Dundalk Grammar School, is an independent school in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, County Louth. The school is co-educational with both primary and secondary departments. It is one of a small number of schools in Ireland offering students an education from school entry (4 years) until school leaving age (18–19 years). The Junior school offers an 8-year primary programme. Most students enter the secondary school at 12 years old and complete a six-year cycle where

Junior Certificate Junior Cycle ( ga, An tSraith Shóisearach ) is the first stage of the education programme for post-primary education within the Republic of Ireland. It is overseen by the State Examinations Commission of the Department of Education, the Stat ...

Transition Year Transition Year (TY) ( ga, Idirbhliain) is an optional one-year school programme that can be taken in the year after the Junior Certificate in Ireland. However, depending on school population and funding it may not be available, and in other sch ...

, and Leaving Certificate programs are completed

Background

Dundalk Grammar School was founded in 1739 as a Charter School by the Incorporated Society for Promoting Protestant Schools in Ireland. In 1835 it was reorganised, largely by the Rev. Elias Thackeray, as the Dundalk Educational Institution. It was in abeyance during World War I, and in 1921 was revived by a local committee and reconstituted as Dundalk Grammar School. This committee was later enlarged and became the Board of Governors. The Governors are assisted by the school's Board of Management, which has representatives from the Governors, staff and parents. The school has its roots in the Church of Ireland (Anglican) tradition and now operates under a management body which reflects its Protestant ethos. The school body is multi-denominational. Over the last two decades the number of pupils at secondary level has increased to approximately five hundred and fifty, of whom roughly one hundred are members of the boarding department which offers weekly boarding for students from 11–18 years.

Notable past pupils

* Richard Best, politician; Attorney General (NI)
Sir William Henry Thompson
physician * Sir Gordon Morgan Holmes, neurologistProfile
brain.oxfordjournals.org; accessed 3 May 2015.
Canon Rev David Henry Hall
Church of Ireland clergyman and public housing reformer
Leslie Alexander Montgomery
author (under pseudonym Lynn C. Doyle) * Lieutenant James Samuel Emerson -

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

(France 1917) * Lieutenant William David Kenny -

(India 1920) * Ian Clarke, computer scientist * Nigel Cox, artist *

Colin O'Donoghue Colin Arthur O'Donoghue (born 26 January 1981) is an Irish actor and musician, best known for portraying Captain Killian "Hook" Jones on the ABC TV show '' Once Upon a Time''. He appeared in the 2011 horror thriller film '' The Rite'' (2011 ...

, actor * John McGahon,

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

Senator

References

External links

Dundalk Grammar School profile
isbi.com; accessed 27 August 2015. {{Private schools in the Republic of Ireland Educational institutions established in 1739 Private schools in the Republic of Ireland Secondary schools in County Louth Boarding schools in Ireland 1739 establishments in Ireland