Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE; ) is an educational institution in

Ballyfermot Ballyfermot () is a suburb town nw of the city aside Dublin, Ireland. It is located, seven kilometres (5 miles) west of the city centre, south of Phoenix Park, it is bordered on the north by Chapelizod, on the south by Bluebell; on the east ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, a college of further and higher education.

Management

Ballyfermot College of Further Education is managed by the City of Dublin Educational and Training Board (CDETB) with a local Board of Management representative of the community and special interests, industry, services and commerce, and students and staff. The CDETB is the statutory agency for vocational and technological education for the City of Dublin. It manages 21 schools and colleges, which cater for 11,000 students. As of 2021, Ms Cecilia Munro was the principal of the college and the deputy principals were Ms Jacqueline Moloney, Dr Denis Murray and Mr Kenneth Rea.

History

The college opened in 1979 as the Senior College Ballyfermot Sr. Dr.

Margaret Mac Curtain Margaret Mac Curtain (1929–2020) was a Dominican sister, Irish historian, writer, and educator. Career Mac Curtain was a native of County Cork, Ireland. She was the daughter of Sean and Ann Mac Curtáin. She received her Bachelor of Arts de ...

OP was its founding principal.Margaret Mac Curtain
Womens International Center. Since then the college has worked with a range of educational and industrial partners to develop and offer a wide range of successful courses in further and higher education. The college caters for students from the age of 17 and upwards. The college offers a choice of 39 courses of Further and Higher Education in 9 departmental.

Senior College Ballyfermot (SCB)

The Senior College opened in September 1979 to provide the Leaving Certificate to students from Ballyfermot. After consultation with local secondary schools, it was decided that students from three of the local schools, Ballyfermot Vocational School, Caritas and St Dominic's, would complete their Leaving Certificate exams in the Senior College. The new school offered a wide range of subjects to the boys and girls in the area. The new College also offered secretarial courses to post Leaving and post-Intermediate Certificate students, as well as pre-employment courses for post-Intermediate students. During the 1980s a range of post-Leaving Cert. courses was introduced into the College, including Preliminary Engineering which had links with

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological Un ...

Bolton Street, Hotel Catering and Tourism courses which had links with CERT, business courses and social care courses. Most of these courses continue today. In the 1990s the Senior College gave up its Leaving Certificate classes, which returned to the local schools and continued to develop Post-Leaving Certificate courses. In 2000 the Senior College changed its name to Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE).

Departments

Within BCFE there are several Departments: Art, Design and Graphics, Moving Images, Business, Engineering, Lifelong Learning, Media, Music, Performance, Management and Sound, Social Care, Television and Film, Travel, Tourism and Reception. The college delivers two degrees, one in Media Production Management (accredited by

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

) and one in Animation (validated by

Dundee University , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , t ...

), and a number of BTEC Higher National Diplomas and

QQI Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI; ga, Dearbhú Cáilíochta agus Cáilíochtaí Éireann) is the national agency responsible for qualifications in Ireland. It was established by the Oireachtas in 2012 following the amalgamation of the ...

Level 5 courses.

Buildings

There are 3 separate buildings within BCFE college. The Main Building and Media Building are side by side, to the left of Ballyfermot Road if coming from the city centre direction. The Arts building is located a short distance away on Kylemore Road.

Alumni

* Sara Baume, novelist *

Sarah Breen Sarah Breen is an Irish journalist and co-author of the ''Aisling'' series of novels. Background Breen is from Borris, County Carlow. After leaving secondary school in 2000, she studied languages at Dublin City University for a year. In 2003, ...

, author * Junior Brother, musician * Daragh O'Connell, co-founder of Brown Bag Films, animation graduate 1992 *

Eileen Flynn Eileen Roche, née Flynn (1955 – 9 September 2008) was a schoolteacher in County Wexford, Ireland, who was dismissed in 1982 for cohabiting with a married man.985IEHC 1, sec.10 In 1985, the High Court ruled this did not constitute unfair d ...

, member of the 26th Seanad *

Riyadh Khalaf Riyadh Khalaf (born 7 February 1991) is an Irish broadcaster, author, activist, and YouTube personality who has worked in the media industry in Ireland, Australia and the UK. Early life Born to Irish mother Lorraine and Iraqi father Sam, Khala ...

Celebrity Masterchef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2 ...

winner 2020,

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

influencer * Emer McLysaght, journalist and author *

Tomm Moore Thomas "Tomm" Moore (born 7 January 1977) is an Irish filmmaker, animator, illustrator and comics artist. He co-founded Cartoon Saloon with Nora Twomey and Paul Young, an animation studio and production company based in Kilkenny, Ireland. His ...

, co-founder of

Cartoon Saloon Cartoon Saloon is an Irish animation film, short film and television studio based in Kilkenny which provides film TV and short film services. The studio is best known for its animated feature films '' The Secret of Kells'', ''Song of the Sea'', ...

Aidan Power Aidan Power (born 30 March 1979) is an Irish television and radio presenter. Career Born in Templeogue, Dublin, Power was educated at St. Mac Dara's community college and then Ballyfermot Senior College where he obtained a diploma in broadca ...

, television and radio presenter *

Mairead Ronan Mairead Ronan (; born 3 April 1980) is an Irish television and radio presenter. Early life Ronan was born in Finglas on the Northside of Dublin. She attended a HR Management course after leaving school, but switched to a media course at Ballyf ...

, television and radio presenter *

Nora Twomey Nora Twomey (born 31 October 1971) is an Irish animator, director, screenwriter, producer and voice actress. She is best known as the co-founder of Cartoon Saloon, alongside Tomm Moore and Paul Young, an animation studio and production company, ...

, co-founder of

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

, co-founder and CEO of

References

External links

Ballyfermot College of Further Education
* https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/animators-are-drawing-praise-1.48902 * https://www.awn.com/blog/tonight-reunion-ballyers {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballyfermot College Of Further Education Further education colleges in South Dublin (county)