St. Patrick's, Carlow College
Encyclopedia
St Patrick's, Carlow College, founded in 1782 by Dr James Keefe
James Keefe
Dr. James Keefe the founder of St. Patrick's, Carlow College, was Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin for over 35 years . He lived most of his time at Tullow, Co...

, then Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin
Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin
The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, one of the suffragan dioceses of the Archdiocese of Dublin. The episcopal title takes its name from the towns of Kildare and Old Leighlin in the province of Leinster, Ireland.The see is...

, and his co-adjutor Bishop Daniel Delany
Daniel Delany
Daniel Delany was the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. He was born on the first of two sons into a farming family in January 1747...

, and opened in 1793, is a college in Carlow
Carlow
Carlow is the county town of County Carlow in Ireland. It is situated in the south-east of Ireland, 84 km from Dublin. County Carlow is the second smallest county in Ireland by area, however Carlow Town is the 14th largest urban area in Ireland by population according to the 2006 census. The...

, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. 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
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

s, but also provides courses in Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....

 and Social Studies
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...

 to the laity.

History

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
Andrew Fitzgerald
Father Andrew Fitzgerald O.P, a native of Kilkenny, he was a professor at St. Patrick's College, Carlow where he taught classics, he was chair of divinity....

 O.P. was imprisoned as part of the Tithe War
Tithe War
The Tithe War was a campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience, punctuated by sporadic violent episodes, in Ireland between 1830-36 in reaction to the enforcement of Tithes on subsistence farmers and others for the upkeep of the established state church - the Church of Ireland...

 for his refusal to pay tithes.

In 1840, Carlow College was accredited by the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 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.
In May 1847, Carlow College president Dr. James Taylor purchased a house and farm of 127 acres at Knockbeg and St. Mary’s
St. Mary's Knockbeg College
St. Mary's Knockbeg College is a Roman Catholic, all-boys secondary school located on the Laois/Carlow border in Ireland, approximately 3 km from both Carlow town and Graiguecullen. A former seminary school for the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, it was founded in 1793...

 was opened there as a preparatory school to Carlow College, in 1892 lay students were transferred to Knockbeg.
In 1866 Queen's University of Ireland
Queen's University of Ireland
The Queen's University of Ireland was established formally by Royal Charter on 3 September 1850, as the degree-awarding university of the Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork, and Galway that were established in 1845 "to afford a university education to members of all religious denominations" in...

 engaged in a dialogue about empowering it to examine and confer degrees on students other than those of the Queen’s colleges, the St. Patricks College Carlow Report was conducted and the college was deemed to meet the criteria, as evidenced by the courses examined and conferred by University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

, (the report listed all the students and professors at the time) however it was never enacted. This dialogue with the President James Walshe
James Walshe
Rev Dr. James Walshe DD was a catholic priest and Bishop in Kildare and Leighlin, before becoming a bishop he was President of Carlow College where he had previously been a professor...

 and the Queen's senate caused a dispute between Walshe and Cardinal Cullen.
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
Catholic University of Ireland
The Catholic University of Ireland was a Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland and was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its associated colleges which were nondenominational...

, and affiliated to the new Royal University of Ireland
Royal University of Ireland
The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the University Education Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on April 27, 1880 and examinations were opened to candidates irrespective of...

. 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.Irish priests in the United States: a vanishing subculture By William L. Smith.

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.

In 1995 full time degree students became entitled to the Irish Governments free fees scheme and local authority grants.

Notable alumni of Carlow College

Distinguished among the thousands of its past students was one the first ever Catholic bishops to be appointed in the United States, John England; the man who single-handedly brought Catholicism to Australia, John Therry; Ireland's first Cardinal, Paul Cullen; the artist Frank O'Meara
Frank O'Meara
Francis Joseph O'Meara was an Irish artist.-Biography:The son of a doctor, O'Meara was born in Carlow, Ireland. Around 1872, the young artist travelled to Paris where he would study under the French painter Carolus Duran. In 1875 he visited the artists colonies in Barbizon and Grez-sur-Loing....

; the Young Irelander and land-reform theorist, James Fintan Lalor
James Fintan Lalor
James Fintan Lalor was an Irish revolutionary, journalist, and “one of the most powerful writers of his day.” A leading member of the Irish Confederation , he was to play an active part in both the Rebellion in July 1848 and the attempted Rising in September of that same year...

 and the Fenian John O'Leary
John O'Leary
John O'Leary may refer to:* John O'Leary , Irish nationalist who was imprisoned in England during the nineteenth century*John O'Leary , former Irish Fianna Fáil party politician and TD for Kerry South...

, 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
Richard Lalor
Richard Lalor was Irish Nationalist Member of Parliament for Queen's County, 1880-85 and for Queen's County , 1885-92....

, Irish Nationalist, MP for Queens County and Sir Peter Lalor
Peter Lalor
Peter Fintan Lalor was an activist turned politician who rose to fame for his leading role in the Eureka Rebellion, an event controversially identified with the "birth of democracy" in Australia.- Early life and migration to Australia :...

, M.P. Speaker of the Victoria Parliament, Australia.

Rev. William Clancy
William Clancy
William Clancy was an Irish Roman Catholic missionary in the United States and British Guiana.The son of a farmer, William Clancy was born in West Cork and educated at Carlow College. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 24, 1823...

 (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.

Rev. Dr. Michael Collins
Micheal Collins (Bishop of Cloyne)
Dr Michael Collins DD, was Roman Catholic Bishop of Cloyne and Ross. He was born in Rossmore, Co. Cork. He was educated for the priesthood at Maynooth College joining the Physics class in 1798, however he was expelled for his support and publicly encouraging insubordination, of the Robert Emmet...

 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
James Warren Doyle
Bishop James Doyle was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin in Ireland, who used the signature “JKL”, an acronym from “James Kildare and Leighlin.” A campaigner for Catholic Emancipation up to 1829, he was also an educator, church organiser and the builder of Carlow cathedral.-Early...

 ("JKL") was Professor of Rhetoric in 1813 and Professor of Theology in 1814.

Rev., Dr Daniel William Cahill
Daniel William Cahill
Daniel William Cahill was a Roman Catholic preacher, lecturer, writer and educator in Ireland and the United States....

 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
Leinster Leader
The Leinster Leader is a newspaper published in Naas, Co. Kildare, Ireland. It is owned by Johnston Press who bought the Leinster Leader Group in 2005...

 newspaper.

The nationalist Maurice Leyne and the physician and poet Richard D'Alton Williams
Richard D'Alton Williams
Richard D'Alton Williams was an Irish physician and poet, "Shamrock" of the Nation.-Life:He was born in Dublin, son of Count D'Alton and Mary Williams. He was educated at Tullabeg Jesuit College and St. Patrick's College, Carlow.He came to Dublin in 1843 to study medicine. He started contributing...

(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
Thomas Kelly-Kenny
General Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny GCB GCVO was a British Army general who served in the Second Boer War.-Military career:Kelly-Kenny was born on 27 February 1840 at Doolough Lodge, Treanmanagh near Mullagh in County Clare, Ireland. He was educated as a lay student at St. Patrick's College, Carlow, he...

 GCB GCVO (1840-1914) was also educated as a lay student at Carlow College.

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
Michael O'Hanrahan
Michael O'Hanrahan was an Irish rebel who took an active role in the 1916 Easter Rising.-Background:Born in New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, he was the son of Richard O’Hanrahan and Mary Williams. His father appears to have been involved in the 1867 Fenian rising...

 who was executed for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...

, was educated in Carlow College Academy.

The nationalist Kevin O'Higgins
Kevin O'Higgins
Kevin Christopher O'Higgins was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice. He was part of early nationalist Sinn Féin, before going on to become a prominent member of Cumann na nGaedheal. O'Higgins initiated the An Garda Síochána police force...

 studied for a while at Carlow College, after he was expelled from Maynooth College in 1911 for smoking.

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.

Presidents of the College

  • Dr. Henry Staunton (1792-1814)
  • Dr. Andrew Fitzgerald
    Andrew Fitzgerald
    Father Andrew Fitzgerald O.P, a native of Kilkenny, he was a professor at St. Patrick's College, Carlow where he taught classics, he was chair of divinity....

     O.P. (1814-1843)
  • Dr. James Ignatius Taylor BA(London) DD (1843-1850)
  • Dr. James Walshe
    James Walshe
    Rev Dr. James Walshe DD was a catholic priest and Bishop in Kildare and Leighlin, before becoming a bishop he was President of Carlow College where he had previously been a professor...

     DD (1850-1856) became Bishop in Kildare and Leighlin.
  • Dr. John Dunne DD (1856-1864) appointed Parish Priest of Kildare.
  • Dr. James B. Kavanagh
    James B. Kavanagh
    Very Rev. Dr. James B. Kavanagh DD, was an Irish priest, teacher and President of St. Patrick's College, Carlow from 1864 to December 1880. He was born in 1800 to Jeremiah Kavanagh of Killballyowne, Co...

     DD, (1864-1880)
  • Mgr Dr. Edward Burke DD (1880-1892)
  • Dr. Patrick Foley BA(London), DD (1892-1896) became Bishop in Kildare and Leighlin
  • Dr. John Foley DD
  • Rev. Thomas Browne (1937-1941), became parish priest in Port Laoise.
  • Mgr. James J. Conway, BD, V.G. (1941-1948)
  • Mgr Martin Brenan, MA, BD, BCL, PhD, HDipEd
  • Fr P.J. Brophy (1970-1974)
  • Dr. Laurence Ryan DD (1974-1980)
  • Mgr. Caoimhín(Kevin) Ó Néill (199?-Present)

Present

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
Higher Education and Training Awards Council
The Higher Education and Training Awards Council , the legal successor to the National Council for Educational Awards , grants higher education awards in Ireland in the extra-university system...

 (H.E.T.A.C.), Dublin. 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
Cao
Cao or CaO may refer to:*CaO, the chemical formula for Calcium oxide*Cao *Cao *Cao , a Chinese vassal state of the Zhou Dynasty...

 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. The Humanities degrees are recognised for teaching in secondary schools.

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.

Currently, there is an approximate student body of 700 students, full and part-time, taking degrees in the Humanities (in all fields of Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 and the Liberal Arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...

) 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.

Graduation

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.

Links with other colleges

In recent years, the college has established special links with Carlow University
Carlow University
Carlow University is a Roman Catholic university founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, on September 24, 1929, by the Sisters of Mercy from Carlow, Ireland. Originally called Mount Mercy College, the name was changed to Carlow College in April 1969. In 2004, Carlow College achieved university...

, Pittsburgh and with St. Ambrose University, in Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...

.
Other colleges which Carlow hosts study abroad programmes for Kishwaukee College
Kishwaukee College
Kishwaukee College is a community college located west of Malta, Illinois. The campus is rural in nature, and is surrounded on all four sides by corn fields....

, and Parkland College
Parkland College
Parkland College is a is a two-year community college in Champaign, Illinois, a member of the Illinois Community College System serving Community College District 505. District 505 includes all of Ford County, and parts of Coles, Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Iroquois, Livingston, Moultrie,...

 in Illinois, through the Illinois Consortium for International Studies and Programs and Madison Area Technical College
Madison Area Technical College
Madison Area Technical College is a technical and community college headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. It serves parts of 12 counties in south-central Wisconsin: Adams, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Juneau, Marquette, Richland, Rock, and Sauk...

, Wisconsin these programmes would include excursions, Irish Literature and history courses.

Recent developments within Carlow College

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
Brigidine Sisters
The Brigidine Sisters are a global Roman Catholic congregation, founded by Bishop Daniel Delany in Ireland on February 1, 1807...

, the Patrician Brothers
Patrician Brothers
The Patrician Brothers, or Brothers of Saint Patrick, are a Roman Catholic congregation for the religious and literary education of youth and the instruction of the faithful in Christian piety.-History:This Brotherhood was founded by the Right Rev. Dr...

 as well as the college and diocese. 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
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...

, 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.

Partnership with Trinity College, Dublin

In November 2007, Carlow College signed on an agreement with Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

, which allows for a new strategic collaborative partnership in the Humanities and Social Sciences between the two oldest colleges in Ireland.

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).

National Centre for Contemporary Art and the George Bernard Shaw Theatre

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.

See also


External links

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