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BROTHERHOOD “I thought my classmates were the funniest people I had ever met in my life,” he fondly recalled. “And to this day, everywhere I’ve gone—I’ve been to college, medical school, worked in a million hospitals operating rooms—I’ve never met a group of people as funny. I don’t understand why half the people in my Class are not professional comedians. I miss the sense of humor I found at Sebastian’s.” Dr. Mulroy also has great respect for the priest and lay faculty who gave him a solid educational foundation on which he has built his entire life and career, specifically mentioning the skills he was taught by Fr. Barrett, Morris Kittler, and Henry Lane ’49. “Fr. Barrett was one of these very rigorous guys where you had to do everything by the book. There were no shortcuts,” Dr. Mulroy said. “You had to do it right and put the time and the effort in. That approach to studying and academics helped me all the way through college and medical school.” One of the few lay people teaching at St. Sebastian’s during Dr. Mulroy’s time was Morris Kittler, who would eventually become the Dean of Students. “I had him his first year as a full-time teacher,” recalled Dr. Mulroy. “He gets credit for turning me on to science. I really enjoyed the biology class with Morris, and that’s what I’m doing today as a doctor.” In addition to being impressed by the faculty, young Richard Mulroy also cherished the role athletics had to play in the life of the School. “As a seventh grader I remember standing by the side of the rink and I watched the varsity players come out in their black and red uniforms and I just thought, ‘Wow,’” he recalled. “They were shaving; they had beards. I don’t know if I was 5 feet when I got there, weighed about 115 pounds…. I really looked up to the older guys, and I thought they treated us very well.” Eventually, Mulroy got used to his new school, becoming a three-sport athlete during his tenure at St. Sebastian’s. He lettered for three years in varsity cross country, four years in varsity track, and three years in varsity hockey. He recalls that the hockey team was quite a commitment, as the team not only competed in games and practices, but also functioned as an ersatz maintenance crew for the old outdoor Nonantum Hill rink. “When we were on the hockey team, we’d get a call from Coach Henry Lane whenever school was cancelled,” Dr. Mulroy noted. “We’d all go to the rink at 10:00 o’clock with our shovels and we would shovel the rink. We’d all be out there—varsity and the JV players shoveling snow for hours.” 36 | ST. SEBASTIAN’S MAGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I I recently played in the Alumni Hockey Game. A friend of mine, Mark Canavan ’73, emailed me about it. I hadn’t played hockey in a couple years, but an opportunity to play with a friend and classmate of mine, I couldn’t turn it down. I think we were the oldest guys on the ice, but I managed a goal. According to Dr. Mulroy, it was Coach Lane who understood the significance of getting St. Sebastian’s into the Independent School League. “We weren’t in the ISL at the time,” Dr. Mulroy said. “Henry could really see that if we got into the ISL, by virtue of being in that athletic League, everyone would kind of see us as being equal to them. What Mr. Lane realized was that if we played each of these schools on our schedules and they got used to playing us, we would get into the League. As the new Athletic Director during my senior year, Henry said, ‘Next year we’re getting into the ISL, and you’re not going to mess it up.’ We weren’t to get in any fights or arguments with referees or anything. Henry was the one who realized it would be a great thing to be aligned with those schools.” -- A Good School Keeps Getting Better -- Starting in the late 1990s, Dr. Mulroy was afforded the opportunity to work on the Board of Trustees with his high school classmate, former Board President David Gately ’73. “Becoming a trustee allowed us to rekindle our relationship over the last 15 years or so,” Dr. Mulroy said. “That was fun. We got to work on projects together, and he did a great job as Board President. It’s great to see someone in your own class step up and do great things and be a leader for the School. I was honored to be a trustee. I think I was a trustee for 10 years and the school has just continued to grow and prosper. It was a good school when I went there—it’s a better school now.” During his time as trustee, Mulroy is most proud of his work to improve the athletic program. Not content with simply adding the new turf athletic fields, Mulroy also thought it was important to add teams so more students could regularly participate in sports. As a father of two boys, Pat ’06 and Ricky ’10, who have come through St. Sebastian’s, Dr. Mulroy saw room for improvement in the athletic department. “I remember as a parent, I’d go to the games and my sons would be on some hockey team with almost thirty kids on the bench,” Dr. Mulroy said. “I thought we needed to get more teams, get more kids playing. So we went to work—let’s get some more fields, some more playing space. Get more kids playing. Physical fitness is a big part of the brotherhood at the School. “An education is about the body, mind, and the soul—not just the mind and the soul. Physical fitness is important. If you don’t care about physical fitness by the time you are graduated when you’re 18 years old, then it’s all downhill from there. But, if you graduate and
enjoy athletics—whether it’s individual sports like running or team sports like basketball, it’s something you’re going to carry with you throughout your life. So during my time with the trustees I did my best to improve everybody’s physical fitness and make kids enjoy athletics with increased participation.” -- Lasting Relationships -- In his busy life as an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mulroy appreciates the advantages modern technology brings to his efforts to stay in touch with his St. Sebastian’s classmates. “Since I graduated, I probably have seen or been contacted by thirty of my classmates,” he said. “I have five or six classmates that I’m talking to or emailing or doing something with on a regular basis. Technology really helps.” Despite his packed schedule, Dr. Mulroy still finds time to participate in reunions and other St. Sebastian’s events with his classmates. “I recently played in the Alumni Hockey Game,” he recalled. “A friend of mine, Mark Canavan ’73, emailed me about it. I hadn’t played hockey in a couple years, but an opportunity to play hockey with a friend and classmate of mine, I couldn’t turn it down. I think we were the oldest guys on the ice, but I managed a goal.” Recently, the St. Sebastian’s family has shown Dr. Mulroy and his brothers support after the death of the Mulroy Family matriarch, Anne Mulroy. He concluded, “I was just overwhelmed by the response from my classmates—people I hadn’t seen in ages came to the wake, wrote to me, emailed me. Those relationships continue—it’s been almost 40 years since I graduated, but they knew it was a tough time for me and reached out to me to show me they cared. It really made me appreciate my classmates even more. I’m impressed they’re still thinking about me and reaching out to me and showing me they are there for me.” • Pictured: Richard ’73 (l) and Jim ’76 (r) Mulroy with David Gately ’73 (c). WWW.STSEBASTIANSSCHOOL.ORG | 37
Page 1 and 2: VOLUME VIII, ISSUE I 2012-2013 ST.
Page 3 and 4: From the desk of the headmaster Wil
Page 5 and 6: NEW FACES ON CAMPUS Trustee Mark O
Page 7 and 8: NEW FACES ON CAMPUS Faculty James T
Page 9 and 10: can remember. So here’s this morn
Page 11 and 12: Our reading of UNBROKEN underscores
Page 13 and 14: ARROWS IN THE NEWS School Announces
Page 15 and 16: ARROWS IN THE NEWS Alumni News Dana
Page 17 and 18: ARROWS IN THE NEWS Christmas Auctio
Page 19 and 20: SCIENCE, MATH & LIBRARY CENTER warm
Page 21 and 22: Where will you be? Reunion Friday &
Page 23 and 24: is a remarkable place, and it is re
Page 25 and 26: We’re All in this Together By Jam
Page 27 and 28: grade behind his former peers at Li
Page 29 and 30: moving from point A to point B in a
Page 31 and 32: In 1983, as his business and family
Page 33 and 34: Pictured: The 1943-44 basketball te
Page 35: in 1973 as a six-year survivor. All
Page 39 and 40: My Second Family By James O’Brien
Page 41 and 42: WWW.STSEBASTIANSSCHOOL.ORG | 41
Page 43 and 44: SPEAKERS Catholic Relief Services K
Page 45 and 46: SPEAKERS Third and Long Drives Unit
Page 47 and 48: SPEAKERS Pictured Above l-r: St. Ch
Page 49 and 50: Anything Goes FINE ARTS
Page 51 and 52: ATHLETICS FALL SPORTS commanding 41
Page 53 and 54: ATHLETICS FALL SPORTS O’Malley pa
Page 55 and 56: ATHLETICS FALL SPORTS time - two ou
Page 57 and 58: ATHLETICS FALL SPORTS Close behind
Page 59 and 60: Should I consider a Charitable Gift

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