St Eunan's College
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| St. Eunan's College Colaiste Naomh Adhamhnáin |
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| Motto | In hoc signo vinces Latin for 'in this sign you will conquer |
| Established | 1906 |
| Location | Letterkenny, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland |
| Students | 850 |
| Principal Deputy Principal |
Fr. Michael Carney, Rena O' Herlihy |
| Staff Religious order |
100 |
| Homepage | http://www.sainteunans.com |
Saint Eunan's College (Irish: Coláiste Adhamhnáin) is an all-male voluntary secondary school. Located in Glencar, Letterkenny (Leitir Ceanainn), County Donegal (Dún na nGall) in the Republic of Ireland, the building is a three-storey castle with four round towers at each corner of the building. The school is named after the Abbot of Iona St. Eunan, a native of Donegal and patron saint of the Diocese of Raphoe. The college celebrated its centenary in 2006.[1]
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[edit] History
Saint Eunan's College was founded as a boarding school in 1906 by the then Bishop of Raphoe, Dr Patrick O' Donnell. Originally intended as a minor seminary, it was designed to prepare students for the Roman Catholic priesthood. Diocesan colleges became an increasingly popular feature at the time and were designed to give the best possible Catholic education to boys of every class.
The student population expanded in the 1920s and it was necessary to build a new extension to the College in the early 1930s. The current recreation hall was built in 1958 and the science block in 1968. The 'new building' was opened in 1979 to cater for the 500 students enrolled at the time. Due to the growth of other second level schools in the area the number of boarders dropped extensively and in 1992, the boarding wing was finally shut down. St. Eunan's College continues to this day as a Catholic School under the trusteeship of the Bishop of Raphoe.
The school currently serves approximately 850 students from Letterkenny and its surrounding area, and is one of the few remaining all-male schools in the western part of Ireland. The president, since 1996, is Rev. Michael Carney and the vice principal, since 2001, is Rena O'Herlihy.
[edit] Building
The college has in recent years undergone an attempt to have an extension built.[1] Two plans were drawn up, but an approach has not yet been confirmed.
In meeting with planning regulations, the school has installed a series of ramps and two chair-lifts for the benefit of those attending or visiting the school who may need them.
[edit] Academics
In common with the vast majority of secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland, St Eunan's currently provides the qualifications of the Junior Certificate and the Leaving Certificate. It also provides the facilities for Transition Year which includes two work experience allotments and a choice between Computer or Sport GCSEs. The college is one of only 18 schools in the county that offers the LCA programme.[2]
At Junior Certificate level, the school offers art, woodwork and technical drawing. The college currently offers two foreign languages, French and German, at Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate levels as well as Transition Year, but Irish is also compulsory, subject to some exemptions, as in all other secondary schools in Ireland.
Transition Year modules (taken on a Friday afternoon) include first-aid, cooking, car maintenance, electronics and, brand new for 2007, yoga and juggling. Towards the end of the year, more diverse modules are offered such as tennis, karate, and drama (at An Grianán Theatre).
Junior and Leaving Certificate students usually undertake pre-test exams every February or March or April whilst the real exams follow swiftly in June.
[edit] Sport
Physical education and team activities are important to the school, with several national titles, particularly in Soccer[3] and Gaelic Football.
Three out of four All-Ireland Soccer titles were won by the college in 2005, a feat that no other school in the country has ever achieved.[4] Little else has been achieved since with regards to soccer as the focus has been primarily on the successful GAA teams that have represented the College over the last number of years.
The senior Gaelic team has in the past eight years won the McLarnon Cup twice, the latest occasion being 2007. On Sunday March 25, 2007, the College, beat Rathmore by 1-09 to 2-03 at Casement Park in Belfast, having travelled there six days earlier only for the match to be postponed. The senior team then went on to beat Rice College of Westport in the All-Ireland B Colleges semi-final but were beaten themselves by St.Mary's of Edenderry in the All-Ireland Final at Breffni Park, County Cavan on Saturday April 21, 2007. The match went to extra time after a penalty save by St. Eunan's goalkeeper John Carr, but the College eventually lost by 2-12 to 0-14. The team reached the semi-final of the MacRory Cup in 2008, only to be defeated by St. Michael's College of Enniskillen 1-17 to 0-7 on February 22, 2008.
St. Eunan's College, with future inter-county footballers Rory Kavanagh and Colm McFadden part of the team, (indeed McFadden himself was to become a future teacher at the school) also won the McLarnon Cup in 2000 for the first time since 1979,[5] as well as the Ulster Herald Cup in 2004.[6] The Herald Cup win was the school's first in 25 years.
Three students have achieved Ulster All-Stars while playing for the college, Mark McGowan,[7] Hugh Brendan Kerr and Sean McEwen.[8] Rory Kavanagh, Colm McFadden, Neil Gallagher and Michael Boyle, who all previously played with college teams, are now members of the senior Donegal Gaelic team.[9]
[edit] Other Sports
The college is now also the number one athletics and basketball school in the county, with many county titles in various age groups.[citation needed] Golf[10] and swimming[11] are also popular. Even hurling teams, a sport which is not seen as very popular in Donegal, have reached the semi-finals of some competitions.[12] Attempts are being made to organise a school rugby team but these attempts are so far proving unsuccessful.[citation needed]
[edit] Extra-curricular activities
The college offers chess to its students every Wednesday after school hours.[citation needed] The chess team has competed at national level.[citation needed]
The college's musical tradition can be seen every year in the annual Battle of the Bands Competition - held every May since 2002 in the local An Grianán Theatre.[13]
The college library is open to students during lunch hours on certain days of the week.
The college has long sent debating teams to competitions across Ireland while maths and science students have taken part in national competitions.[citation needed] A number of students have also taken part in the Young Scientist Award.[14]
[edit] School Trips
The college has taken part in a number of foreign exchange programmes involving schools in France and Austria.[15] Many European students have also availed of the college, from as far away as Spain, France and Austria. Every year a selection of teachers and students head for the European ski-slopes during the holidays.[16]
[edit] Gallery
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Classrooms and Staffroom
 Room 35 |
 Room 43 |
 Room 44 |
 Room 46 |
 Room 53 |
 Room 55 |
 Staff Room |
Other Areas On School Grounds
 The Courtyard |
 General Purpose Area(GPA) |
 Staircase At Entrance To College |
 St. Eunan's College Entrance |
 A Monkey Puzzle Tree Located in Front of The College |
 The All-Weather Pitch |
 A photograph of the Recreation Hall |
 View of The College |
 The College on Centenary Day |
 Turret |
 Detailed view of gates |
 Tower |
 Railing |
[edit] Notable guests
- On Thursday March 29, 2007, the Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern briefly visited the school. This followed on from a visit by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny in late 2006.
- On Sunday April 8, 2007, professional golfer Paul McGinley visited the school to formally launch the St. Eunan's College Centenary Golf Classic. His father, Michael McGinley of Sigma Wireless Ltd, is a past student of the College and, having represented the College in the McRory Cup final team of 1956, sponsored the prizes for the golf classic.[2]
[edit] Presidents
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[edit] Selected Alumni
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Politics
Ecclesiastical
Arts
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Sport
Business
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[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Information and References
- ^ DN supplement with local newspaper, dated Friday April 13 2007, SPORTS page 7
[edit] External links
- St. Eunan's College - official website
- Raphoe Diocese Education page
- Historic Buildings and Sites in Letterkenny
- McLarnon Cup
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