Kilkenny College

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KCK crest

Kilkenny College or KCK is a co-educational secondary school located in Kilkenny, in the South-East of Ireland. It is a private (fee-paying) school which caters for both a boarders and day-pupil. It is the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland. The schools students are mainly protestant (Church of Ireland), although it is open to other denominations.^[1]

The College motto, Comme je trouve which in French means (as I find), comes from the Butler family crest, an old local aristocratic family and is intended to mean people taking things as they come and trying to make the best of things given to them.

Founded in 1538 A.D to replace the School of the Vicars Choral, which was founded in 1234 A.D. Piers the Butler Earl of Ormond located it in the city centre. It was moved to its current location on the outskirts of Kilkenny city, in 1989.

1 History
2 Famous pupils
3 Today
4 Recent News
5 Alumni
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

A college of the Vicars' Choral was established at St. Canice’s Cathedral in the thirteenth century In 1538 Piers Butler, Earl of Ormonde and his wife, Margaret, founded a school known as, Kilkenny Grammar School, to the west of the Cathedral, and sited adjoining the library of St Canice's Cathedral.

It was closed for a period in the 1650's and reopened as Kilkenny College in 1667 on a site overlooking the river Nore in John St. When James, first Duke of Ormonde, established Kikenny College in John Street, c.1666, he was following the Butler tradition of promoting education in the city. It soon became a famous school and so, in the 1780s, a new College was built on the same site overlooking the river Nore. The Georgian building, with its elegant facade, now houses the offices of the County Council.

At one time the College was termed a university and boasted a compliment of 3 professors. In contrast at the end of the 19th Century, the College was reduced to one pupil. The amalgamation with the nearby Pococke school was its saving. Twenty nine headmasters of Kilkenny College are recorded. In the 20th Century there were four long-serving men: C.G. Shankey 1917 - 1952; Gilbert Colton 1953-1979; Samuel McClure 1979-1996; Robert John Black 1996- 2005 and Philip Gray 2005- Presant.

During Gilbert Colton's time the school was amalgamated with the Collegiate School, Celbridge in 1973 and Kilkenny College became co-educational. During Sam McClure's stewardship, the College moved to its new campus in 1989, relocating to the in of 63 acre (254,952m²) site at Celbridge House on the outskirts of the city. Under Canon Black's principalship, more buildings have been constructed.

[edit] Famous pupils

Jonathan Swift

There has been a long list of famous past pupils. The best known are undoubtedly Jonathan Swift, the author and satirist who went on to become Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and George Berkeley, the philosopher and Bishop of Cloyne, who gave his name to the University City of Berkeley in California. Other famous names include William Congreve (a Restoration playwright), John Banim, Thomas Prior (founder of the Royal Dublin Society) and David Beatty (1st Sea Lord at the Battle of Jutland in 1916).

[edit] Today

The current campus on the outskirts of the city comprises of a complex of classrooms, dormitories, catering and dining facilities, it is set on a landscaped 50-acre site framed by mature trees. Today Kilkenny College attempts to serve a dual purpose role as the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland and as the local school for a large number of day pupils from the city and surrounding area.

The current principal is Philip Gray, a Trinity College, Dublin alumnus with a History degree, who previously taught at The King's Hospital, Dublin, he joined the school in 2005, replacing Canon Black as principal.

It is one of 5 Irish Schools in the country taking part in a pilot project on self-assessment and interchange in conjunction with 100 other European schools. The ethos of the school is one of a family community and a big emphasis is placed on team sport in particular rugby and hockey.

[edit] Recent News

Kilkenny College Senior Rugby Team Vs. Blackrock at Donnybrook, Dublin 2007

The Senior XV rugby team make it to the semi-final of the Leinster Rugby Senior Cup, losing to St. Michael's in the semi-final, having beaten the reigning champions Blackrock College 14-13.
2007 U-13 Boys Hockey team won the Leinster Cup, beating St.Andrew's.
The Senior Boys hockey team were knocked out in the first round of the cup.
September 2007, the newly built Jonathan Swift building is opened, which includes 11 class rooms and 2 science labs.