibbons. We came up with some good, nay, sublimely literary quotes, but the magazine editors lost them, and got some less witty ones elsewhere. Facebook group: "Bish Class of 1988" We had a joint Bish-Pres 20 year reunion! |  8,587KB | Bish Bombshell 1987
A classic issue of the Bombshell, although I am slightly biased - I drew the cover on this one! |  8,824KB | Bish Bombshell 1986
Featuring good artwork from Aidan Reade, and some choice Wallflower comments... |  8,750KB | Bish Bombshell 1985
Notable for having an advert for The Lion's Tower, then a well-known Galway pub... Also, I got this issue signed on the back cover by everyone in class 2A. |  Section A (8,726KB) Section B (9,354KB) Section C (9,359KB) | Bish Bombshell 1984
The 1984 edition was a special 25th anniversary one, and was enormous! (I have had to split it into 3 separately downloadable sections.) It also had reprints of articles from Bombshells gone-by, and local historical material by Dan Taheny. There are articles by pupils, teachers, ZX Spectrum program listings, quizzes and much more. Check out the cherubs on pages 7 and 15, including yours truly in a BMX sweatshirt! Many thanks to David Joyce for supplying this copy. | | | Bish Bombshell 1983, and earlier (or indeed later!)
Copies required for scanning. Please contact me if you can help with any other issues of the magazine... ...or if you want to be added to the mailing list for when I add more! | | 
2,520KB | "Contact" (St. Joseph's College), 1986
Contact was a "mini-company" magazine. This issue featured an interview with Bob Geldof, concert reviews, the Galway Rally, and the illustious Computer Club. Thanks to Rory Canavan for sending this copy. |  5,984KB | St. Joseph's College Centenary Record, 1962
A special publication for the 100 years of the Bish in Galway. Other than the highly religious content, notable features are an essay from Walter Macken, and a list of all the past pupils up to 1962. (Some of the addresses of the early pupils are given too, and make for interesting reading.) There's a very curious pie-chart on the last page! Thanks to the Rabbittes of New Avenue, Shantalla for this. | | 
6,506KB | Pres Mag 1988 - Presentation Convent School Magazine
With a cover inspired by Munch, and articles on nuclear warfare, animal testing, environmentalism and other suitably high-minded topics, this issue was brave enough not to even have a title! There were band reviews, a piece of short fiction about man changing into a woman(!), and an investigation into phobias - something for everyone! (Also, there are lots of class photos with names for those with short memories.) And those psychic Pres girls even came up with a short story about the closure of the school... The editor (and former neighbour of mine) Caroline O'Connor kindly supplied this issue. | | 
7,464KB | Sprung Rhythm, 1987 - Presentation Convent School Magazine
I'm sure anyone who went to the Bish in the 80's, knew at least one of the girls in this magazine! The magazine has photos of the joint Bish-Pres production of HMS Pinafore. The editors didn't put in names with the photos, but I wrote in many of the names I knew at the time, so not all is lost to posterity. Facebook Group: "Pres Girls 88" We had a joint Bish-Pres 20 year reunion! |  6,549 KB | Precisely Pres, 1986 - Presentation Convent School Magazine
A really top quality production this one! There was clever cartoon cover by Áine Lawless (an old artist friend of mine), articles on apartheid, the Mini-Company, and a crossword. You could do a 'love quiz', follow your horoscope, or read about Queen, The Pogues, Waterboys or Thin Lizzy in one of the many band and gig reviews. Most importantly however, the magazine is full of clear class photos, and accompanying names! This copy was kindly provided by Amanda McCarron, who I hope got the 'gorgeous hunk' in the graffito left by a well-wisher on the last page ;-) |  8,272KB | Precisely Pres, 1985 - Presentation Convent School Magazine
A great edition of Precisely Pres, with articles ranging from a Boomtown Rats concert review to aid work in Lesotho. There are badminton scores, memories of a Bish disco, a time capsule, and photos of the Bugsy Malone musical. The photos are have a little too much contrast, but in how many girls' magazines would you find a heavy-metal quiz?! (There is also a strangely prescient cartoon on p40 about the dangers of fractional reserve banking...) This copy is courtesy of Jennifer Joyce. |  5,409KB | Precisely Pres, 1984 - Presentation Convent School Magazine
A slim edition of Precisely Pres this one - with some unusual content. There was an interesting article on water quality in Galway, which is another case of the Pres girls being ahead of their time in investigative journalism! And can you imagine an article on fashions and fads today where everyone was either a mod or rocker? When Goths were simply the barbarians who sacked Rome... Finally, there are some names added in by hand for many of the 5th years, and the angelic 1st years ;-)
This copy was provided by Amanda McCarron. | | 
9,682KB | Blueprint, 1987 - Dominican College (Taylor's Hill) School Magazine
An absolutely cracking cover by Denise Hogan! The girls (well at least those who contributed articles) seemed quite hung up on "coolies", "trendies", "pookies", and the evils of smoking. There was however a nice article on astronomy for those of a scientific persuasion. Also, a lot of the magazine was as Gaeilge, with some diligent student obviously having spent a lot of time hand-drawing fadas! Very few names for the photos in this, although I knew quite a few of the 5th years at the time. (What a surprise...) This copy is courtesy of David Joyce. | 
4,798KB | Blueprint, 1986 - Dominican College (Taylor's Hill) School Magazine
After a gap of four years, Blueprint was resurrected, with a cover owing more than a little to Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Articles included a Mr Poseur competition, poetry, and a fantasy story where the human race has wings... Lots of class photso, but I'm afraid no names. (If anyone wants to put names to faces, please let me kn0w.) Many thanks to Mansoor Hanif who supplied this copy. |
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