Clongowes Wood College Explained

Clongowes Wood College S.J.
Motto:Aeterna Non Caduca
Motto Translation:The Eternal not the Passing
Rector:Michael Sheil
Headmaster:Chris Lumb
Gender:Boys
Lower Age:13
Upper Age:18
Enrolment:450
Campus Size:1100 Acres
Houses:Arrupe, Collins, Claver, Gonzaga, Hopkins, Kenney, Kostka, Loyola, Sullivan, Xavier
Colours:Purple and white
Publication:The Clongownian
Yearbook:The Clongownian
Fees:information available upon enquiry [1]
Affiliation:Society of Jesus
Enrollment As Of:2018

Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814.[2] It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. One of five Jesuit secondary schools in Ireland, it had 450 students in 2019.[3]

The school's current headmaster, Christopher Lumb, is the first lay headmaster in its history.[4]

The school is also a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference being one of only three members based in the Republic of Ireland.

School

The school is a secondary boarding school for boys from Ireland and other parts of the world.[5] The school is divided into three groups, known as "lines". The Third Line is for first and second year students, the Lower Line for third and fourth years, and the Higher Line for fifth and sixth years. Each year is known by a name, drawn from the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum: Elements (first year), Rudiments (second), Grammar (third), Syntax (fourth), Poetry (fifth), and Rhetoric (sixth).[6]

Buildings

The medieval castle was originally built in the 13th century by John de Hereford, an early Anglo-Norman warrior and landowner in North Kildare.[7] He had been given extensive lands in the area of Kill, Celbridge and Mainham by his brother, Adam de Hereford, who had come to Ireland with 'Strongbow', the Earl of Pembroke.

The castle is the residence of the religious community and was improved by a "chocolate box" type restoration in the 18th century. It was rebuilt in 1718 by Stephen Fitzwilliam Browne and extended in 1788 by Thomas Wogan Browne.[8] It is situated beside a ditch and wall—known as ramparts—constructed for the defence of the Pale in the 14th century. The building was completely refurbished in 2004 and the reception area was moved back there from the "1999 building."

The castle is connected to the modern buildings by an elevated corridor hung with portraits, the Serpentine Gallery referred to by James Joyce.[9] This gallery was completely demolished and rebuilt in 2004 as part of a redevelopment programme for the school buildings.

In 1929 another wing was built at a cost of £135,000, presenting the rear façade of the school. It houses the main classrooms and the Elements, Rudiments, Grammar and Syntax dormitories.

An expansion and modernisation was completed in 2000; the €4.8m project added another residential wing that included a 500-seat dining hall, kitchen, entrance hall, offices, and study/bedrooms for sixth year ("Rhetoric") students.[10]

The Boys' Chapel has an elaborate reredos, a large pipe organ in the gallery, and a sequence of Stations of the Cross painted by Sean Keating. School tradition has it that the portrait of Pontius Pilate in the 12th station was based on the school rector, who had refused to pay the artist his asking price.

The moat that outlines the nearby forest of the college is the old border of The Pale, with the Wogan-Browne castle (now the residence of the Jesuit community) landmarking its edge.

History

The school traces its history back to a 799acres estate owned by the Wogan family in 1418 under the reign of Henry IV. The name "Clongowes" comes from the Irish for "meadow" (cluain) and for "blacksmith" (gobha). The estate was originally known as "Clongowes de Silva" (de Silva meaning "of the wood" in Latin).[11] The estate later passed to the Eustace family and became part of the fortified border of the Pale in 1494. The Eustaces lost their estates during the Restoration (1660).[12] The estate was sold by the Wogan-Brownes to the Jesuits in March 1814 for £16,000.

The school accepted its first pupil, James McLornan, on 18 May 1814.[13]

In 1886 the Jesuit-run St Stanislaus College in Tullabeg, County Offaly, was amalgamated with Clongowes Wood College.[14]

Joseph Dargan served as rector in the 1970s.Leonard Moloney was the headmaster from 2004 to 2015.[15] Michael Sheil retired as rector in 2006 and Bruce Bradley[16] (headmaster 1992–2000) was his successor. In September 2011 Michael Sheil returned as rector.

As of 2021, there are four Jesuits living at the school. Two priests and two brothers.[16]

Clongowes is also part of an initiative to ease religious tensions in Turkey, currently being headed by Alan McGuckian (former teacher in Clongowes now Bishop of Raphoe) in Istanbul.

Prefect of Studies/Headmaster

Rectors

Historical accounts

One early history of the school is The Clongowes Record 1814–1932 by Timothy Corcoran (Browne and Nolan, Dublin, 1932). A half-century later, a history was written by Roland Burke Savage and published in The Clongownian school magazine during the 1980s; that same decade, Peter Costello wrote Clongowes Wood: a History of Clongowes Wood College 1814–1989, published by Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1989).

Sport

Clongowes is known for its strong pedigree in rugby union. Despite a relatively small size, Clongowes has won the Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup nine times, winning its first final in 1926. Following this, there was a gap of 52 years until the next title in 1978. Beginning with a 3rd title in 1988 and up until 2011, Clongowes has appeared in 13 finals, more than any other school in the competition during this period. Clongowes secured a first set of back-to-back titles with wins in 2010 and 2011 before being awarded a joint title in the 2020 season which was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cultural associations

The school featured prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. A documentary depicting a year in the life in the school was screened in 2001 as part of RTÉ's True Lives series.[50] The popular fictional series of Ross O'Carroll Kelly has mentioned Clongowes Wood on a number of occasions in the book and Irish Times column.

Selected notable past pupils

Arts and media

Law

Politics and diplomacy

Military

Religion

Science and medicine

Business

Sports

Partner schools

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Parents face big jump in private school fees . Susan . Mitchell . Áine . Maguire . The Post . 20 July 2008 . 2 May 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100522191235/http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2008/07/20/story34589.asp . 22 May 2010 . dmy-all .
  2. Web site: 1814-1886. 12 October 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20081012225951/http://www.clongowes.com/1814-1886.html. 12 October 2008.
  3. Web site: Clongowes Wood College, Kildare on SchoolDays.ie. www.schooldays.ie. 2020-04-16.
  4. News: Clongowes Wood fights €15,680 planning bill for head's house. Coyle. Colin.
  5. Web site: Admissions Policy. https://web.archive.org/web/20071117035415/http://www.clongowes.com/fileadmin/documents/Admissions_Policy.pdf. 17 November 2007. dead. 14 October 2008.
  6. Web site: Organisation and Structure. 17 September 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090917173113/http://www.clongowes.com/organisation.html. 17 September 2009.
  7. Book: Costello, Peter . Clongowes Wood: a history of Clongowes Wood College, 1814-1989. Gill and Macmillan. 1989. 9780717114665.
  8. A Short History of Clongowes Wood College by Brendan Cullen, 2011, p. 2
  9. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce. Chapter 5, 25 March, Morning: "A long curving gallery. From the floor ascend pillars of dark vapours. It is peopled by the images of fabulous kings, set in stone. Their hands are folded upon their knees in token of weariness and their eyes are darkened for the errors of men go up before them for ever as dark vapours."
  10. Web site: LeeMcCullough - Clongowes Wood College . Lmp.ie . 2015-10-03.
  11. Web site: Before The Jesuits. https://web.archive.org/web/20081012224257/http://www.clongowes.com/beforethejesuits.html. 12 October 2008. dead. 14 October 2008.
  12. Web site: The Wogan Brownes. https://web.archive.org/web/20070408141840/http://clongowes.com/thewoganbrownes.html. 8 April 2007. dead. 12 March 2007.
  13. Web site: 18141886. Clongowes Wood College S.J.. https://web.archive.org/web/20091202055158/http://www.clongowes.com/1814-1886.html. 2009-12-02 .
  14. Web site: tullabeg-rahan-1818–1968 - Offaly History . 27 February 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161213211250/https://www.offalyhistory.com/reading-resources/history/history-by-place/tullabeg-rahan-1818-1968 . 13 December 2016 . dead .
  15. Web site: Headmaster's Welcome. 23 October 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20081023081339/http://www.clongowes.com/headmaster.html. 23 October 2008.
  16. Web site: Jesuit Community. 16 December 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20081216143537/http://www.clongowes.com/jesuit-community.html. 16 December 2008.
  17. Web site: On this day…13 May – THE JAMES JOYCE CENTRE.
  18. Web site: Daly, James, 1847-1930, Jesuit priest - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  19. Web site: Kieran, Laurence J, 1881-1945, Jesuit priest - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  20. Web site: Richard Robinson 1920-2019. 9 July 2021.
  21. Web site: Fr Matthias Bodkin SJ - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  22. Web site: MacMahon, Brian, 1907-1960, Jesuit priest and missioner - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  23. Book: Clongowes Wood: The History of Clongowes Wood College, 1814-1989. 9780717114665. Costello. Peter. 1989.
  24. Web site: Lawler, Raymond,1921-2001, Jesuit priest - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  25. Web site: Fr Patrick Crowe SJ - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  26. Web site: Fitting tribute for Phil. 24 January 2020.
  27. Web site: - 1930 - 2005: Clongowes Wood College . clongowes.com . 15 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070203064542/http://clongowes.com/1930-2005.html . 3 February 2007 . dead.
  28. Web site: Fr Peter Kenney SJ - Irish Jesuit Archives. www.jesuitarchives.ie. 2 July 2023.
  29. Web site: Fr Charles Aylmer SJ - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  30. Web site: Clongowes History - Clongowes Wood College SJ. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171025170420/https://clongowes.net/about-clongowes/history/ . 25 October 2017 .
  31. Web site: Fr Robert Haly SJ - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  32. Web site: Fr Michael A Kavanagh SJ - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  33. Web site: Clongowes History - Clongowes Wood College SJ. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171025170420/https://clongowes.net/about-clongowes/history/ . 25 October 2017 .
  34. Web site: Carbery, Robert, 1829-1903, Jesuit priest - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  35. Web site: Fr John Conmee SJ - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  36. Web site: Thom's Irish who's who. January 1923.
  37. Web site: Fr Vincent Byrne SJ . Irish Jesuit Archives . 28 May 2024.
  38. Web site: Fr Thomas V Nolan SJ . Irish Jesuit Archives . 28 May 2024.
  39. Web site: Fr Nicholas James Tomkin SJ . Irish Jesuit Archives . 28 May 2024.
  40. Web site: Fr Charles Mulcahy SJ - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  41. Web site: Fr John C Joy SJ . Irish Jesuit Archives . 28 May 2024.
  42. Web site: Fr George Redington Roche SJ - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  43. Web site: Fr Hilary Lawton SJ - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  44. Book: Clongowes Wood: The History of Clongowes Wood College, 1814-1989. 9780717114665. Costello. Peter. 1989.
  45. Web site: Joy, Francis, 1903-1977, Jesuit priest - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  46. Web site: Fr John F Brennan SJ . Irish Jesuit Archives . 28 May 2024.
  47. Web site: Dargan, Joseph, 1933-2014, Jesuit priest - Irish Jesuit Archives.
  48. News: Fr Kieran Hanley. .
  49. Web site: Fr Kieran C Hanley SJ . Irish Jesuit Archives . 28 May 2024.
  50. Web site: John O'Sullivan . Clongowes on view . Irishtimes.com . 2001-04-30 . 2015-10-03.
  51. Brendan Barrington, ed., The Dublin Review issues 10–13 (2003), p. 15

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