St Paul's College, Raheny

St. Paul's College
Colaiste Naomh Pól
Location
Raheny, Dublin 5
Republic of Ireland
Coordinates 53°22′23″N 6°11′36″W / 53.373032°N 6.193275°WCoordinates: 53°22′23″N 6°11′36″W / 53.373032°N 6.193275°W
Information
Motto Gestis Censere
(Latin for 'by your deeds show forth your thinking')
Established 1950
Principal Mr Michael Behan
Deputy principal Mr B O'Mordha
Staff 40
Number of students 650
Religious order Vincentian Fathers
Website stpaulscollege.ie

St. Paul’s College in Raheny, Dublin is a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys under the trusteeship of the Vincentian Fathers (Congregation of the Mission). The college was established in 1950.[1]

St. Paul's is overseen by a Board of Management comprising representatives of the trustees, parents and teaching staff and directed by the Principal, assisted by the Deputy Principal.

St. Paul’s College has 550 pupils and follows the Irish Junior Certificate and the Irish Leaving Certificate and achieves good results at all levels.

Teaching support facilities include two well-equipped computer rooms, four science laboratories, technical graphics and a woodwork room.

The school has an active Music dept. and school choir, who perform a Christmas carol service and a summer concert each year , also the a number senior cycle students each year perform in the schools annual Musical.[2]

The school has grounds of over 180 acres (730,000 m2), including its own all-weather grass pitches and grass playing fields. St. Paul's has a strong track record in sports, notably in schools' rugby and also soccer, Gaelic football, hurling, basketball, golf and athletics.

The sports grounds of the college are used by the schools pupils but also by a number of local sports clubs such as Clontarf Gaelic Football and Hurling teams as well as soccer teams. The sports facilities are available to rent by the public.

It was announced in 2015 that the vincentian order planned to sell half the land for development.[3]

St. Paul's is the administrative centre for the Vincentians in Ireland and the Orders Provincial resides there.[4]

History

St. Paul's College, was developed on the Sybil Hill site which was formerly the residence of Rev. Benjamin Plunket, the retired Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath, he was the nephew of Lord(the 1st earl of Iveagh]] and Lady Ardilaun from whom he inherited the Saint Anne's Park estate. Unable to afford to keep the large estate, Bishop Plunket kept the Sybil Hill property and sold the remainder of the St. Anne's estate to Dublin Corporation, who developed it as a public park. The property and land of Sybil Hill was sold to the Vincentians and they founded St. Paul's there in 1950.[5]

Following the burning down of the Belgrove pavilion in 1975, St. Paul's College, was the venue for The Grove until it ceased in 1997.

The Vincentian Order and St. Paul's College, also had a swimming pool on its land, which was run as a public pool, this was closed on the 31st of August 2006[6] and the land sold for development.

Notable past pupils

References

  1. ↑ St Pauls College Secondary Schools, Education, Vincentians Website
  2. ↑ St. Pauls College Music Website
  3. ↑ Sports teams left counting the costs as pitches are sold off for development Irish Independent, Property Supplement, March 13, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Vincentians website
  5. ↑ History of St. Annes park and the red stables www.tirnaog-caife.ie
  6. ↑ Order denies plan to sell public pool to developers Irish Independent, July 2006.
  7. ↑ Damien Kiberd www.politico.ie