St. Patrick's College
St. Patrick's, College. Carlow
1782
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 Delaney, and opened in 1793, is a college in
Carlow, Ireland. It is notable for educating many Catholic priests, but
also provides courses in Humanities and Social Studies to the laity.
During the nineteenth century, students
studied Philosophy, Theology, Mathematics, Languages and Law at Carlow
College. In the 1840's, 50's and 60's, students at the college sat for the
award of B.A. or B.LL. (Law) from the University of London. Today, the
college is an accredited institution of the Higher Education and Training
Awards Council (H.E.T.A.C.), Dublin.
Carlow College, or St Patrick's as it is known
locally, is one of Ireland's oldest educational institutions. From 1793 to
1892, it educated both lay people and those studying for the priesthood.
From 1892 up to 1989, the college was operating principally as a seminary
for the priesthood. In the 1990's, it reclaimed its primary role as a
college of the Humanities for lay people. Currently (as of 2006), 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.
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; 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 in the college.
In recent years, the college has established
special links with Carlow University, Pittsburgh and with St Ambrose
University, in Davenport, Iowa.
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 memoriam of Fr P.J.
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. 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.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick's,_Carlow_College
Priests & Bishops
- Since 1793 almost 3200 students of Carlow College have
been ordained priests and have served all over the world.
- J McEvoy, in his book 'Carlow College 1793-1993' gives
destinations of Carlow College Alumni.
- Carlow 1793 - 1899
- 1793 - St. Patrick's College Carlow (Carlow College)
opened
- 1798 - Carlow Rebellion
- 1811 - The Presentation Nuns arrived in Carlow
- 1840 - The Convent Chapel was built (children were
taught in rooms under the chapel and in the cellars before the school was
built.
- 1859 - The Order of The Christian Brothers arrived in
Carlow
- 1877 - The Presentation Convent was built
- 1899 - The Convent Nation School was built
- St Joseph's House, aka Lennon House, Carlow College
St Joseph's was built to accommodate
seminarians. It was later renamed
Lennon House in
honour of Patrick Lennon who was the College President (1956-1966) and
Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin (1967-1987). Bishop Lennon died in 1990.
It was built in the 1970s to the rear of St
Patrick's College to accommodate students, it was here Father Peader
MacSuibhne lived in his latter years.
Source: Delany Archives
