St Paul's College, Raheny

St Paul's College in Raheny, Dublin, Ireland, is a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys under the trusteeship of the Vincentian Fathers, formally the Congregation of the Mission. Founded in 1950, it is one of two Vincentian schools for boys in Dublin.[2]

St Paul's College
Colaiste Naomh Pól
Location
Raheny, Dublin 5

Ireland
Coordinates53.373032°N 6.193275°W / 53.373032; -6.193275
Information
MottoGestis Censere
(Latin for 'by your deeds show forth your thinking')
Established1950
PrincipalSean Moran[1]
Staff40
Number of students650
Religious orderVincentian Fathers
Websitestpaulscollege.ie

Operations

St Paul's has 550 schoolboys and prepares pupils for the Irish Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate.

Teaching support facilities include two computer rooms, four science laboratories, a technical graphics room, and a woodwork room. The school has a music department and school choir, which performs a Christmas carol service and a summer concert each year. Senior students perform in the school's annual musical.[3]

Governance

The school is overseen by a board of management, appointed by the trustees, the Vincentian Fathers, a member of the Vincentian Family of Roman Catholic religious institutes. It comprises representatives of the trustees, parents, and teaching staff. Operations and teaching are directed by the Principal, assisted by the Deputy Principal.

Grounds and sports

The school had grounds of over 180 acres (730,000 m2), including all-weather grass pitches and grass playing fields. The sports grounds of the college are also used by local sports clubs such as Clontarf Gaelic football and hurling teams, as well as soccer teams. It was announced in 2015 that the Vincentian order planned to sell half the college land for development.[4] Planning was applied for, granted on appeal by An Bord Pleanala, refused by the same body after a judicial review, and new plans approved in March 2020.

Pupils play rugby, soccer, Gaelic football, hurling, basketball, golf, and athletics.

Order facilities

Within the grounds of St Paul's is the administrative centre for the Vincentians in Ireland, and the order's Provincial, the superior for the province including Ireland, resides there.[5]

History

The site

St Paul's College, was developed on the a site at Sybil Hill, a location on the border of Raheny and Clontarf, which was formerly the residence of Reverend Benjamin Plunket, the retired Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath who was the nephew of the 1st Earl of Iveagh and Lady Ardilaun from whom he inherited the entire Saint Anne's estate. Unable to afford to keep the large estate, Plunket kept Sybil Hill House and about 30 acres of park, and sold the remainder of the estate, valued using the Compulsory Purchase Order process, to Dublin Corporation. The Corporation developed it, about half each as public park and housing, with small pieces used to assist in school provision.

Foundation and lands

Archbishop John Charles McQuaid requested the Vincentian order to open a school for boys in Raheny, which was a population growth area, and after some discussion, the order agreed to do so. They bought some 31 acres of the former St Anne's estate from Dublin Corporation in 1948, and then, in 1950, completed a purchase of Sybil Hill House and lands from Bishop Plunket's son, and were able to open the school on a limited basis in Sybil Hill House, that year.[6][7]

Additional lands were purchased from Dublin Corporation, in 1952 for 2,400 pounds, partly to compensate for lands sold to allow the city authorities to form Sybil Hill Road, and in 1953 in a land swap for a net 256 pounds, and the last major addition to the college estate was the purchase of nearby Maryville House and four acres of land in 1959. Maryville was demolished and playing fields laid out on its lands.[6]

Sybil Hill House was dedicated to Vincentian order administration and the accommodation of retired priests.[6]

Later history

Following the burning down of the Belgrove Football Club pavilion in Clontarf in 1975,[8] the college gymnasium became the venue for the Grove Social Club until it ceased operations in 1997.

St Paul's College also had a swimming pool on its land, which was run both for the school and as a public pool; this was closed on 31 August 2006[9] and the land sold for development, since completed.

Presidents and Principals

The school was originally led by a President, assisted by a Dean.

The principal teachers to date have been: Fr Walshe, Fr Lyne,[10] Dominic McQuillan,[11] Ciaran McCormack, Michael Behan and Sean Moran.[1]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "News from the Principal". St Paul's College. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  2. St Pauls College Secondary Schools, Education, Vincentians Website
  3. St. Pauls College Music Website Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Sports teams left counting the costs as pitches are sold off 2015 ..
  5. Vincentians website
  6. Gogarty, Claire (2014). From Village to Suburb: The Building of Clontarf Since 1760 (1st ed.). Dublin: Clontarf Books / IPN. p. 28. ISBN 9781782801702.
  7. History of St. Annes park and the red stables Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine www.tirnaog-caife.ie
  8. http://www.dublinpeople.com/news/northsideeast/articles/2015/11/05/4108801-the-grove-was-an-essential-part-of-teenage-life-on-the-northside/
  9. Order denies plan to sell public pool to developers Irish Independent, July 2006.
  10. Farmar, Tony (2000). Godliness, Games and Good Learning (1st ed.). Dublin, Ireland: St Paul's College. p. 77. ISBN 1899047700.
  11. Farmar, Tony (2000). Godliness, Games and Good Learning (1st ed.). Dublin, Ireland: St Paul's College. p. 87. ISBN 1899047700.
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