College sweethearts return to UCC more than 50 years later to re-stage photograph
The Ryans could never have imagined just how big a part UCC would play in their lifelong romance.
The couple met more than 50 years ago when studying at the college and they returned there this week to mark the renaming of the bridge at its ceremonial gate, re-staging a decades-old photograph of them at the very start of their relationship.
Newly dubbed 'The Alumni Bridge', the ornate structure at the university's main gates on the Western Road has been named for the generations of students to pass through the university, including the Ryans, who were photographed in the Evening Echo walking hand-in-hand over the bridge in the 1960s.
Marking the occasion, Catherine, who graduated from UCC in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts, and Philip Ryan, who graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Commerce, said:
Little did we know when we met that we would be back to UCC over 50 years later to celebrate and participate in this historic event. UCC has played a significant part in shaping our futures. We have very fond memories of the Alumni Bridge.
The university’s entrance gate and the Alumni Bridge leads to the university from Western Road. These structures were completed in October 1929.
The naming of the bridge symbolises UCC’s commitment to building lifelong relationships with its graduates, according to Professor Patrick O'Shea, President of UCC. He was joined by 50 alumni to mark the occasion, one from each of the last 50 graduating years. Together, they walked from the Quad to the Alumni Bridge to mark its re-naming.
UCC has more than 185,000 alumni living in 67 countries.
Professor O’Shea spoke about the importance of the bridge: "UCC’s Alumni Bridge is a hidden gem. For 90 years, it has silently borne our students as they pass back and forth to the University. [The] ceremony will ensure that it becomes a more visible part of our rich heritage, a place of personal and public ritual to further strengthen the bonds that bind our alumni to their University."
It is the third bridge to stand at the site. The first was built of Oregon pine in 1879. This was replaced in 1910 by another bridge, which was destroyed in severe flooding in 1916.
Wartime shortages of finance and materials meant there was a further delay of 13 years before the present bridge was built.
A brass plaque commissioned to commemorate the Alumni Bridge will be seen by alumni, students and members of the public passing through the ceremonial gates on Western Road.
The Alumni Bridge is one of several on the university's campus. Last December, it named its newest pedestrian bridge after philanthropist Dr Tom Cavanagh, who graduated from UCC with a commerce degree in 1951 and has worked tirelessly for the university for decades.
