| St Patrick's, Carlow College | |
|---|---|
| Coláiste Phádraig Ceatharlach | |
| Latin: Collegii Carloviensis | |
| Motto | Rescissa Vegetior Assurgit pruned, it blossoms all the more |
| Established | 1782 |
| Type | Roman Catholic |
| President | Monsignor Caoimhín Ó Néill |
| Location | Carlow, Republic of Ireland |
| Nickname | Carlow College or "St Pat's" |
| Affiliations |
HETAC(1990- ) Catholic University of Ireland(1879-1906) |
| Website | http://www.carlowcollege.ie |
St Patrick's, Carlow College, founded in 1782 by Dr James Keefe, then Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, and his co-adjutor Bishop Daniel Delany, and opened in 1793, is a college in Carlow, Ireland. Initially he attempted to open a seminary in Tullow, but instead took out a 999 year lease on the present site. It is notable for educating many Catholic priests, but also provides courses in Humanities and Social Studies to the laity.
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Carlow College, or St Patrick's as it is known locally, is one of Ireland's oldest educational institutions. During the nineteenth century, students studied Philosophy, Theology, Mathematics, Languages and Law at Carlow College. From 1793 to 1892, it educated both lay people and those studying for the priesthood. In 1832 college president Fr. Andrew Fitzgerald O.P. was imprisoned as part of the Tithe War for his refusal to pay tithes.[1]
In 1840, Carlow College was accredited by the University of London[2] and over the succeeding decades students of the college sat the examinations for primary degrees in Arts (B.A.) and Law (LL.B.) from London.[3][4] In May 1847, Carlow College president Dr. James Taylor purchased a house and farm of 127 acres at Knockbeg and St. Mary’s was opened there as a preparatory school to Carlow College, in 1892 lay students were transferred to Knockbeg.[5] In 1866 Queen's University of Ireland engaged in a dialogue about empowering it to examine and confer degrees on students other than those of the Queen’s colleges,[6] the St. Patricks College Carlow Report[7] was conducted and the college was deemed to meet the criteria, as evidenced by the courses examined and conferred by University of London, (the report listed all the students and professors at the time) however it was never enacted. This dialogue with the President James Walshe and the Queen's senate caused a dispute between Walshe and Cardinal Cullen.[1] Ordained Students and Staff at the college produced The Carlow College Magazine.
Following the 1879 University Education (Ireland) Act all Catholic Colleges including Carlow College came under a reconstituted Catholic University of Ireland[8], and affiliated to the new Royal University of Ireland. Hence students could be matriculated and examined by the Royal University.
From 1892 up to 1989, the college was operating principally as a seminary for the priesthood. between 1793 and 1993 it is estimated that 3132 priests were ordained in carlow.[9]
In 1993 a stone cross by the German artist Paul Schneider, was placed in the grounds to celebrate its bi-centenary, also a lecture was given by former college president Bishop Ryan.[10]
In 1995 full time degree students became entitled to the Irish Governments free fees scheme and local authority grants.[11]
Distinguished among the thousands of its past students was one the first ever Catholic bishops to be appointed in the United States, John England[9]; the man who single-handedly brought Catholicism to Australia, John Therry; Ireland's first Cardinal, Paul Cullen; the artist Frank O'Meara; the Young Irelander and land-reform theorist, James Fintan Lalor and the Fenian John O'Leary, friend of W.B. Yeats. Daniel O'Connell, also known as 'The Liberator' or 'The Emancipator' and Ireland's predominant political leader in the first half of the nineteenth century, reputedly gave an oration to the Carlow townspeople from the top of the college's front porch. Descendants of O'Connell have studied and taught the college. Also educated in Carlow College were James Fintan Lalor's brothers Richard Lalor, Irish Nationalist, MP for Queens County and Sir Peter Lalor, M.P. Speaker of the Victoria Parliament, Australia.
Rev. William Clancy (1802–1847) the missionary and bishop in the United States and British Guiana studied at Carlow.
Some of the 17 students who had been expelled from Maynooth due to their support for the 1798 rebellion went to Carlow, like Francis Hearn who was later executed.[12]
Rev. Dr. Michael Collins Bishop of Cloyne who was expelled from Maynooth due to his support for the Robert Emmet rebellion completed his studies in Carlow.
The Campaigner for Catholic Emancipation and Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin James Warren Doyle ("JKL") was Professor of Rhetoric in 1813 and Professor of Theology in 1814.
Rev., Dr Daniel William Cahill D.D., an editor of the Dublin Telegraph, attended Carlow College; he returned in 1825, as Professor of Natural Philosophy in Carlow College, a post he held until 1834. Amongst his pupils were the aforementioned Lalor brothers. Dr Cahill's nephew, Patrick Cahill, was also educated at Carlow College, obtaining an LLB from the University of London. He was a supporter of Irish Nationalism and Home Rule and later went on to found the Leinster Leader newspaper.
The nationalist Maurice Leyne and the physician and poet Richard D'Alton Williams(1822-1862) attended Carlow College. The Poet and teacher William A. Byrne, (William Dara) attended Carlow.
The British army general, General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny GCB GCVO (1840-1914) was also educated as a lay student at Carlow College.[13]
Fr. Thomas Nangle (1989-1916) from Canada, killed with the Newfoundland Regiment in the first world war, studied for the priesthood at Carlow.
Michael O'Hanrahan who was executed for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising, was educated in Carlow College Academy.
The nationalist Kevin O'Higgins studied for a while at Carlow College, after he was expelled from Maynooth College in 1911 for smoking.[14]
A number of the rooms in the college are named after alumni and people associated with the college such as Cobden Hall named after the architect Thomas Cobden who designed the college building, the John England Room and the Therry Room amongst others.
In the 1990s, it reclaimed its primary role as a college of the Humanities for lay people, and it ceased to be a seminary. Today, the college is an accredited institution of the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (H.E.T.A.C.), Dublin.[16] In 1996 the college began an NCEA Certificate and Diploma course in Social Care. Prior to the foundation of HETAC a number of its courses were validated by its forerunner the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA). Also about this time the college joined the Central Applications Office CAO for irish school leavers applying for college, on the 2011 CAO there degrees in Citizenship and Community Studies, Humanities (Philosophy and Theology), English and History and Applied Social Studies in Social Care.[17] The Humanities degrees are recognised for teaching in secondary schools.[18][19]
Other postgraduate programmes include Higher Diploma in Business Studies in Parish Planning and Administration, Postgraduate Diploma in Equality and Diversity in the Workplace and Master of Arts in Therapeutic Child Care and qualify for tax relief.[20]
Currently, there is an approximate student body of 700 students, full and part-time, taking degrees in the Humanities (in all fields of Philosophy, Theology and the Liberal Arts) and in the fields of Social Care; however, this number is likely to increase in the forthcoming years as the college has built a fine reputation of being a 'home away from home,' as the college has a unique, community-orientated ethos. A Graduation ceremony takes place each October with awards of Certificate, Diploma and Degrees being awarded. More recently an annual college ball has commenced.
Services and Facilities at he college include Lecture Theatres, the P.J. Brophy Memorial Library, study facilities, IT facilities, Canteen, Students, online learning via moodle.
A graduation ceremony takes place each year and is attended by local figures from politics, education and business, as well as family and friends of the graduates. The 2011 graduation ceremony took place on October 11th, where graduates were conferred with their certificates, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in attendance was representatives of HETAC, Cllr. Tom O'Neill, Cathaoirleach of Carlow Town Council, Pat Deering TD, along with other dignitories.[21]
In recent years, the college has established special links with Carlow University, Pittsburgh[22] and with St. Ambrose University, in Davenport, Iowa.[23] Other colleges which Carlow hosts study abroad programmes for Kishwaukee College,[24] and Parkland College[25] in Illinois, through the Illinois Consortium for International Studies and Programs and Madison Area Technical College, Wisconsin[26] these programmes would include excursions, Irish Literature and history courses.
As of the 2006–2007 academic year, the college has opened a magnificently designed state-of-the-art library situated in the old college chapel. The library is named in memory of Fr Paul Brophy, a former president of the college, who bequeathed his full library to the college. The new facility incorporates the Delaney Archive containing the archives of the Brigidine Sisters, the Patrician Brothers as well as the college and diocese.[27] It effectively charts 200 years of education in the local area. The P.J. Brophy memorial library stocks thousands of texts of the Humanities, in Philosophy, Theology, English Literature, Social Studies and the general Liberal Arts. The opening of the new library coincides with the opening of a new student services centre which is adjacent to the library. On the 12th of December, 2006, the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, officially opened the Fr P.J. Brophy Memorial Library and the Kathleen Brennan Student Services Centre where the Students Union offices are located. Gerry Behan has recently been re-appointed Union President for the upcoming academic year.
In November 2007, Carlow College signed on an agreement with Trinity College, Dublin, which allows for a new strategic collaborative partnership in the Humanities and Social Sciences between the two oldest colleges in Ireland.[28]
Coinciding with this agreement, in 2008, Carlow College played host to a series of History lectures named Re-interpreting Rebellion in Irish History as part of the Michael Slattery lectures. These lectures featured appearances from history lecturers such as Prof. Ciaran Brady, Prof. Jane Ohlmeyer and Dr Michael O' Siochru.
Other recent public lectures such as “The Legacy of Vision: John Henry Newman’s Idea of a University” by Dr Andrew Pierce (Trinity College) and “The Legacy of Vision: John Henry Newman’s Idea of a University” by Prof. Patrica Casey(UCD/Mater Hospital).
In the spacious grounds of Carlow College is the unique National Centre for Contemporary Art and the George Bernard Shaw Theatre, which officially opened in 2009. The college generously donated a significant portion of its grounds to Carlow County Council to aid the project. The opening of this centre coincides with a new entrance to the grounds of the college from the Old Dublin Road side of Carlow town.