| St. Jarlath's College | |
|---|---|
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Veni lumen cordium
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| Location | |
| Tuam, County Galway | |
| Information | |
| Type | Secondary school |
| Established | 1801 A.D. (Amalgamated 2009) |
| President | Very Rev. Canon Brendan Kilcoyne |
| Faculty | 43 |
| Enrollment | approx 530 |
| Website | http://www.jarlaths.ie/ |
St. Jarlath's College (Coláiste Iarfhlatha in Irish) is a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys in Tuam, County Galway, Ireland. It is an amalgamation of the former St. Jarlath's College and St. Patrick's College, both diocesan colleges of the Archdiocese of Tuam.
The College was named after Jarlath, or Iarlaith, who founded a monastery in the town when, as legend has it, his chariot wheel broke.
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The original St. Jarlath's College was founded in 1801 by then Archbishop of Tuam, Edward Dillon, with the aim of preparing young boys for entry into Maynooth Catholic Seminary. Dr. Dillon had to seek permission to establish from the Protestant Archbishop of Tuam, Dr. Beresford. The Established Church was charged by law with maintaining a system of education.[ Jordan Anthony J. 'The Good Samaritans - memoir of a biographer' Westport Books 2008 pp. 71-90 ] It began with two thatched cottages at the Mall, Tuam later moving to a new building in Bishop Street, now commonly known as "the Old College". Its first president was Rev. Oliver Kelly, who later became Archbishop of Tuam. In 1824, the facilities of the College were enlarged by the erection of additional houses in Bishop Street and in 1856 the site of the present college and grounds was bought by Archbishop McHale. This property was known as Keighrey's Park and portion of it was used as the town Fair Green. Dr. McHale continued to set it as a Fair Green to the Town Commissioners at a yearly rent of 30 until 1875 in which year the college was extensively enlarged by the addition of two wings to the first building which had been erected in 1858.[1] Professor JB Whelehan taught at the school.
In 1851, Archbishop, John McHale had invited the Christan Brothers to Tuam. This Catholic organisation was to play a large part in the development of an educated Catholic middle class in Ireland. The invitation resulted in the birth of Tuam CBS, and later St. Patrick's College, a Catholic day secondary school, which was to play an enormous role in the development of the town of Tuam. In the twentieth century these two schools, both passionately attached to the sport of Gaelic Football, developed an intense and celebrated rivalry.[2]
Plans to amalgamate St. Jarlath's and St. Patrick's colleges had first been suggested in the late 1990s. At that time, a new school building had been promised by the Government. However, no such building materialised. Enrollment numbers began to drop in St. Patrick's and the phasing out of boarding in St. Jarlath's also led to a reduced enrollment. In March 2008, Archbishop Michael Neary, as trustee of both schools, announced to staff that the amalgamation would proceed in the absence of a new school building. The amalgamation process between St. Patrick's and St. Jarlath's commenced in September 2008 with enrollment of all first year students in St. Jarlath's. The process was completed in September 2009 when students from both schools amalgamated into the new school, in the old St. Jarlath's building.
Starting with The Mikado in 1944, St. Jarlath's College Amateur Operatic Society has performed a yearly musical or opera for the local community. The 1969 production, The Quaker Girl was the first to be held in conjunction with the Mercy Convent, Tuam. The 2008 Opera was also in conjunction with St. Patrick's College, due to the amalgamation process in progress at the time.
The tradition of the annual Opera was continued following the amalgamation, the 2009 Opera being the first production of the newly amalgamated school. The Opera has been successful in recent years in the Connaught Tribune organised musical awards, winning a Best Overall and a Best Chorus award in 2008 for Hot Mikado.
The current Musical Director is Shane Farrell. He has 2 Operas as musical director under his belt, including one where he was still a Leaving Certificate student himself. He has acted as musical director to many different musical productions around County Galway in recent times.
In recent years, the Opera has been directed by Ronan Lardner, a past pupil. Ronan played lead roles during his own time attending St. Jarlath’s, including the role of Judas in the millennium show of Jesus Christ Superstar, which involved a mix of pupils past and present. Since then he has participated in other shows around the province (both acting and directing).
The old St. Jarlath's College's senior football team won the Hogan Cup a record 12 times and were runners-up 13 times.
The amalgamated school reached the Hogan Cup Final for the first time in 2011, under the management of Joe Burke, losing out to St Colman's College, Newry by just one point .
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Very Rev. Oliver Kelly (later Archbishop of Tuam) | 1800 | 1806 |
| Very Rev. Paul McGreal | 1806 | 1817 |
| Very Rev. James MacHale | 1817 | 1821 |
| Very Rev. Thomas Feeney | 1821 | 1831 |
| Very Rev. Martin Brown | 1831 | 1837 |
| Very Rev. James Ronan | 1837 | 1838 |
| Very Rev. William Cullinane | 1838 | 1842 |
| Very Rev. John Flanelly | 1842 | 1845 |
| Very Rev. Anthony Regan | 1845 | 1849 |
| Very Rev. Peter Reynolds | 1849 | 1852 |
| Very Rev. John McEvilly (later Archbishop of Tuam) | 1852 | 1857 |
| Very Rev. Patrick O’Brien | 1857 | 1865 |
| Very Rev. Ulick Burke | 1865 | 1878 |
| Very Rev. Patrick Kilkenny | 1878 | 1888 |
| Very Rev. Michael O’Connell | 1888 | 1893 |
| Very Rev. John Fallon | 1893 | 1898 |
| Very Rev. Michael McHugh | 1898 | 1903 |
| Very Rev. Michael Higgins | 1903 | 1910 |
| Very Rev. Michael Conroy | 1910 | 1915 |
| Very Rev. Alex Eaton | 1915 | 1923 |
| Very Rev. Denis Ryder | 1923 | 1928 |
| Very Rev. Joseph Walsh (later Archbishop of Tuam) | 1923 | 1940 |
| Very Rev. Tim Gunnigan | 1940 | 1947 |
| Very Rev. Conor Heaney | 1947 | 1961 |
| Very Rev. Michael Mooney | 1961 | 1971 |
| Very Rev. Michael Walsh | 1971 | 1977 |
| Very Rev. Thomas Waldron | 1977 | 1986 |
| Very Rev. Dermot Maloney | 1986 | 1994 |
| Very Rev. Oliver Hughes | 1994 | 2003 |
| Very Rev. Conal Eustace | 2003 | 2008 |
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Very Rev. Brendan Kilcoyne | 2008 | Present |