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St Columb's College

 
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St. Columb's College
Coláiste Naomh Cholm Cille
College2.jpg
Motto Quaerite Primum Regnum Dei.
Established 1879
Principal Sean McGinty
Head Boy Jack Thompson
Location Buncrana Road, Derry
Students 1500 -
Type Grammar School
Colours Royal blue and Yellow
Homepage http://www.stcolumbs.com/

St. Columb's College is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland and, since 2008, a specialist school in Mathematics and Computing. It is named after Saint Columba, the Irish missionary monk who founded a monastery in the area.

St Columb's College was established in 1879 on Bishop Street (now the site of Lumen Christi College), but later moved to Buncrana Road in the suburbs of the city. The College has a student population of over 1,500, making it one of the largest Catholic Boys' Schools in Europe. Colloquially, the school’s name is often shortened to "The College".

St. Columb's will feature in the forthcoming film The Boys of St. Columb's made by West Park Pictures and Maccana Teoranta for RTE. Following the lives of several great Irish figures including Nobel Laureates Seamus Heaney and John Hume who all attended the same small school in Derry in the 1950s and have helped transform modern Ireland. The Boys of St. Columb's will be out on DVD in early March 2010 by Digital Classics DVD.

Contents

The College's Ethos

St. Columb's strives to "Seek First the Kingdom of God" as the College motto calls them to do. Christ, with his message of love, forgiveness, justice and hope is at the centre of the College community and the motto continues to challenge and inspire.

While there is greater political stability in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement, there is greater instability in society as a whole. Today, pupils of the College are vulnerable in a way undreamt of even twenty years ago and live in a culture that often lacks a framework of support. Family breakdown and a greater tolerance towards underage drinking and the wider availability of illegal drugs have contributed to a society that is fragmented and bereft of permanence. It is in the context of this society that St. Columb's promotes as its fundamental aim for each pupil, "the fullest Christian human development of which he is capable". It seeks to develop in each pupil an inner peace, an inner permanence based on Gospel values that will withstand the vicissitudes of time.

Early history

St. Columb's was initially intended to be a diocesan seminary, educating young men mainly, though not exclusively, for the priesthood. The establishment of such a seminary was an obligation imposed by the Council of Trent (1545–63). Ireland's political volatility and the suppression of Catholicism by the Crown, particularly after the Williamite Wars resulted in the delay of establishing any diocesan seminaries in Ireland for centuries. St. Columb's College itself was preceded by several failed attempts to create such an institution in Derry. Repeated but sporadic efforts were made to maintain a seminary for almost a century; at Clady, near Strabane in the late eighteenth century, at Ferguson's lane in Derry in the early nineteenth century and at Pump street, (first reference to St. Columb's College as such) in the city from 1841 to 1864.

St. Columb's finally opened its doors on 3 November 1879 with two priest teachers, Dr. Edward O'Brien and Dr. John Hassan. The school was considered to be quite large at the time and was expected to accommodate 20–30 boarders. The school quickly gained a reputation for academic achievement. On 18 September 1931 the Derry Journal listed St. Columb's College's academic results. They were as follows; Two University Scholarships, Three Exhibitions and Prizes, Six Calls in King's Scholarship Exam (calls to teacher training), Two Pupil Teacherships, Eight regional Committee Scholarships, 31 Passed Matriculation, 26 Passed Senior Leaving Cert. Exam, 52 Passed Junior Leaving Cert. Exam. The results were impressive for a young and regional school but they were testimony to the scholarship that was taking place at St. Columb's.

The Education Act, 1947 and expansion

One of the most notable alumni of St. Columb's College, John Hume, noted, "When the history of St. Columb's College in this century is written, it will be clear that one of its major transformations, if not its major transformation, took place as a result of the Eleven Plus examination." The Education Act, 1947 provided for free secondary education to all throughout the United Kingdom. Entry to St. Columb's College, a Grammar school, would be determined by one's performance in the Eleven Plus or Transfer Test. The immediate result was an explosion in pupil numbers, a shortfall in teaching staff and greater pressure on existing resources. In 1941 the student body numbered 263. By 1960 the number stood at 770 with a teaching staff of 35. In under twenty years the school's size had tripled. It was now clear that additional facilities would be needed. In September 1973 St. Columb's College opened a new campus on the Buncranna Road in the city. The new site would cater for the senior years; its initial enrolment was of 900. The new building was designed by Frank Corr of Corr & McCormick and constructed by J Kenny & Co. The total cost was £762,000. This figure does not include the £56,000 spent employing W & J McGonagle Ltd to construct the enormous, high-quality playing fields.

Change

In 1997 the school ceased to be a split-site institution and reunited itself on the Buncranna Road after the completion of a new Senior block to the rear of the existing buildings. This two storey structure would house the facilities for A Level instruction. The Belfast Agreement 1998 saw a new era of peace for Northern Ireland. The thirty years of violence had concealed the wider change in social attitudes. More and more of the teaching staff at St. Columb's were female and fewer were priests. In September 2008, for the first time in Saint Columb's 129 year history, a lay person became Principal taking over from Rev. Eamonn Martin who had served for 8 years as President. The new Principal is Mr. Sean McGinty, former Vice President with responsibility for Pastoral matters. In the academic year 2004/05 St. Columb's College celebrated its 125th anniversary. To mark the event, a series of lectures were held. Guests included Mary McAleese, President of Ireland, Garret Fitzgerald, former Irish Taoiseach, Mary Harney, then Tánaiste, Seamus Heaney and Dr. Peter Jones. In addition, a history of St. Columb's was commissioned; the book, "Seeking the Kingdom", was edited by Finbar Madden and Thomas Bradley.

Music and Drama

The College's enthusiasm for music and drama cannot be understated. The College has numerous musical ensembles, including an orchestra, a wind band, a brass ensemble, a jazz group and an Irish traditional group. The College also has a committed Drama society. The partnership of talent in music and drama has repeatedly manifested itself in school plays and musicals. In his poem, "Real Names" from Electric Light, Seamus Heaney recalls the various shows staged in St. Columb's College during the 1950s and the actors who performed them. Macbeth, The Tempest, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice: Owen Kelly, Liam McClelland, Gerry O'Neill, Frankie McMahon, Phil and Joe Coulter, this latter "wise Joe" interchangeable with "good Banquo". Over the hundred and twenty-nine years of St. Columb's, school productions have played an integral part in school life. Since 1953 there have been at least twenty musicals and countless plays including (in no particular order); two Pirates of Penzance, two Mikados, The Gondaliers, The Yeomen of the Guard", "HMS Pinafore", "Trial by Jury", "The Country Girl", "The Arcadians", "The Maid of the Mountain", "Pickwick", "My Fair Lady", "Oklahoma", "Oliver", "South Pacific", "Show Boat", "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Crazy for You", "Bugsy Malone" and Les Misérables. In 2002 St. Columb's staged an original musical of its own. A Son's Return was written by Brian McGilloway, an English teacher at the College, and the music was composed by Sister Perpetua McNulty and Brendan McGinn, also both teachers at the time. Sister Perpetua is now Director of Thornhill Centre (a centre for spitirual nourishment) and Derry Diocesan Director of music. Music has been fostered in the state-of-the-art music facilities that St. Columb's cherishes. Catalogues of successes can be given. The local Feis Dhoire Cholmcille is an annual competition in which the school participates with gusto. It is small wonder why names such as Phil Coulter, Paul Brady, Paul McLoone and Peter Cunnah are associated with this historic institution.

Sport

The school has a long and successful sporting history, with its students competing in many events across the country. It has excelled in soccer, gaelic football, basketball and has produced many athletes.

Nobel Prize winners

The school is one of the few schools in the world that can claim two Nobel laureates amongst its alumni. They are:

Notable alumni

The college's former pupils association makes an annual award (the Alumnus Illustrissimus Award) to "a past-pupil who has achieved something of major significance or has made a considerable contribution in his own field".[1] Past winners of the award are as follows:

Other alumni and names associated with St Columb's include:

Presidents of St. Columb's College

Name Period of Presidency Notes
Edward O'Brien 1879-1880 Ordained in 1859 he became the first President of St. Columb's College in 1879. He formerly held the Chair of Rhetoric at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. Pope Leo XIII conferred on him the degree of D.D. and he was appointed Vicar General of the diocese.
John Hassan 1881-1888 Ordained in 1879, he took his D.D. the same year. Pope Leo XIII made him a domestic prelate and conferred on him the dignity of monsignor. Vice-rector of the Irish College from 1888 until his death in 1891.
Thomas McCloskey 1888-1890 Ordained in Rome in 1886
Charles McHugh 1890-1905 Ordained 1881. Bishop of Derry 1907-26. Figured prominently in campaign against conscription. He was one of 18 Catholic and 3 Protestant Bishops who signed manifesto against Irish partition on 7th May 1917. Led the first Irish national pilgrimage to Lourdes. As Bishop he preferred to live in the College and it there that he died.
Bernard O'Kane 1905-1919 A graduate of the Royal University and ordained in 1891. A brilliant scientist, he was a regular contributor to technical journals on astronomy, light and radio waves and modern wireless, working in parallel with and sometimes anticipating the discoveries of Guglielmo Marconi. He was bishop from 1926-39.
John McShane 1919-1927 Ordained 1900. He was President during the troubles of 1920 when the College was at the centre of a small but deadly civil war. He was opposed to corporal punushment - a man before his time.
Neil Farren 1928-1939 Graduated from University College, Dublin with first class honors in 1914. He received a BCL and a BD from Maynooth in 1916 and 1918, respectively. Awarded the degree of DCL for his (later published) thesis Domicile and Quasi-Domicile. He became Ireland's youngest bishop in 1939. During the Second World War he was appointed "ordinary" of the American forces in Ireland, a kind of bishop away from home, and his services were recognized by the award of the United States Medal of Freedom.
Joseph O'Doherty 1939-1943 Ordained 1919. A talented ventriloquist and prestidigitator.
Eugene O'Doherty 1943-1944 Ordained 1921. He received a D.D. for his thesis, Doctrinal Process and its Laws. His is the shortest presidency on record as he was appointed Bishop of Dromore within months of his assuimg the post.
Patrick McDowell 1944-1950 Ordained 1925. He received a D.D. for his postgraduate work on The Church and Economics at Dunboyne House. Appointed a domestic prelate with the rank of monsignor in 1966.
Anthony McFeely 1950-1959 Ordained in Rome in 1932. Noted for his patronage of the school plays and musicals of the time. Consecrated as Bishop of Raphoe in 1965.
John Farren 1959-1969 Ordained 1941. Appointed immediately after ordination to the College staff he was to serve for almost thirty years, presiding over the planning for the move of the Senior School to Buncrana Road.
James Coulter 1969-1983 Ordained in 1943. Became official diocesan historian. Noted for his expansion of the curriculum to include German, Spanish, Economics and Accounts and for his careful management of the school through civil strife. He was made a Prelate of Honour but he refused the offer of an OBE.
Ignatius McQuillan 1983-1990 Studied at St. Columb's College, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, and took sabbatical leave in 1983 at the University of Oxford. Noted for his successful introduction of the new GCSE system. He later helped found Lumen Christi Grammar School.
John R Walsh 1990-1999 Author of A History of the Irish Church (500-700), Noble Story and Religion: The Irish Experience which is a necessary source book for the new RE syllabus in the Republic of Ireland.Noted for his consolidation of the school on the new Buncrana Road campus.
Eamon Martin 2000-2008 Studied at St. Columb's College, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, Queen's University, Belfast, University of Cambridge and the Institute of Education in London. Noted for his huge emphasis on staff training and the preparation of St. Columb's for the coming changes in post primary education.
Sean McGinty 2008-present First lay principal of St. Columb's College.

References

  1. ^ St. Columb's College Alumni Illustrissimi, accessed 7 September 2006

External links


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