Clonkeen College is a Christian Brothers secondary school for boys in south

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 ...

, which opened in 1970. Clonkeen College has approximately 550 students and 35 teaching staff. Edward Melly is the principal and Michael Brennan is the Deputy Principal. The school has strong links with charities and the developing world. Clonkeen underwent significant development between the years 2015 – 2018.

History

The

Ordnance Survey Ireland Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI; ga, Suirbhéireacht Ordanáis Éireann) is the national mapping agency of Ireland. It was established on 4 March 2002 as a body corporate. It is the successor to the former Ordnance Survey of Ireland. It and the ...

map 1837–1842 shows ''Clonkeen School Ho se', located in the present day

Cornelscourt Cornelscourt () is a small suburban area within the traditional County Dublin, now in the jurisdiction of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. Situated between Cabinteely and Foxrock, it is a primarily residential area, but is perhaps best known for bein ...

Village. Although the same building appears on the OSI 1888–1913 map, it is not named as a school any more. The original junior school was St. Joseph's Private Preparatory School, built in September 1965 close to where the present Clonkeen College stands. It was run by a staff of three Christian Brothers until the school was closed in 1975. The secondary school was also called St. Joseph's, until renamed Clonkeen College. The present school stands on the site of

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...

’s second last public meeting. The first pupils to the current school were admitted in the autumn of 1970, there was one fifth year and two third year classes (there was no fourth year then). Thirteen students completed the first

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

. The school principal was Br. Jo Hogan; other original teachers were Br. Collins and Mr. B. Toomey. The school was officially opened by David Andrews TD on 31 January 1972.

Facilities

*Three full-sized Gaelic football pitches and one training pitch, used for

gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

and soccer *One indoor basketball court (in the gymnasium) *Four science labs *A hall that acts as an auditorium for theatrical productions *A sports hall *A functioning gym *An art room *2 computer rooms *Special needs unit

Subjects offered

Junior cycle subjects

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

*French *

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

*Science *

Business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, a ...

*Art *

Civic, social and political education Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) was a Junior Cycle, Junior Certificate subject offered in Ireland from 1997 to 2019. CSPE was a mandatory, non-academic subject that was mainly focused on project work. CSPE was offered only at Common L ...

Religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...

Physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

*Music

Senior cycle subjects

*French *

*History *

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

*Business *Economics *Accounting *Art *

*Music *Design communication graphics *

Classical studies Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

– extracurricular *

Applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathematical s ...

– extracurricular * LCVP – extracurricular

Transition year (TY)

The year's main outing is a tour organised by the TY co-ordinator. Classes have visited

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the histo ...

, Paris,

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Madrid,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Amsterdam and

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

. During the year the students have the opportunity to do courses such as:

Self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

, ECDL,

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

, FAI coaching, and

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

. New subjects in the transition year are cooking, music, effective communication, German, Japanese and technical drawing. The students have an opportunity to attain a Gaisce\Presidents Award. Students visit educational and historical sites like

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral ( ir, Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland ca ...

, and

Glendalough Glendalough (; ) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for an Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. From 1825 to 1957, the head of the Glendalough Valley was the site of a galena lead mine. ...

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

Kilmainham Gaol Kilmainham Gaol ( ga, Príosún Chill Mhaighneann) is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leade ...

and the

National Art Gallery List of national galleries is a list of national art galleries. {{tocright Africa *Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa *National Art Gallery of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia The Americas *Galería Nacional, San Juan, Puerto ...

. Every few years, the opportunity arrises for Transition Years to do a musical. The most recent musical was conducted showing of Buggsy Malone in 2018.

Clonkeen student council

Students have input into the schools running in the form of a

student council A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...

of class representatives from all years, who are elected by their peers. Since its inception, the Clonkeen College Student Council has shown a large involvement in the running of the school. The council meets weekly to discuss projects or issues. The council is composed of twenty four

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

s. Prefects carry out a variety of tasks and act as the link between the students and the management of the school. Each year the council focuses on one major project. In the past they have had water fountains installed in the junior and senior corridors; more recently they had formal shoes and school jackets introduced to the uniform. Annually, the council, in conjunction with the Parents Council and the Cluny Student Council, organise a "Ball in the Hall" to welcome Clonkeen's new first year students. Council meetings are chaired by the chairman and the Secretary takes minutes. A Councillor's term of office runs from December of their election to December of the following year. The only exception is with the 1st year representatives who will be allowed until Halloween to settle into the secondary school life.

Social events

The First Year Social, or "Ball in the Hall", is a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

for the first year students of Clonkeen College and St. Joseph of Cluny,

Killiney Killiney () is an affluent seaside resort and suburb in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring Dalkey, east of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century Killiney Churc ...

girls' school. The Social Committee contact and work with the Cluny Student Council and jointly organise and run the ball, liaising with the principals and Parents Councils. Every September, past pupils and friends of the school are invited to a "Golf Day" (and night).

Sports

Inter-school sports

*Athletics (track and field) The school participates in Christian Brother and east Leinster

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

competitions. *Cross country running Clonkeen enters runners in the under-15 and under-17 east Leinster

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

competitions. *Gaelic football The school enters

teams into 1st year, under-14, under-16 and under-18 competitions. They have won three Dublin titles in 1975, 1976 and 2003, the under14 team also came runner up in the Leinster championship of 2003. *Golf 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students take part in the Dublin junior match play

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

competition. *Hurling The hurlers play in 1st year, under-14, under-16 and under-18

competitions. *Soccer The school has soccer teams entered into competitions at under-14, under-16 and under-18 level.

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

Junior Champions, runner up to

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

in 1981–1982 *Chess The first Clonkeen College

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

team was formed in 2007 and took part in the Scholastic Chess All-Ireland. *International Rules Football In 2006 Clonkeen hosted Southern Cross college and the two schools competed in a friendly

international rules football International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was develope ...

match, which Clonkeen won.

Club sports

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

Extracurricular activities

*Public Speaking The school's

public speaking Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

team have participated in the

Mental Health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

Public Speaking Competition. *Drama Clonkeen has long had the tradition of performing annual Christmas

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

s, such as

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...

in late 2007, but have recently begun performing musicals as well, with

Footloose (musical) ''Footloose'' is a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film of the same name. The music is by Tom Snow (among others), the lyrics by Dean Pitchford (with additional lyrics by Kenny Loggins), and the book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie. Plot Act 1 ("F ...

having been seen there in the Spring of 2012, and

Disco Inferno (musical) ''Disco Inferno'' is a 1970s jukebox musical written by Jai Sepple. Set in the East End of London in 1976, the show features songs from the era and is loosely based on the story of ''Faust''. Original productions The musical debuted at the Quee ...

the following year, 2013. *Annual adventure holidays Every year students are accompanied by several teachers on an outdoor pursuits week in the

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...

. *BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition The school enters Irelands

Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition The BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, commonly called the Young Scientist Exhibition, is an Irish annual school students' science competition that has been held in the Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Ireland, every January since the co ...

and won the competition in 1992. *Other activities The school offers students music classes, hosts

quiz A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which players attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several specific topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief Educational assessment, assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth ...

zes for both students and adults connected to the school, internal leagues provide sporting opportunities to students who may miss the chance to play for a school team. The school has an annual

sports day Sports days (British English) or field days (American English) are events staged by many schools and offices in which people participate in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of winning trophies or prizes. Though they are often h ...

open to entry from all the students.

Notable alumni

* Stephen Byrne – (

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

) presente

*

Oisin Gough Oisín (, approximately ) is an Irish male given name; meaning "fawn" or "little deer", derived from the Old Irish word ("deer") + ''-ín'' (diminutive suffix). It is sometimes anglicized as Osheen ( ) or spelt without the diacritic (''fada''), ...

– Dublin Hurler * Alan Judge – professional footballer * Jason Knight - professional footballer for Derby County F.C and

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 ...

national team *

Tommy Lyons Tommy Lyons is an Irish former Gaelic football manager and player from County Mayo who managed two inter-county teams. He was also a regular panellist/analyst on RTÉ's '' The Sunday Game''. Although born in County Mayo, Lyons considers him ...

– former Dublin football manage

*

Colum McCann Colum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and now lives in New York. He is a Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence at Hunter College, New York. McCann's work has been published in over 40 languages, and ...

– international writer and novelis

* Kevin Nolan (Gaelic footballer), Kevin Nolan – Dublin Gaelic Footballer *

Darren O'Dea Darren O'Dea (born 4 February 1987) is an Irish retired professional football player, who is currently the coach of Celtic B team. O'Dea has played as a centre back for clubs in Scotland, England, Canada, Ukraine and India, and represented th ...

– professional footballer *

Glenn Quinn Glenn Martin Christopher Francis Quinn (28 May 1970 – 3 December 2002) was an Irish actor, best known for his portrayal of Mark Healy on the 1990s family sitcom '' Roseanne'' and his role as the half-demon Allen Francis Doyle on ''Angel'', a s ...

– television and film actor (deceased) * David Treacy – Dublin Hurler * Prof. Philip Nolan - Director General of

Science Foundation Ireland Science Foundation Ireland (SFI; ga, Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann) is the statutory body in Ireland with responsibility for funding oriented basic and applied research in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM ...

, former NPHET chair, former president of

Maynooth University The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It ...

, former deputy president of

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

References

External links

Clonkeen College website
{{Authority control Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland Educational institutions established in 1965 Secondary schools in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Congregation of Christian Brothers secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland 1965 establishments in Ireland