Portora Royal School located in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, was one of the public schools founded by the

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

in 1608, by

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

, making it one of the oldest schools in Ireland at the time of its closure. Originally called Enniskillen Royal School, the school was established some ten years after the Royal Decree, in 1618, 15 miles outside Enniskillen at Ballybalfour, before moving to Enniskillen in 1661. It was not until 1778 that the school moved to its final location on Portora Hill,

, where the nucleus of the later all boys school was built. The school admitted a mixture of boarders and day pupils for much of its history, but became a day school in the 1990s. On 28 June 2016, Portora Royal School closed. Portora Royal School amalgamated with

Enniskillen Collegiate Grammar School Enniskillen Collegiate Grammar School was a secondary school located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Informally known as the Collegiate, the school was founded under the name the Enniskillen Royal School for Girls in 1916. Th ...

which launched the mixed

Enniskillen Royal Grammar School Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is an academically selective, co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school. The school opened its doors on 1 September 2016. Two former ...

on 1 September 2016, which is partially based on the original site of Portora Hill and the site of Enniskillen Collegiate Grammar School.

Notable headmasters

*1935–1945: I. M. B. Stuart, Ireland rugby footballer.

Old Portorans

* Desmond Arthur, early 20th century pilot *

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

, winner of

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

and the only winner of the Nobel Prize to have played first-class cricket. *

James David Bourchier James David Bourchier (18 December 1850 at Baggotstown, near Bruff in County Limerick – 30 December 1920 in Sofia, Bulgaria) was an Irish journalist and political activist. He lived in Sofia from 1892 to 1915. Bourchier was an honourable mem ...

, journalist and Bulgarian confidantJames Quinn. 2009. ''Bourchier, James David. In James McGuire, James Quinn (ed.), Dictionary of Irish Biography''. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. * Denis Parsons Burkitt, surgeon. * Sir Andrew Clarke, Governor of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

Edward Cooney Edward Cooney (1867–1960) was an Irish evangelist from the 1890s to the 1950s. Cooney was born in Enniskillen, Ireland to William R. Cooney, a wealthy local merchant. He was the third of eight children and joined the family business after fin ...

, Cooneyite founder *

Nigel Dodds Nigel Alexander Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, (born 20 August 1958), is a British unionist politician who has been the Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021, and was the deputy leader of the DUP ...

, politician – MLA and Member of Parliament, Deputy Leader of the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

Charles Duff Charles Duff (7 April 1894 – 15 October 1966) was a Northern Irish writer of books on language acquisition, language learning. He also wrote a popular book on hanging and other means of execution.Introduction to ''A Handbook on Hanging'Retrie ...

, writer and polyglot *

Gordon Dunne Gordon Dunne (4 April 1959 – 20 June 2021) was a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Dunne was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) from 2011 to 2021, representing North ...

, MLA *

Cyril Falls Cyril Bentham Falls CBE (2 March 1888 – 23 April 1971) was a 20th Century British military historian, journalist, and academic, noted for his works on the First World War. Early life Falls was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 2 March 1888, the eld ...

, World War 1 military historian. * Ken Fleming, civil engineer and foundations specialist * James Gamble, founder of

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

. *

Neil Hannon Edward Neil Anthony Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter. He is the creator and front man of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy, and is the band's sole constant member. Hannon wrote the theme tunes for ...

, singer and songwriter *

William Hearn William Hearn may refer to: * William Hearn (legal academic) (1826–1888), Australian university professor and politician * William Hearn (umpire) (1849–1904), English cricketer and Test umpire * William Hearn (rower) (1850–?), New Zealand scu ...

, legal academic. * George Hegarty, World War 1

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

. *

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

Lord Archbishop of Dublin (and formerly Lord Bishop of Clogher) * Sir Jim Kilfedder, former Unionist MP Patrick Maume. 2011. ''Kilfedder, Sir James. In James McGuire, James Quinn (ed.), Dictionary of Irish Biography''. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. *

Dickie Lloyd Richard Averill Lloyd (4 August 1891 – 23 December 1950) was an Irish cricketer and rugby union player. At cricket, he was a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler who played two first-class matches for the Ireland cricket t ...

, cricketer and rugby union player. *

Henry Francis Lyte Henry Francis Lyte (1 June 1793 – 20 November 1847) was an Anglican divine, hymnodist, and poet. Biography Youth and education Henry Francis Lyte was the second son of Thomas and Anna Maria (née Oliver) Lyte, whose family came originally fr ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

minister and Hymn writer Patrick M. Geoghegan. 2009. ''Lyte, Henry Francis. In James McGuire, James Quinn (ed.), Dictionary of Irish Biography''. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. * Billy McComb, world famed entertainer and magician *

Leo McKinstry Leo McKinstry (born 1962) is a British journalist, historian and author. Life and career Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, McKinstry was educated at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated wit ...

, journalist and author * Donald Burgess McNeill, physics academic, transport author, keen rower, and first Esquire Bedale of Southampton University *Sir

Roy McNulty Sir Robert William Roy McNulty, CBE (born 7 November 1937) is a Northern Irish-born businessman. The son of Jack and Nancy McNulty, he was educated at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh and Trinity College Dublin. McNulty was ...

, businessman. *

Vivian Mercier Vivian Mercier (1919–1989) was an Irish people, Irish literary critic. He was born at Clara, County Offaly, Clara in County Offaly and educated, first, at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, and then, at Trinity College Du ...

, literary critic *

E. Charles Nelson (Ernest) Charles Nelson (15 September 1951, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a botanist who specialises in the heather family, Ericaceae, especially ''Erica'', and whose past research interests included the Proteaceae especially '' Adenanthos''. H ...

, botanist. *

Sir Edward Sullivan, 1st Baronet Sir Edward Sullivan, 1st Baronet, PC (Ire) (10 July 1822 – 13 April 1885) was an Irish lawyer, and a Liberal Member of Parliament for Mallow, 1865–1870 in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was als ...

, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. * John Sullivan -

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

.Loobey, John. (2017). ''Blessed John Sullivan: A Man Sent By God''. Dublin: Messenger Publications. . *

Sir Charles Tegart Sir Charles Augustus Tegart (5 October 1881 – 6 April 1946) was an Irish-born police officer who served in British India and Palestine. Tegart was the mastermind behind the creation of the Arab Investigation Centres in Palestine during the ...

, Commissioner of the Indian Police and Palestine fort builder. *

Emily Valentine Emily Frances Valentine, designated the first lady of rugby and "female William Web Ellis" by the media, is the earliest documented female rugby player (at the age of 10) in 1887, and provides the only confirmed record of a woman playing in the ...

- 1st known woman to play rugby *

Brian Goold-Verschoyle Brian Goold-Verschoyle (5 June 1912 – 5 January 1942) was an Irish member of the Communist Party of Great Britain who was recruited by the Soviet NKVD as a courier between its moles and their handlers in London. After being sent as a radio tec ...

- British Communist,

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

veteran, died a victim of

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...

in a Soviet gulag. * Leslie Waddington, art dealer * Peter Webb, cricketer and business executive *

Harry West Henry William West (27 March 1917 – 5 February 2004) was a politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1974 until 1979. Career to Stormont West was born in County Fermanagh and educated at Portora R ...

, politician (

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

leader and Stormont Minister) *

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, playwrightRobinson, James. 2005. ''Pentecostal Origins: Early Pentecostalism in Ireland in the Context of the British Isles: Studies in Evangelical History and Thought''. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: Paternoster, pp. 34–35.. *H.M. French, artist and latinist

Oscar Wilde

Former pupil

won a scholarship to

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, and his name appears on the school's Honours board. There is also an Ulster History Circle Blue Plaque on the school building commemorating him. Wilde's name was painted over in 1895 following his imprisonment for

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

, which was criminalised in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Additionally, initials he had carved into the window casement of a classroom as a student there were removed. His name was later reinstated on the Honours board.

Formation of Enniskillen Royal Grammar School

A proposal by the Department of Education to merge Portora Royal School with the

to form "Enniskillen Royal Grammar School" was approved by the Minister of Education, John O'Dowd, in June 2015 but the matter was taken to the High Court in October 2015 due to much local opposition. The High Court bid to stop the amalgamation of the two Enniskillen grammar schools failed.

References

External links