Paddy Crosbie (1 October 1913 – 2 September 1982) was the Irish creator of the radio and television programmes '' The School Around The Corner'' and ''Back To School''.Sunday Independent, 5 September 1982

Youth

Crosbie was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, Ireland on 1 October 1913 at 12A Bridewell Lane, which was one of the houses converted from the old Smithfield Bridewell shortly before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. His parents were Martin Crosbie and Lily Corcoran. He attended infant school in Stanhope Street and on 23 August 1920 he entered St. Paul's Christian Brothers' School, North Brunswick Street, known to Dubliners as "Brunner". He would eventually spend 57 years in this school as pupil and teacher. Crosbie subsequently studied at St. Patrick's Training College, Drumcondra and

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. Crosbie was only four weeks in Brunner when the sound of shots put a stop to lessons for a short time. It was the day when a youth name

Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a Brit ...

had been captured by the British after an ambush. Two soldiers were killed. Five weeks later on 1 November, he stood outside Mountjoy Jail with his mother and his older brother Martin Crosbie, awaiting the notice of his execution. He was a keen sportsman in his youth, and won a special medal when defeating Austin Clarke, the all-Ireland singles handball champion. He played steady hurling for the Dublin club Eoghan ruadh, and created a Dublin Tennis League record by never losing a singles set between 1938 and 1950.

Professional life

Crosbie composed songs (most remembered would be the theme song for "School Around The Corner), comic rhyme and scripts for stage and television. He wrote two books ''Tales from the School Around the Corner'' in 1979 and ''Your Dinner's Poured Out'' in 1981. His interest in the entertainment world began in the early 1940s when he wrote scripts for the amateur shows put on by a Dublin tennis club. It was Mike Nolan the well known comedian, of the forties and fifties, who introduced him to the powers-that-were and soon he was writing scripts for stars like Noel Purcell and the Happy Gang in Dublin's Capitol Theatre and the Theatre Royal . Crosbie needed more active participation and so in 1951 his famous school-boy act was born. He first took to the stage, in short trousers and skull-cap in Dublin's St. Francis Xavier Hall which was also the place which first rang to his signature tune, "The School Around The Corner". In 1953 he stepped into a major place in Radio Éireann, compère of his own show, a new show conceived and conducted by himself. Starting with his own school the C.B.S. in North Brunswick Street, he launched ''The School Around The Corner''. The programme began at Easter 1954, when producer Micheál Ó hAodha gave the initial go-ahead. Seamus Kavanagh subsequently took over as producer of the first short series, and he was succeeded by Joan Dalton and Padraig O'Neill. Jim (James) Plunkett guided the ''School'' on to television, it was the first show to be pre-recorded for the new television station in 1961 and top of the TAM ratings up to when it was discontinued over five years later. The first episode was broadcast on 2 January 1962. On television the programme had many FIRSTS – first home feature in the top ten, first in first place and first to travel around the country. The programme continued until 1966 on RTÉ Television before returning to RTÉ Radio for another year. It was again revived on radio in 1973. He won a

Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

in 1964 "for his many amusing and entertaining contributions to Telefís Éireann".

Awards

in 1964. * Benemerenti medal, honoured by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

with the Papal decoration in 1979.

Death

He died suddenly at his home in Clondalkin on 2 September 1982 from a heart attack. He was laid to rest in the presence of some of the most important people in the political, theatrical and educational life of the country. Friends attending the service included Maureen Potter, James Plunkett, Brendan Grace, Maurice O'Doherty, president, Irish Actors' Equity;

Seán Ó Síocháin Seán Ó Síocháin (24 March 1914 – 2 February 1997) was an Irish Gaelic footballer, hurler, ballad singer, broadcaster and Gaelic games administrator. His championship career with the Cork and Dublin senior teams spanned seven sea ...

, Chris Casey and

Éamonn MacThomáis Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to: *Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name *Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist * ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II *"Éamon ...

. The

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the of ...

was represented by his aide de camp, Commdt. Christopher Leaney. Mr.

Brian Fleming Brian Fleming (born 20 July 1946) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served both as a Teachta Dála (TD) and as a Senator. Fleming was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD for the Dublin West constituency at the 1981 gener ...

, T.D., represented Fine Gael leader, Dr. Garret FitzGerald . During the Requiem Mass, the organist played "Knockmaroon" a song that Paddy had written for his wife, Peg. "The School Around The Corner" was played on the organ as his remains were carried from the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Clondalkin. A garda escort led the funeral procession to Esker cemetery in Lucan. Included in the inscription of his headstone is "The school around the corner is just the same"

References

External links

Paddy-Crosbie 1913 – 1982 Facebook Page

LATE LATE – Paddy remembers childhood games, rhymes, pranks..

Artists who appeared regularly at the Capitol were Mike Nolan, Roy Croft, Freddie Doyle, Paddy Crosbie and Martin Crosbie. There was always a resident orchestra and a troop of dancers called the Capitol Girls under the leadership of Dolly Sparkes and Norah Flanagan.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosbie, Paddy 1913 births 1982 deaths Irish male comedians Irish television personalities Irish writers Jacob's Award winners Mass media people from Dublin (city) Radio personalities from the Republic of Ireland Recipients of the Benemerenti medal Alumni of St Patrick's College, Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin 20th-century Irish comedians