Dear Whitefriars Community,

My name is Declan (Deaglàn) O’Farrell and I am honoured to be the Whitefriars College Captain in 2025, leading this group of genuine, authentic and gentle men this year.

It was only five years ago now when the Class of 2025 walked off our buses and attended our first day as brothers of Whitefriars. Super excited and roaring with energy to participate in what the College had to offer from sports, music, drama, academics, having memorable high school student experiences and meeting everyone in the year level, before being sat in front of your laptop at home for the next two years due to the outbreak of Covid 19.

But I believe it taught all of us a very valuable lesson. When we face these adversities and tribulations, the most important thing we forget to acknowledge is the community we have around us, and the care Mary showed us being “a loving mother”. Which is why I believe this brotherhood us lads share is so strong, resilient and humble, but most importantly, caring. You can see it out in the yard, always acknowledging each other like family. It’s instilled in our brotherhood, our culture and us, as young gentle men.

Mary’s care and love demonstrates to us how we belong, believe and become throughout our time donning our Brown blazers. Having that distinct identity, the badge, it calls us to contemplate, to serve and to acknowledge the community that surrounds us, the fundamental values of what it is to be a Catholic Carmelite. Our uniform paints such a profound picture, it depicts the five brothers who built this school 64 years ago, it depicts the stewardship we share, it depicts the thousands of boys from 1961 to 2025 who have lived in the way of a ‘Friar’ at this school. As we now proceed to etch a new chapter in the history of Whitefriars, exactly like our brothers did in 1961.

This Whitefriars comradery stretches further every day and every minute that goes by, as for we are all together in the Donvale bush in peace, in harmony and one with nature. I have always felt this sense of this peace and harmony regardless of what you are doing or where you are, because you can feel it from the staff, the wider community and amongst the boys. Whether its sports, music, drama or academics, we understand how crucial teamwork and collaboration truly is for Friars boys, as we strive to create a positive, accepting culture that sees all of us belonging, believing and becoming the gentle men of the future.

Alongside my best mates and other College Captains, James Dorrat-Sims and Ash White, we strive to deepen this sense of culture through our collective goals of collaboration, peacefulness and respect. In 2025, we look to grow our community even stronger, and we hope to build upon the already rich college legacy and lead these boys that come to the Donvale bush to become the gentle men of tomorrow and beyond.

In my native tongue,

Go raibh mìle maith agut,

Thank you very much,

Declan O’Farrell