When John Boyne was 13, one of his old school teachers in Terenure College in Dublin
used to keep a wooden stick up his sleeve that he called Excalibur.
Already a fearsome looking thing, he improved it by taping a metal
weight to the top to maximize the injuries to the boys.
One day, for a laugh, Boyne passed the stick down the class. He was spotted. For his impertinence he was beaten so severely by the teacher (Father Patrick Grace, now deceased) that he took two weeks off school to recover from it.
http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/Dublin-author-tackles-Catholic-church-abuse-crisis-from-the-inside.html
One day, for a laugh, Boyne passed the stick down the class. He was spotted. For his impertinence he was beaten so severely by the teacher (Father Patrick Grace, now deceased) that he took two weeks off school to recover from it.
http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/Dublin-author-tackles-Catholic-church-abuse-crisis-from-the-inside.html