Ashton School Explained
Ashton School is a co-educational Church of Ireland secondary school situated in Cork, Ireland. It was founded in 1972, following the merger of the Cork Grammar School and Rochelle School.[2] As of 2017, Ashton School had over 500 pupils.[1]
Formation
Cork Grammar School was a Church of Ireland grammar school for boys. Founded in 1881, it was originally based in Sydney Place in Cork city, and intended to offer an alternative to parents "who had been sending their children to England, to educate them".[3] The school ultimately acquired Ashton House (a large 19th-century house on the Blackrock Road)[4] and moved to the new site in 1956.[3]
Rochelle School was a predominantly Church of Ireland preparatory school for girls. Founded in 1829, it was originally based at Cook Street and South Terrace, before moving to Rochelle House (a large house also on the road to Blackrock) in 1863.[5]
Cork Grammar School (boys; 1880s-1970s) and Rochelle School (girls; 1820s-1970s) operated as separate schools until 1972, when they merged.[1] The newly amalgamated co-educational school occupied the Ashton House site, from which its current name was taken. Rochelle House was used for boarding accommodation for a period, before being sold in 1999.[6]
Between 2013 and 2015, additional facilities were developed at the school, and the original Georgian-era building was refurbished.[7] [8] [9]
Alumni
Alumni of Ashton (and, prior to their merger, of Cork Grammar School and Rochelle School) have included:
- Herbert Cassidy, Dean of Armagh[10]
- Paul Colton, academic in law and Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross[11]
- Mary Elmes, humanitarian activist[12]
- Ken Good, Bishop of Derry and Raphoe[13]
- Peter Foott, film director, producer and screenwriter[14]
- Robert Hilliard, boxer for Ireland at the 1924 Olympics, minister at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, and volunteer during the Spanish Civil War[15]
- John Jermyn, Ireland field hockey international who represented Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympics[16]
- Henry McAdoo, Archbishop of Dublin[17]
- Pat O'Hara, former flanker for the Ireland national rugby union team.[18]
- Éanna Hardwicke, actor (The Sixth Commandment, Normal People)[19]
Notes and References
- Web site: Subject Inspection Report - Ashton School . . 15 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210524163838/https://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Inspection-Reports-Publications/Subject-Inspection-Reports-List/81008W_Subject%20Inspection_6668_20171116.pdf . 24 May 2021 .
- Web site: RTÉ Archives - Education - First For Cork Schools. rte.ie. 2015-03-10. 27 December 2017.
- d’Alton . Ian . Educating for Ireland? The Urban Protestant Elite and the Early Years of Cork Grammar School, 1880–1914 . Éire-Ireland . 2011 . 46 . 3 . 201–226 . 10.1353/eir.2011.0024 . 162889380 . .
- Web site: Ashton Grammar School, Blackrock Road, Cork City . . Buildings of Ireland . 2 February 2018 .
- Web site: Rochelle and Cork Grammar School – Education Project. clarehewison.wordpress.com. 26 September 2015 . 27 December 2017.
- Web site: Ashton - History . Ashton School (official website) . Ashton.ie . 14 January 2018 .
- Web site: Projects - Ashton Comprehensive School, Blackrock Road, Cork . Duggan Brothers . https://web.archive.org/web/20180203065003/http://www.dugganbrothers.ie/projects/ashton-school/ . 3 February 2018 . 2 February 2018 . dead .
- Web site: New Ashton School block by Callaghan Engineering . The Business Post . 30 June 2013 . 2 February 2018 .
- Web site: A History of Ashton School by Alicia St Leger . Ashton School . Ashton.ie . 3 December 2016 . [a new] three-storey structure [and] refurbished Sports Hall and the Georgian Cork Grammar School building (Ashton House) which was refurbished during the recent building project – completed and officially re-opened on 27th March 2015 . 2 February 2018 .
- Web site: The Dean who had a profound effect on town's Christian life . JPIMedia Ltd . portadowntimes.co.uk . 24 April 2013 . 5 July 2019 .
- Web site: About - Board of Management . Ashton School . ashton.ie . 5 July 2019 . Bishop [Paul] Colton is a past pupil of the school.
- Web site: Meet Mary Elmes: The Irish woman who saved children from the horror of WWII concentration camps . Irish Examiner . irishexaminer.com . 17 September 2016 . 29 September 2019 . A talented student from Ballintemple [..] Mary Elmes went to school in Rochelle School in Cork.
- Web site: Derry and Raphoe Cof I bishop named . Irish Times . irishtimes.com . 6 July 2019 . The new bishop [Ken Good] was educated at Cork Grammar School and Midleton College, Co Cork.
- Web site: Praise for Cork film 'Young Offenders' . Irish Examiner . irishexaminer.com . 13 August 2016 . 5 July 2019 .
- The Boxing Parson: Killed in Battle of Rio Jarama . May 2002 . Journal of Olympic History . 5 July 2019 .
- News: Olympian John Jermyn visits Ashton and inspires everyone. ashton.ie. 3 July 2019. 18 May 2017.
- Web site: Obituary: The Most Rev Henry McAdoo. The Independent. independent.co.uk . 5 July 2019 . 12 December 1998.
- Web site: Blasts from the past . The Times . thetimes.co.uk . 23 April 2006 . 6 July 2019 . Pat O'Hara The formidable flanker, educated at the non-rugby Ashton school in Cork, [..] wore the green jersey 15 times in all.
- Web site: Ashton student Eanna Hardwicke – a winner at Writer's Week. Ashton School. 6 August 2014. 24 July 2023.
