Cork solicitor honoured with North Mon past pupil of the year award

A prominent Cork solicitor has been honoured as past pupil of the year by the North Monastery Secondary School past pupils union.

Solicitor Frank Buttimer told The Echo he had been deeply honoured to receive the accolade.

“My family connections with the North Mon go back quite a long way, my father went to the North Mon as a student, and then, having qualified in UCC as a secondary schoolteacher, he taught in the Mon for the great majority of his career,” Mr Buttimer said.

“My brother Neil also went there, so we have strong family connections with the school, and therefore it was lovely that I got that distinction.” His father, also Frank, went to the northside school with his twin brother Mossie.

“My auld fella went to the North Mon as a day pupil, up from West Cork, 40 miles out, when he was only 11 years of age, in 1929, his parents were farming people, they sent himself and his twin brother up there.” 

Mossie would go on to become a Christian Brother, teaching in Liverpool and Gibraltar, taking ill at a relatively young age and returning to Cork. He is buried in the Christian Brothers’ plot in the North Mon.

“My father taught in the North Mon from around 1945 until 1983, which is a long time.” 

Mr Buttimer said he has great memories of his time in the North Mon, remembering “good guys” in his class.

“I love hurling, and I have a great memory of the Mon winning the Harty Cup, and the All-Ireland in 1970, it’s an outstanding memory of some fine players who went on to play for Cork, including my good friend Donal O’Grady.” 

He described the North Mon as an outstanding school, founded in 1811, with an extraordinary history of education, in Cork and in Ireland.

"It is an institution of which Cork city should be proud, not just the people who went to the North Mon themselves," he said. 

“To me the most amazing thing about it is its longevity and the contribution it has made, the people who have come out of the school and distinguished themselves, locally, nationally, and internationally."

Mr Buttimer remains extremely proud of his alma mater, praising its current academic and sporting acheievments.

“I’d love if they would win a Harty Cup again, but that’s another talk for another day,” he said with a laugh.