The North Monastery (

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 ...

: ''An Mhainistir Thuaidh''), commonly known as The Mon,Official website
/ref> is a co-educational education campus comprising Scoil Mhuire Fatima Primary School, North Monastery Co-educational Secondary and

Gaelcholáiste A Gaelcholáiste is a secondary school on the island of Ireland (in either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland) located outside Gaeltacht areas, where Irish is the primary language of teaching and communication. Gaelcholáistí are sup ...

Mhuire AG located at Our Lady's Mount, Cork,

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 ...

History

The North Monastery was founded on 9 November 1811 when Brother Jerome O'Connor and Brother John Baptist Leonard were given charge of a school in Chapel Lane by the Bishop of Cork, Rev Dr Moylan. Seventeen students attended on the first day. In 1814, a 14-acre sloping site was acquired from a wealthy

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 ...

businessman, Sir George Goold,

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

, and a new school was built. The North Monastery had found its permanent home. An outbreak of typhus fever in the city in 1816 saw the school being used as a temporary hospital. Brother Griffin, a poet and novelist, became a member of the North Monastery in 1839. He died on 12 June 1840 in his 37th year. His remains are interred in the cemetery in the grounds of the school. It was shortly after the death of Griffin that

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

visited with the Founder of the Order, Edmund Ignatius Rice. In 1857, Brother James Burke arrived at the North Monastery and under his guidance the students began the study of natural philosophy (science). At this time

John Philip Holland John Philip Holland ( ga, Seán Pilib Ó hUallacháin/Ó Maolchalann) (24 February 184112 August 1914) was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, ''Ho ...

( inventor of the submarine) studied under the guidance of Br. Burke. In 1879, Patrick J. Kennedy, a past pupil, was installed as Lord Mayor of Cork, the first of a long and distinguished list of past pupils to hold this office. In 1901 the Lord Mayor of Cork, Edward Fitzgerald, organised an Industrial Exhibition. The school represented the Department of Education and Br. Burke and his students built an electric tramway which was the high point of the exhibition. Burke died on 23 March 1904 as the result of an accident and was accorded a public funeral with a procession through the streets of Cork city. He was buried in the cemetery at the North Monastery. In 1911, the school celebrated its centenary and the Br. Burke Memorial Extension, was formally opened in 1913. On the advent of the First World War the British army confiscated lathes, drilling machines and other machinery from the school. They closed and sealed the wireless room and cut down the aerial mast. These precautions were carried out under the Defence of the Realm Act. In March 1920, Lord Mayor

Tomás Mac Curtain Tomás Mac Curtain (20 March 1884 – 20 March 1920) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Cork until he was assassinated by the Royal Irish Constabulary. He was elected in January 1920. Background Tomás Mac Curt ...

, a past pupil, paid an official visit to the school and addressed the boys in Irish. Shortly afterwards he was murdered at midnight by a gang of armed assassins. He was given a public funeral at which nearly 2,000 North Monastery boys marched in procession.

Terence McSwiney Terence James MacSwiney (; ga, Toirdhealbhach Mac Suibhne; 28 March 1879 – 25 October 1920) was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He ...

, who was also a past pupil, was his successor. He died in October 1920 in Brixton prison after 74 days on hunger strike. The school continued to flourish and produced many more past pupils who distinguished themselves in all walks of life including business, politics, sport, the arts and academia, including former Taoiseach and sportsman Jack Lynch who formally opened a new secondary school building in 1967.

Notable former pupils

Academic

* Tadhg Begley, Professor at Cornell and Texas A & M universities * Patrick F. Fottrell, Professor and President at NUI Galway * Vincent Barry, credited with the development of the compound used to cure leprosy.

Arts

Jonathan Rhys Meyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor, model and musician. He is known for his roles in the films ''Michael Collins'' (1996), '' Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus'' (1999), '' Bend It Like ...

, actor *

Edward Mulhare Edward Mulhare (8 April 1923 – 24 May 1997) was an Irish actor whose career spanned five decades. He is best known for his starring roles in two television series: '' The Ghost & Mrs. Muir'' and ''Knight Rider''. Early life and career Mulha ...

, actor * Niall Tobin, actor * Frank O'Connor, short story writer * Joe Lynch, actor * Donal Farmer, actor *

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Due to his virtuosic playing, but relative lack of fame compared to some others, he has been referred to as "the greatest ...

, blues rock guitarist * Matt Cooper, journalist and radio presenter *

Seán Ó Ríordáin Seán Pádraig Ó Ríordáin (3 December 1916 – 21 February 1977), sometimes referred to as an Ríordánach, was an Irish language poet and later a newspaper columnist. He is credited with introducing European themes to Irish poetry, and is wi ...

, poet

Politicians

* Jack Lynch,

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

and Cork hurler *

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork ( ga, Ard-Mhéara Chathair Chorcaí) is the honorific title of the Chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach) of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected annu ...

, Lord Mayor of Cork * Donal O'Callaghan, Lord Mayor of Cork

Sport

* Johnny Clifford, hurler *

Paddy Collins Paddy "Fox" Collins (12 April 1903 – 17 February 1995) was an Irish hurler who played as a left corner-back for the Cork senior team. Born in Kinsale, County Cork, Collins first played competitive hurling during his schooling at The North ...

, hurler * Con Murphy, hurler *

Mick Kennefick Michael Kennefick (14 July 1924 – 20 December 1984) was an Irish hurler who played as a left wing-forward at senior level for the Cork county team. Kennefick joined the team during the 1942 championship and was a regular member of the st ...

, hurler * John Buckley, hurler *

Dónal O'Grady Dónal O'Grady (born 31 December 1953) is an Irish former hurler and manager. O'Grady had a successful playing career as a full-back at senior level with the Cork county team throughout the early 1980s. In a brief career he won one All-Irelan ...

, hurler *

Tomás Mulcahy Tomás Mulcahy (born 26 June 1963) is an Irish former hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a right corner-forward at senior level for the Cork county team. Born in Blackpool, Cork, Mulcahy first played competitive Gaelic games durin ...

, hurler and footballer *

Tony O'Sullivan Anthony "Tony" O'Sullivan (born 7 January 1963) is an Irish retired hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a right wing-forward for the Cork senior hurling team. Born in Farranree, Cork, O'Sullivan first played competitive Gaelic games ...

, hurler and footballer * Kieran McGuckin, hurler * Teddy McCarthy, hurler and footballer * Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, hurler *

Setanta Ó hAilpín Setanta Ó hAilpín (born 18 March 1983) is a Fijian-Irish sportsman. He played hurling at senior level for the Cork county team before becoming a professional Australian rules footballer. Ó hAilpín is of mixed Irish and Rotuman backgroun ...

, hurler * Aisake Ó hAilpín, hurler * Patrick Horgan, hurler * Mark Carroll, Olympic athlete * Ciaran Teehan , Darts

Notable former teachers

, inventor of the submarine *

, former hurler and manager

References

External links

Primary School Official SiteSecondary School Official SiteGaelscoil website
{{Cork City Secondary schools in County Cork Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland 1811 establishments in Ireland Educational institutions established in 1811