Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a
voluntary
Voluntary may refer to:
* Voluntary (music)
* Voluntary or volunteer, person participating via volunteering/volunteerism
* Voluntary muscle contraction
See also
* Voluntary action
* Voluntariness, in law and philosophy
* Voluntaryism
Volunt ...
day and
boarding 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
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown,
Blackrock
BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...
,
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
,
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 ...
. It was founded by French missionary
Jules Leman in 1860 as a school and later became also a civil service training centre.
The college, from Dublin city centre, is just in from the sea, and is self-contained, with boarding and teaching facilities in 56 acres of parkland. It accommodates approximately 1,000 day and boarding students. As of 2021, Blackrock is run by the Congregation of the Holy Ghost in close co-operation with a dedicated group of lay personnel.
History
The college was founded in 1860 by
Jules Leman, a French missionary with the
Congregation of the Holy Ghost, and was the first of the order's five schools in Ireland. Leman had a dual aim, namely to train personnel for missionary service in the Third World and to provide a first-class Roman Catholic education for Irish boys.
[Seán Farragher, ''Père Leman 1826–1880: Educator and Missionary, founder of Blackrock College'' (Paraclete Press, Dublin and London, 1988), p. 273–275] It was originally known as the ''French College'' by the locals. A
civil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
training and university department (where students were examined and had degrees conferred by the
Royal University of Ireland
The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the ''University Education (Ireland) Act 1879'' as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on 27 Apri ...
) was later added and operated for over forty years, until
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 ...
grew, and the school focused more on the secondary curriculum.
[
Although never a seminary, some ordinations have taken place in Blackrock College. The first ordination there was on 22 April 1900, when Emile Allgeyer (a former student of Blackrock and the first to be made a bishop), ordained Joseph Shanahan who later became a bishop and has a house named after him within the school. From 1924 until 1933 the Holy Ghost Fathers studied theology at Blackrock Castle, before returning to Kimmage Manor.
In June 1932, college president ]John Charles McQuaid
John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp. (28 July 1895 – 7 April 1973), was the Catholic Primate of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin between December 1940 and January 1972. He was known for the unusual amount of influence he had over successive governme ...
, hosted a large garden party on the grounds of the college to welcome the papal legate, Lorenzo Lauri
Lorenzo Lauri (15 October 1864 – 8 October 1941) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Major Penitentiary from 1927 and Camerlengo from 1939 until his death and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1926.
Biography
...
, where the many hundreds of bishops assembled for the Eucharistic Congress of Dublin (1932)
The 31st International Eucharistic Congress, held in Dublin 22–26 June 1932, was one of the largest eucharistic congresses of the 20th century. Ireland was then home to over three million Catholics and It was selected to host the congress as ...
had the opportunity to mingle with a huge gathering of distinguished guests, including president of the executive council, Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...
, and others who had paid a modest subscription fee.
Heraldry
The coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of the college is the third creation, dating back to 1936, and shows a blue cross and a dove in its natural colours on a silver field, with a lion rampant
The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christia ...
in the first quarter. This is blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
ed in the 1937 College Annual as follows:
ARGENT: - On a Cross Azure, the Dove of the Holy Ghost, Proper, with seven Rays descendant, Or. In the first quarter a Lion rampant of the second.
On 30 April 1926 Leen at a sports day speech encapsulated the words ''Fides et Robur'', which henceforth became the Rock motto. In 1928, a new College Crest, bearing four emblems around a blue cross was hurriedly officiated, primarily to show off the Fides Et Robur motto over the college's specially built new front gates. Not everyone was happy with this design and possible variations of a new design may have been experimented with; evidence exists that both in the crest and in the uniform, by reason of fault or debate, and most likely between 1928 and 1936, a distinctive crest had been "with nine rays descendant, Or". In 1936, McQuaid instigated a new and distinctive crest that to this day is in continual use (unchecked variations and wayward deviations are contracted into stores by stationery and uniform suppliers). It was adopted on blazers that year and a heraldic description of the arms of the college was published (though not officially registered) in the 1937 Blackrock College Annual. It was commissioned into stained glass in 1938, presumably in its true and intended likeness and survives today at the end of one of the house corridors, though its conformity to the true heraldic interpretations is not accurate; "a Lion Rampant of the second" would correctly reveal only a blue silhouette of a rampant lion, that is, minus any fine caricature details so apparent in the existing variations.
Status and operation
Blackrock is now run by the Congregation of the Holy Ghost in close co-operation with a dedicated group of lay personnel. The annual fees for students in 2011 were €6,300 for day boys, €17,250 for boarders and €18,250 for overseas borders.
The college and its sister schools in Ireland are today held in trust by the Des Places Educational Association, which, as the college's patron, aims to maintain the Spiritan ethos in all five schools – Blackrock, Rockwell, St. Mary's, St. Michael's and Templeogue
Templeogue () is a southwestern suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It lies between the River Poddle and River Dodder, and is about halfway from Dublin's centre to the mountains to the south.
Geography Location
The centre of Templeogue is from bo ...
– conducted by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit in Ireland.
Curriculum
The curriculum offered is broad, covering all common subjects in the State Examinations including Latin, German, art, music, business, materials technology wood, science and history. Inspections by the Department of Education found exemplary standards of teaching and learning. The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
placed the college in the "Top Ten" schools in the state, based on the proportion of students who accept a place in higher or further education. There are dedicated facilities for home economics and materials technology.
College buildings
The college consists mainly of two buildings, the junior cycle and transition year building and the more modern senior cycle building. These two buildings are connected via the central St. Patricks Corridor and the entrance corridor. Several other wings contain community facilities as well as other classrooms and subject-specific rooms. The quadrangle or "quad" is a large green area surrounded by the senior wing, the chapel and St. Mary's Corridor. The campus is and contains nine rugby pitches, a cricket lawn, an athletics track, an indoor swimming pool, a gym, six tennis courts, basketball courts, hammer throw field and indoor halls.
Apart from classrooms and three study halls, there are nine science laboratories, a woodwork room, a radio studio, three computer rooms, digital communications and graphics room, an art room, a choir hall, a multimedia room and a home economics kitchen. The college also contains a refectory, chapel, creative arts and digital learning centre, lecture halls and a stage which hosts student-run dramatic productions. The college is undergoing an extensive modernisation programme, currently, the pitches are being transformed and roads around the school rerouted.
Boarding school
The boarding school is housed in Williamstown Castle (known by students as "The Castle"). Williamstown Castle was built around 1780 on lands rented by the Fitzwilliams, later Pembrokes, to Counsellor William Vavasour. It resembled other spacious houses in the area including Willow Park and Castledawson, but a later owner, Thomas O'Mara, extensively redeveloped the building and its surrounds, adding the castellated finish, hence making it into a 'castle'. O'Mara had acted as an election agent for 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 ...
, who dined in the castle on occasion, and for years a portrait of O'Connell adorned the room which is now the oratory. Niall MacDermott is the director of boarding in the college. The boarding school contains around 100 students. Boarding is available from first year up to sixth year. Some day boys join the boarding school in 6th year in preparation for their 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 ...
. Boarders are allowed to leave the castle with permission.
Extra curricular activities
Field sports
Sport is viewed as an integral part of a boy's education and each pupil is expected to participate in some activity. The principal sport in the college is rugby, with Blackrock having won the Leinster Schools Senior Cup
The Leinster Schools Senior Challenge Cup is the premier rugby union competition for secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the IRFU. First held in 1887, the competition celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2007.
Attendances are h ...
70 times. It has also won the Leinster Schools Junior Cup
The Leinster Schools Junior Challenge Cup is an under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Leinster Rugby, Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union, IRFU.
Background
The Leinster Schools Junior Cup competition is c ...
51 times. Blackrock won the inaugural cup competition held in 1887 and has been consistently the most successful team, winning the cup at least three times in every decade since.
Retired Blackrock rugby union players include Fergus Slattery
John Fergus Slattery (born 12 February 1949 in Dún Laoghaire, Ireland) is a former rugby union player who represented Ireland. He played schools rugby for Blackrock College and then moved on to play senior rugby for UCD, before earning a call ...
, Niall Brophy
Niall Henry Brophy (19 September 1935 – 10 March 2023) was an Irish rugby union player. He represented University College Dublin R.F.C., Blackrock College R.F.C., London Irish R.F.C., Barbarian F.C., Leinster, Ireland and the British and Ir ...
, Hugo MacNeill and Brendan Mullin
Brendan John Mullin (born Jerusalem, 31 October 1963) is a former Ireland international rugby union football player. He played as a centre.
Profile
Mullin spent his early life in Jerusalem, Israel and attended secondary school in Blackrock Col ...
(all playing before rugby union was professional), former British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
, 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 ...
and 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 ...
captain Brian O'Driscoll
Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the ...
, Shane Byrne, Victor Costello, Luke Fitzgerald
Luke Matthew Fitzgerald (born 13 September 1987) is a former rugby union player. He played at Wing (rugby union), winger or Fullback (rugby union), fullback for Leinster Rugby, Leinster. He retired in June 2016. Having previously studied at Blac ...
, and the current Leinster Rugby head coach and former Irish international Leo Cullen. Current professional players include Bristol and Ireland's Ian Madigan
Ian Madigan (born 21 March 1989) is an Irish professional rugby union player for Ulster. His primary position is at fly-half, although he can also play at centre and full-back.
Club career
Madigan made his senior debut for Leinster in a Celtic L ...
, Leinster and Ireland players Garry Ringrose
Garry Ringrose (born 26 January 1995) is an Irish rugby union player for Leinster and the Ireland national rugby union team. He usually plays at Centre.
Leinster
Following Ringrose's performances for the Ireland under-20s, Leinster coach Leo C ...
and Jordi Murphy, Munster and Ireland's Andrew Conway and Joey Carbery, Sale Sharks and US Eagles' AJ MacGinty and multiple others around Ireland and the world.
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 ...
is played in 4th year in the college. Past pupils Mark Vaughan
Mark Vaughan (born 17 May 1985 in Dublin) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for the Kilmacud Crokes club and, formerly, for the Dublin county team. He made his break into the senior Dublin squad in 2005 making his first senior champions ...
and Niall Corkery
Niall Justin Corkery is an Irish Gaelic footballer from Dublin who played for the Kilmacud Crokes
Kilmacud Crokes ( ir, Cill Mochuda Na Crócaigh) is a large Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Stillorgan, Dublin, Republic of I ...
are forwards on the 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 ...
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 ...
team. The school also has a 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 ...
team for 2nd and 3rd years. Five members of the All Ireland Club Championship winning Kilmacud Crokes team of 2008–09 were past pupils of Blackrock College. The college has a soccer team for its senior pupils in 4th, 5th and 6th years. In 2003 a team from the school won the Leinster and All-Ireland U-17s schools cup.
Swimming
The college has a 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 ...
team, which combines 1st to 6th year. The college competes in Leinster Senior Schools and has won the senior relay cup multiple times, most recently in 2017, and the Irish senior schools, regularly making finals and achieving gold in 2017. The school has two swimming pools on the grounds. The junior school Willow Park also has a swimming team. The college has teams in other water sports such as 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 ...
and 4th years participate in rowing.
Other games
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
is another one of the college's sports with many of its students participating. Many players come from 2nd year with older years fielding fewer numbers. 2010 saw the Blackrock Senior A team retain the Leinster Schools Senior Cup, won for the first time in 2009, while the seniors also won the Leinster Senior League for the first time since 1968, as well as reaching the final of the Senior All Irelands for the first time. 2010 saw the junior team reach the Junior Cup final for the 3rd year in a row, however in 2008 and 2009 the Blackrock Junior A team completed the Leinster double, with victories in both Junior Cup and Junior League, and also reached the final of the Junior All Irelands in both seasons. In 2010, the Senior A team competed in the World Schools Championships for the first time.
The college has its own 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 ...
team run by teachers as well as professional coaches. The college has three outdoor basketball courts and different indoor basketball courts on the grounds. One indoor basketball court is in Willow Park gym, and one is in the Jubilee Hall while the introduction of the new sports hall provides a professional basketball court and spectator area.
The school has a 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 ...
team divided between minors, juniors and seniors. They practise and play their home matches on the college's four tennis courts. 1st years in Willow Park also play on the college's tennis teams. The college also has teams in other sports such as cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, 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 ...
, rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
and Judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
. Cricket has been played since the foundation of the school in 1860. There has been a renaissance on the cricket pitch in the last 10 years since the building of the new sports hall which is fully equipped with 2 full-sized practice lanes. This investment in cricket has helped the college to win its first Junior Cricket Trophy since 1964 and reach its first Senior Cup Final since 1961. Other sports include rowing, badminton and a full athletics programme.
Cycling
Blackrock College and Willow Park share a cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
club called the Willow Wheelers, run by Christy McDaid. The club has an annual trip abroad to either France or The Netherlands each Easter, recently in Cap D'Agde. It also has hostel trips to Clare and Donegal at the end of the school year. The club has an annual cycle for charity which has raised around 150,000 euro in the past few years. The club cycles every Sunday to varying destinations around Dublin.
Athletics
The college has an 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), competiti ...
team and encourages participation in both track events and field events. The college also has a cross-country team which competes regionally. The school organises the annual Blackrock College Invitational, inviting top athletic schools (CBC Monkstown
Christian Brothers College, Monkstown Park (or CBC Monkstown Park) is a private fee-paying Catholic Church, Catholic school and Independent Junior school, founded in 1856 in Monkstown, County Dublin, Monkstown, Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ire ...
, St Gerards School, St Michael's College, Dublin
St Michael's College ( ga, Coláiste Naomh Mícheál) is a voluntary Catholic boys' school, with an associated primary school, located on Ailesbury Road in Dublin 4, Ireland. Founded in 1944 by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (The Spiritan ...
and The King's Hospital
The Hospital and Free School of King Charles II, Oxmantown, also called The King's Hospital (KH; ) is a Church of Ireland co-educational independent day and boarding school situated in Palmerstown, Dublin, Ireland. It is on an 80-acre campus be ...
to compete as a preliminary to the annual provincial and national competitions. The athletics team participates in the East Leinster, Leinster and Ireland Athletic championships at under-14s to under-18s annually.
The arts
Each year, opera productions are staged in conjunction with Mount Anville (senior musical) and Loreto Abbey, Dalkey (2nd and 4th-year musical), two nearby schools for girls.
Debating
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a Discussion moderator, moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred ...
is a tradition dating back to the school's founding in the 1860s. There are separate clubs for junior and senior pupils. One of the college alumni, Shane Murphy (now a Senior Counsel), won the 1985 World University Debating Championship at McGill University, representing the Honourable Society of the King's Inns. The college holds gold medal debates for every academic year giving the students the opportunity to win the medal on prize day if they win the debate. The gold medal debates are used in the sixth year to select an eligible valedictorian for the year, who gives his address at both the graduation mass and again at prize day. The college's debaters participate in many competitions including the L&H debates in UCD.
The college has two main choirs: the Leman and the Libermann choirs
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
. The Leman choir has members from the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th years. The best of the senior members of the Leman choir are accepted into the Libermann choir. In 2013, a group of students from the college's Leman choir reached the final of the All Island Choir Competition. The college has a choir for boarders and another for parents. The college has a youth orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
. Each year, all the choirs and the orchestra host the annual Leman Concert in the National Concert Hall
The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...
.
Blackrock College Radio
A transition year program to set up and maintain a radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
station, broadcasting to the surrounding south Dublin area, is undertaken annually. All of the administrative work, promotion and content-creation is the labour of transition year students. The station also allows programming submissions from other schools to be broadcast. It's the only second-level radio project that broadcasts nine and a half hours a day (8:00 am to 5:30 pm), five days a week. The station has a mix of programmes from its current affairs programming to its guest programming. Blackrock College Radio has featured many famous and influential guests including Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
, while in office as Taoiseach, Neil Flynn, Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973), nicknamed 'Tubs
' is an Irish broadcaster. He presents ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' and '' The Late Late Show''.
Tubridy previously presented RTÉ 2fm breakfast radio show ''The Full Irish'', which at its end was ...
, Eamon Gilmore Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to:
*Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name
*Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist
* ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II
*"Éamon ...
, Leo Cullen, Mary Hannifin, Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence since Decembe ...
, Ruairi Quinn
Ruairi Quinn (born 2 April 1946) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1989 to 1997, ...
, Brent Pope, David Norris, The Heathers, Bobby Kerr, and Denis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Digicel. He was listed among the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015 and was Ireland's richest native-born citizen for a period of several ye ...
.
Seachtain na Gaeilge
Each year a ''Seachtain na Gaeilge'' (literally, "Week of Irish") is organised to promote the Irish language in the school. The Irish department organises events each year to mark this occasion including ceili dance
Céilí dances (, ) or true éilí dances (fíor céilí) are a popular form of folk dancing in Ireland. Céilí dances are based on heys ("hedges", pairs of lines facing), round dances, long dances, and quadrilles, generally revived during the ...
, poc fada (longest hit) and screens Irish films. This co-curricular activity was particularly commended in a Department of Education inspection, which also recommended its further development.
Social work
The school donates most of its funds raised during the first term (September to October) to St Vincent De Paul and in the second and third terms the focus is mainly on Goal, Aidlink and the Willow Wheelers humanitarian projects; all of which provide international aid.
GOAL and Aidlink
Up until 2017, the Transition Year students organised the annual St. Patrick's Day Badge appeal which raised large sums of money throughout Ireland for the Irish charities GOAL
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
and Aidlink. Goal organized a trip to India in both 2012 and 2013 to the Transition Year boys, inviting them to see the projects which they helped fund through their Badge campaigns.
St. Vincent De Paul
The school also has a long-standing relationship with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul
The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor.
Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...
, contributing large sums of money raised through various projects. For example, the proceeds of the annual sale of Christmas tree
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...
s in the college are donated. In 2007, the Christmas tree project raised €93,000 and the total amount raised for the Society in that year is estimated to be in excess of €150,000. Other projects for St Vincent De Paul include the second and third-year duck races, which raise money through sponsorship. Christmas hampers are also packed and delivered by students and their families in the run-up to the holiday. This provides some families with the necessary supplies of food for the period.
Willow Wheelers
The college supports humanitarian projects in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
, mainly through the college's cycling club, the Willow Wheelers. In 2006, their annual sponsored cycle raised in excess of €60,000. The club also annually sends a group of self-funded volunteers to help with humanitarian projects in Africa, most commonly: establishing clean water supplies for villages and constructing schoolhouses, infirmaries or similar institutions. Transition year students who are members of the cycling club are invited to see the club's projects throughout the world and to understand how their raised funds are spent. The students usually visit Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, and have visited Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
Rock Reaches Out To Kenya
The school's 6th-year students have the opportunity to travel to the school in Kenya every year after the leaving certificate examinations. The school is to be run by the Spiritans, who also run Blackrock College.
Past pupils' efforts
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...
, initiator of the Band Aid and Live Aid
Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...
movements for famine relief in the 1980s, was a student at the college. Frank Duff
Francis Michael Duff, L.O.M. (7 June 1889 – 7 November 1980), known as Frank Duff, is known especially for bringing attention to the role of the laity during the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church as well as for founding ...
, the founder of the Legion of Mary
The Legion of Mary ( la, Legio Mariae, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve it on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and civi ...
, the Catholic lay
Lay may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
*Lay, Loire, a French commune
*Lay (river), France
*Lay, Iran, a village
*Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
People
* Lay (surname)
* ...
movement, is also a past pupil. In his memoirs, ''Straight Left: A Journey in Politics'' Ruairi Quinn
Ruairi Quinn (born 2 April 1946) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1989 to 1997, ...
cites the ethos and "sense of solidarity" with the Third World that was imparted to students, including Bob Geldof, as a formative force. The Holy Ghost Fathers were (and remain) an active missionary order in Africa. He wrote:
Associated primary schools
Willow Park School, a private primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
that acts as the college's principal feeder, is also run by the order and is situated on the same campus. Until the early 1970s, St. Michael's College in Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the city. Th ...
was also a feeder school for Blackrock College, but now has classes up to the 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 ...
.
Controversies
Club Anabel case
Blackrock College found itself caught up in a high-profile criminal investigation in 2000, when four young men who had recently graduated from the school were charged with the murder of a fifth man following an incident outside a Dublin nightclub. The case led to media debate over class issues and the ethos of fee-paying schools in Irish society.
Child sexual abuse
Members of the Spiritans have been associated with a number of child sexual abuse cases in Ireland; the Spiritans acknowledged in 2022 that they had paid out over €5m (£4.4m) in settlements for sexual abuse cases since 2004. In 2022 the Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...
(Irish police) were involved in the investigation; 233 people had made allegations against 77 members of the Spiritans. Martin Kelly, leader of the Spiritans, admitted and apologised for abuse. At least six abusers are known to have operated at Blackrock College; in November 2022, it was reported that 57 people had alleged that they had been abused on campus.
Past pupils
The Blackrock College Union represents former students of the college, organises many charitable events throughout the year, assists the school (e.g., mentoring, management assistance, advice) and organises social events for members. There are branches in Ireland and across the world.
Early Free State ministers such as Art O'Connor
Arthur James Kickham O'Connor (18 May 1888 – 10 May 1950) was an Irish politician, lawyer and judge.
Early life
He was born in 1888, the second son of Arthur O'Connor of Elm Hall, Celbridge, County Kildare (1834–1907) and his second wife ...
(secretary for agriculture 1921–1922), and Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...
, six times Taoiseach and the 3rd president of Ireland, studied and later taught in Blackrock. Modern politicians include Eoin O'Broin, Ruairi Quinn
Ruairi Quinn (born 2 April 1946) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1989 to 1997, ...
(a former minister and leader of the Labour Party) and Barry Andrews, a former junior minister. Many businessmen have also attended the school such as David J. O'Reilly
David J. O'Reilly (born January 1947 in Dublin, Ireland), is former chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation.
Education
In 1968, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from University College Dublin, from which he also re ...
, chairman and former CEO of Chevron Corporation, and Brendan O'Regan
Brendan O'Regan CBE (1917–2008) was an Irish businessman responsible for developing Shannon Airport, inventing the concept of the duty-free shop and transforming the Shannon Region of Ireland. He was involved in promoting peace in Northern Irel ...
, founder of Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...
and proponent of the Irish peace and reconciliation process. Philip R. Lane
Philip Richard Lane (born 27 August 1969) is an Irish economist who has been serving as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank since 2019 and concurrently as ECB chief economist. He previously served as Governor of the Ce ...
(governor of the central bank), Ronan Dunne
Ronan James Dunne (born 31 October 1963) is an Irish telecommunications executive. In 2001, he joined British wireless carrier O2 becoming CEO from 2008 to 2016, until joining U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless as president that August.
Early life
...
(EVP and group president of Verizon Wireless) also attended the college.
Writer Flann O'Brien
Brian O'Nolan ( ga, Brian Ó Nualláin; 5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966), better known by his pen name Flann O'Brien, was an Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth cen ...
, and journalist and scholar Tim Pat Coogan, were students of the school. Alumni in the fine arts include designer Paul Costelloe
Paul Costelloe (born 23 June 1945) is an Irish designer and artist.
In popular culture
In 2010, Costelloe was one of six contemporary and internationally renowned Irish fashion designers featured on a set of Irish postage stamps issued by An ...
, composer Michael McGlynn
Michael McGlynn (born 11 May 1964) is an Irish composer, producer, director, and founder of the vocal ensemble Anúna.
Career
McGlynn was born in Dublin and attended Coláiste na Rinne and Blackrock College. He was a student of Music and Eng ...
and visual artist Robert Ballagh
Robert Ballagh (born 22 September 1943) is an Irish artist, painter and designer. He was born in Dublin and studied architecture at the Bolton Street College of Technology. His painting style was strongly influenced by pop art. He is particular ...
. The Holy Ghost Order has a long tradition of missionaries. Frank Duff
Francis Michael Duff, L.O.M. (7 June 1889 – 7 November 1980), known as Frank Duff, is known especially for bringing attention to the role of the laity during the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church as well as for founding ...
, founder of the Legion of Mary
The Legion of Mary ( la, Legio Mariae, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve it on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and civi ...
, is perhaps the best-known. Singer, songwriter, author and political activist
A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...
was also a student at the college. Eminent handbag designer Pauric Sweeney also calls Blackrock his alma mater. Radio and TV personality Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973), nicknamed 'Tubs
' is an Irish broadcaster. He presents ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' and '' The Late Late Show''.
Tubridy previously presented RTÉ 2fm breakfast radio show ''The Full Irish'', which at its end was ...
attended the college. Singer-songwriter and producer Jonathon Ng
Jonathon Ng (born 23 December 1995), known professionally as Eden (stylised as EDEN), is an Irish musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and occasional model. He formerly operated as The Spab Project and later The Eden Project, an alias ...
(better known as EDEN) attended Blackrock, and in 2014 a video was posted on the college's YouTube account of Ng performing a song entitled "Amnesia".
The college places a heavy emphasis on sport. Past pupils include Ireland internationals Brian O'Driscoll
Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the ...
, former Ireland and Lions captain, Luke Fitzgerald
Luke Matthew Fitzgerald (born 13 September 1987) is a former rugby union player. He played at Wing (rugby union), winger or Fullback (rugby union), fullback for Leinster Rugby, Leinster. He retired in June 2016. Having previously studied at Blac ...
, Victor Costello, a 20-year Leinster, Ireland and Blackrock College RFC veteran, who also represented Ireland in shot putting at the Olympics, Leo Cullen, former captain, now coach of the Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...
team and Shane Byrne, Leinster and Ireland professional rugby player.
The current Ireland international team includes Ian Madigan
Ian Madigan (born 21 March 1989) is an Irish professional rugby union player for Ulster. His primary position is at fly-half, although he can also play at centre and full-back.
Club career
Madigan made his senior debut for Leinster in a Celtic L ...
, Jordi Murphy
Jordi Murphy (born 22 April 1991) is an Irish international rugby player. He plays for provincial and United Rugby Championship side Ulster as a loose forward, and also plays for the Ireland national rugby union team.
Early life
Murphy was b ...
, Garry Ringrose
Garry Ringrose (born 26 January 1995) is an Irish rugby union player for Leinster and the Ireland national rugby union team. He usually plays at Centre.
Leinster
Following Ringrose's performances for the Ireland under-20s, Leinster coach Leo C ...
, Andrew Conway
Andrew Joseph Conway (born 11 July 1991) is an Irish rugby union player for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup. He plays primarily as a wing, but can also play as a fullback.
Blackrock College
While atte ...
and Joey Carbery
Joseph Carbery (born 1 November 1995) is an Irish rugby union player who plays for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup and for the Ireland national team. He plays primarily as a fly-half, but can also p ...
,
other Rugby internationals Include Vasily Artemyev
Vasily Grigorievich Artemyev (russian: Василий Григорьевич Артемьев) (born 24 July 1987) is a Russian rugby union player for CSKA Moscow. He plays as wing or fullback.
Career
Returning to his native Moscow (Zelenogra ...
(formerly of Russia), AJ MacGinty
Alan "AJ" MacGinty is an Irish-born professional rugby player, who represents the United States in international competition. He primarily plays as a fly-half. MacGinty plays club rugby for Premiership Rugby team Bristol Bears.
Early life
A gra ...
(USA) and Dylan Fawsitt
Dylan Fawsitt (born July 24, 1990) is an Irish-born American rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Rugby New York (Ironworkers) in Major League Rugby (MLR) and also for the United States men's national team. His nickname is "The Butch ...
(USA)
In other games, Michael Cusack, founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
taught at the school and played early forms of 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 ...
with the pupils. Golfer John O'Leary (winner of the Carrolls Irish Open), Alan Lee (Ireland soccer international) and Joey O'Meara
Joseph Anthony O'Meara (24 June 1943 – 4 May 2001) was an Irish first-class cricketer and field hockey international.
Life
O'Meara was born at Dublin and was educated at Blackrock College. Overcoming polio as a child, O'Meara would go on ...
(who represented Ireland in both Hockey and Cricket), also went to Blackrock. Retired Dublin GAA footballer Cian O'Sullivan
Cian O'Sullivan (born 27 March 1988) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for the Kilmacud Crokes club and previously at senior level for the Dublin county team.
Playing career
Club
O'Sullivan won his first Dublin Senior Football Championship me ...
and professional golfer Paul Dunne
}
Paul Colum Dunne (born 26 November 1992) is an Irish professional golfer from Greystones in County Wicklow. He first came to prominence at the 2015 Open Championship where, playing as an amateur, he was tied for the lead after three rounds. In ...
attended the college.
Notes
References
*Seán P. Farragher, Annroai Wyer, ''Blackrock College 1860–1995'' (Dublin: Paraclete Press, 1995)
*Seán P. Farragher, ''Père Leman (1826–1880): Educator and Missionary, Founder of Blackrock College'' (Dublin: Paraclete Press, 1988)
*Seán P. Farragher, ''The French Blackrock College 1860–1896'' (Dublin: Paraclete Press, 2011)
*Paddy Murray, ed. '''Fearless and Bold': A Celebration of Blackrock College'' (London: Third Millennium, 2009)
External links
Blackrock College
- official website
{{Authority control
Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland
Private schools in the Republic of Ireland
Educational institutions established in 1860
Secondary schools in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown
Catholic boarding schools
Blackrock, Dublin
Boarding schools in Ireland
Spiritan schools
1860 establishments in Ireland