Former pupils from the 1950s right through the 1990s attended the barbecue which went on late into the night as people renewed old acquintance and made new friends into the bargain. A provisional target of 100 to 120 was set but in the event over 150 people turned up, including over 20 spouses. Jimmy Doyle, Declan Kernan and John Murphy arrived early armed with ticket record sheets, bundles of "welcome to the BBQ" notes and name and year identity labels which provided useful in helping people recognise old friends.

Representing the very first Leaving Cert class of 1956 was Michael Cleary of Kilmacud Crokes whose facilities were made available for the barbecue. The three Hand brothers, originally from Priory Avenue, Stillorgan, also represented the early years of the school. From 1957 there was Kevin Houlihan and Ciaran Murphy who met for the first time in forty years.

The PPU President, Sean Donnelly, brought along a number of classmates from the 1961 vintage, including John Fanning, while Brian Duffy (1965), who was involved in the old PPU, turned up with some his friends from the 1960s. Everybody was delighted at the quality of the food on the night. Most opted for the massive strip-loin steaks but salmon was offered as an alternative. We even had a few veggie burgers on hand for the politically correct but Oatlands types are carnivorous and nobody took the vegetarian option.

The secretary of the PPU, John Murphy (1967) rounded up a big number of people from his era, including Cormac McCarthy and his wife Pauline Brooke Tyrell and Kevin Browne and his wife, Mary. Spouses were welcome at the event and a good number turned up.

The 1968 class was represented by Richie Power, Barry Tennison, Ken Devine and Stephen Collins. Barry found it difficult to get a steak that was incinerated sufficiently for his taste but enjoyed himself, nonetheless. Others from that year who couldn't make it on the night expressed a desire to attend a future function if they received more notice. Jimmy Doyle and Declan Kernan brought a big crowd from 1969 but the biggest crowd of all came from the class of 1971. Brian Mooney and Meece McLoughlin rounded up old classmates from the highways and byways and all had a great night. Unfortunately Brian was not there to appreciate the fruits of his organisational drive as he was committed to a long standing holiday on the west coast of the United States but he rang from Los Angeles to find out how things were going. Meece's enthusiasm made up for Brian's absence, although he did draw the line at the suggestions he could help out by cooking a few steaks. "No busman's holiday tonight," was the attitude of Meece, who makes his living as a chef. He was quite prepared to help out at anything else, apart from cooking. Other years from the 1970s and 1980s were also well represented. Understandably, perhaps, the more recent years did not provide the same numbers, but maybe next year a greater number of more recent past pupils will attend the function.