St Jarlath's College () is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

secondary school for young men in

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

, County Galway. The college was founded in 1800 and in 2009 absorbed St. Patrick's College, Tuam. The College, which operates under patronage of the

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church. Histor ...

, is named after Jarlath, or ''Iarlaith'', who founded a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

in the town when, as legend has it, his chariot wheel broke. The enrolment numbers in 2022 are 595.

History

Foundation

The original St Jarlath's College was founded in 1800 by the

Edward Dillon, with the aim of preparing young boys for seminars formation at

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

. Dr Dillon had to seek permission to establish the college from the Protestant Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Beresford. It began with two thatched cottages at the Mall, Tuam later moving to a new building in Bishop Street, now commonly known as "the Old College". Its first president was Rev Oliver Kelly, who later became Archbishop of Tuam. In 1824, the facilities of the College were enlarged by the erection of additional houses in Bishop Street and in 1856, the site of the present college and grounds was bought by Archbishop John McHale. This property was known as Keighrey's Park and a portion of it was used as the town's fair green. McHale continued to set it as a fair green to the town commissioners at a yearly rent of 30 until 1875 in which year the college was extensively enlarged by the addition of two wings to the first building which had been erected in 1858. In 1851, Archbishop John McHale invited the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened i ...

to Tuam. The invitation resulted in the birth of Tuam CBS, and later St Patrick's College, a Catholic day secondary school, which was to play a not insignificant role in the education of young men from the lower orders in Tuam.

Amalgamation

Plans to amalgamate St Patrick's And St Jarlath’s colleges had first been suggested in the late 1990s. At that time, a new school building had been promised by the Government. However, no such building materialised. The phasing out of boarding in St Jarlath's led to a reduced enrolment. In March 2008, Archbishop Michael Neary (bishop), a trustee of both schools, announced to staff that the amalgamation would proceed in the absence of a new school building. The amalgamation process commenced in September 2008 with enrollment of all first year students in St Jarlath's. The process was completed in September 2009 when students from both schools amalgamated into the new school, in the old St Jarlath's building.

Opera

Starting with ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' in 1944, the college's Amateur Operatic Society has performed a yearly musical or opera for the local community. The 1969 production,

The Quaker Girl ''The Quaker Girl'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in three acts with a book by James T. Tanner, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, and music by Lionel Monckton. In its story, ''The Quaker Girl'' contrasts dour Quaker morality with Pa ...

was the first to be held in conjunction with Mercy Convent, Tuam. The 2008 Opera was also in conjunction with St Patrick's College, due to the amalgamation process in progress at the time. The tradition of the annual Opera was continued following the amalgamation, the 2009 Opera being the first production of the newly amalgamated school. The Opera has been successful in recent years in the

Connacht Tribune The ''Connacht Tribune'' (''An Curadh Connachtach'') is a newspaper circulating chiefly in County Galway, Ireland. The main regional newspaper for the county, the Tribune Group prints two titles every week - the ''Connacht Tribune'' on Thursday ...

organised musical awards, winning a Best Overall and a Best Chorus award in 2008 for Hot Mikado.

Sport

The St Jarlath's College's senior football team hold the prestigious record of winning the

Hogan Cup The Hogan Cup ( ga, Corn Uí Ógáin), also known as the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Football Championship, is the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools (sometimes referred to as colleges) in Ireland. The com ...

12 times – the first time in 1947 - more than any other school, and have also been runners-up on a further 14 occasions. The college also holds the record for winning the most

Connacht Colleges Senior Football Championship Connacht colleges senior football "A" championship, is the top level Gaelic football competition for secondary schools in Connacht. They compete for the Aonghus Murphy Memorial Cup. The winners advance to the Hogan Cup, the All-Ireland colleg ...

s, with an outstanding 49 wins. Since amalgamation, the school has won three Connacht Senior titles, reaching the

Final in 2011. Under the management of Joe Burke, and captained by

Ian Burke Ian Burke is a Gaelic footballer from Corofin, County Galway, who played at senior level for the Galway county team. In November 2018, Burke won an All-Star award. It was Galway's first football All-Star since 2003. Career Burke plays hi ...

from Corofin, the school narrowly lost out to St Colman's College, Newry by just one point.

Sporting honours

: 2022(*covid year)) *Paddy Buggy Cup (All-Ireland Colleges Senior 'B' Hurling Championship) : 1 *

: 2 (2011, 2012, 2022) *

Runners-Up : 1 (2011)

Notable staff

* J. J. Cribbin — worked as Prefect of Studies * Elaine Feeney — Irish writer * Michael Meehan — the former

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

Gaelic footballer teaches mathematics

Selected past pupils

John Birmingham John Birmingham (born 7 August 1964) is a British-born Australian author, known for the 1994 memoir ''He Died with a Felafel in His Hand'', and his ''Axis of Time'' trilogy. Early life and education Birmingham was born in Liverpool, United ...

— well known amateur geologist and astronomer * John Blowick — co-founder of the

Missionary Society of St. Columban The Missionary Society of St. Columban ( la, Societas Sancti Columbani pro Missionibus ad Exteros) (abbreviated as S.S.C.M.E. or SSC), commonly known as the Columbans, is a missionary Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right foun ...

* Thomas Carr — former archbishop of Melbourne, Australia * Enda Colleran — former Gaelic footballer for, and later manager of,

* Damien Comer — Gaelic footballer for

* J. J. Cribbin — Gaelic footballer for

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

, played for the school team * Seán Óg De Paor — former Gaelic footballer for

* Michael Donnellan — former Gaelic footballer for

* Patrick Duggan — former bishop of Clonfert * Peter Fallon — Columban priest kidnapped and killed by Japanese forces in 1945 in the Philippines *

Seán Flanagan Seán Flanagan (26 January 1922 – 5 February 1993) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and Gaelic footballer. He served as Minister for Health from 1966 to 1969, Minister for Lands from 1969 to 1973 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minist ...

— Fianna Fáil politician and Gaelic footballer * John Heneghan — Columban priest kidnapped and killed by Japanese forces in 1945, in the Philippines, alongside Peter Fallon * Jim Higgins —

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

for the North–West constituency of Ireland * Monsignor James Horan — Parish Priest of Knock, responsible for the building of Ireland West Airport *

Colm Keaveney Colm Keaveney (born 11 January 1971) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was elected as a Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway East constituency at the 2011 general election, He sat as an Independent TD after losing the Labour wh ...

— TD, Labour Party and Fianna Fáil * Thomas J. Kelly — Irish Nationalist and former leader of the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

* Mark Killilea — politician, former

for the North–West Constituency * Michael P. Kitt — former

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the Galway East constituency * Tom Kitt — former Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South constituency * Patrick Lavelle - nicknamed ''Patriot Priest Of Partry'' * Seamus Leydon — former Gaelic footballer for

Patrick Anthony Ludden Patrick Anthony Ludden (February 4, 1836 – August 6, 1912) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Syracuse in New York from 1887 until his death in 1912. Biography Earl ...

— first bishop of Syracuse, New York *

Michael Lyster Michael Lyster (born 11 April 1954) is an Irish radio and television broadcaster who works for RTÉ. He mainly covers sporting events, such as Gaelic games and Olympic Games. He is best known for presenting '' The Sunday Game Live'', which he h ...

— former RTÉ presenter *

Kevin McStay Kevin McStay (born 9 May 1962) is an Irish Gaelic football Manager (Gaelic games), manager, commentator, analyst and former Gaelic football, player. He has been manager of the senior Mayo county football team, Mayo county team since 2022. McSta ...

— former Gaelic footballer, played for the school team * Michael Meehan — former Gaelic footballer for

* Michael Neary — current archbishop of Tuam * Patrick O’Boyle- Bishop of Killala, 1950-1970 *

John O'Connor Power John O'Connor Power (13 February 1846 – 21 February 1919) was an Irish Fenian and a Home Rule League and Irish Parliamentary Party politician and as MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland represented Ma ...

— M.P. for Mayo (1874-1885), Orator * John O'Donohoe QC — Senator for Ontario, Canada (1882-1902) *

Seán Purcell Seán Purcell (17 December 1928– 27 August 2005), was a Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Galway county team. Best known as a centre half-forward, he played in most outfield positions during his career. In 2009 he was ...

— Gaelic footballer for County Galway * John Sheehy — former British colonial official * Tomás Tierney — former Gaelic footballer for

and

Presidents

St. Jarlath's College

St Jarlath's College (post-amalgamation)

References

External links

Tuam Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Jarlath's College 1801 establishments in Ireland Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in Tuam Catholic secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland Educational institutions established in 1801 Secondary schools in County Galway