Presentation Brothers College (PBC Cork) ( ga, Coláiste na Toirbhirte; colloquially known as Pres) 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 ...

, boys, private fee-paying secondary school in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland. Presentation Brothers College is currently ranked as the number one boys secondary school in Ireland and regularly places first in the annual top performing schools table rankings conducted by The Irish Times.

History

The college was founded by the Presentation Brothers in 1878, in the South Mall. Soon afterwards it moved to the Grand Parade and, in 1887, to the Western Road. In 1985, the college moved to a new building on the Mardyke on the site of the college's rugby facilities; the Western Road premises is now owned and used by UCC. The college has developed new rugby facilities at Dennehy's Cross and uses Shandon Boat Club for rowing. In 1969, Jerome Kelly returned home from missionary work in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

and was appointed principal of the college. He organised a series of workshops, in which the students of Presentation College were encouraged to think globally and act locally: The result was the founding of the charity '' Students Harness Aid for the Relief of the Elderly'' in 1970. SHARE expanded and now includes pupils from other

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 '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s in Cork city. In 2005, the ''Preslink'' organisation was founded in the school; a group of junior students whose stated aim is to forge links with other Presentation Brothers communities.''Presentation Brothers College Newsletter'', p 7, June 2006 In 2006, the organisation received an "Edmund Rice Award", which recognises groups that work to improve the lives of others. In November 2009, ownership of the school, along with seven other Presentation Brothers schools in Ireland, was handed over to a group of lay trustees

Curriculum

The school offers both the Junior and

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 ...

cycles. It has been named the best boys' secondary school outside

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

by the

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

. The current curriculum teaches first years

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

; Irish as L2;

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

as L1;

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

;

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

;

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

as L2;

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

as L2;

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

;

business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, ...

;

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

;

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

; CSPE; SPHE; art; and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

. In second year, the students may choose to drop two of the L2 foreign languages. Unusually for a private school, streaming is not used until third year. After completing the Junior Certificate, the college requires students to complete a mandatory Transition Year. In fifth year, students begin the Leaving Cert cycle. At the

level, the college offers a wide range of courses. Irish as L2,

L1 and

are compulsory. One language must be taken from

as L2,

as L2 and

. Any three optional subjects may be taken from the sciences (

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

), the businesses (

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

, art,

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

, politics and society and

Rugby

The college sport is

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

. , the college has won 29 Senior Schools Cups and 29 Junior Schools Cups respectively, and has produced 22 Irish Rugby Internationals. In 2007, the school won both the Senior Schools Cup and the Junior Schools Cup (the first time they had won both in the same year since 1995, when Ronan O'Gara was the Senior Captain). Six players have played for the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; ad ...

- Tom Kiernan (1962 & Captain in 1968 ), Jerry Walsh (1966), Michael Kiernan (1983), Ronan O'Gara (2001, 2005 & 2009),

Simon Zebo Simon Zebo (born 16 March 1990) is an Irish rugby union player for United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup side Munster. He is equally adept as a wing or fullback, having played in both positions often for Ireland, Munster and Racing 92. ...

(2013) and

Peter O'Mahony Peter O'Mahony (born 17 September 1989) is an Irish rugby union player. He plays for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup and Ireland internationally. During his career, O'Mahony has captained Presentation ...

(2017).

2014

In March, PBC won the Junior Schools Cup for the first time in five years in a 17–12 win over Crescent.

2017

The school participates in a number of Munster under-age School-Boy competitions: McCarthy Cup A, B & B Schools (U-15), The Junior Schools Cup (U-16), The Kidney Cup (Junior B), The Bowen Shield & B Schools (U-18), The Barry Cup (Senior B), and The Senior Schools Cup (U-19). Pres have won every cup at some point and several teams have won every competition. The school playing fields are located at Dennehy's Cross, Wilton. There are 4 pitches, one walled and one flood-lit.

Extra-curricular activities and sport

Drama

The college drama society performs one production of a dramatic play annually. This is very often the play studied by Leaving Cert students of that academic year. Recent productions have included '' Sive'' (2013) and ''

All My Sons ''All My Sons'' is a three-act Play (theatre), play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway theatre, Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and r ...

'' (2014).

Sciences

In 2012 three students were invited to partake in the European Science and Maths Olympiad, based on their Junior Certificate results in Maths and Science. These students participated in the Olympiad in DCU. In 2004, the Pres team won the first Cork Robotics Competition for Schools, which was launched by the Cork Electronics Industry Association (CEIA) at the National Software Centre in Mahon Point.

Rowing

PBC has had many students who have been members of the various Cork rowing clubs since 1890, some of whom have won Irish Championships with these clubs but never as Pres College Rowing Club. In 1985 Presentation College Rowing Club was registered officially for the first time with th
Irish Amateur Rowing Union
and began rowing out of Shandon Boat Club on the Marina. The equipment used was bought second-hand from Dungarvan Rowing Club. In its existence to date, the club has been a tenant of both Cork Boat Club and Lee Rowing Club and has recently returned to Shandon Boat Club. The club now owns 3 eights, 4 fours, 3 pairs and 7 singles along with a full selection of blades, coaching launches and a boat trailer.

Other sports

Other sports played at the college include

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 ...

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 st ...

, GAA,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and

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 ...

. The school has won the GAA Lord Mayor's Cup five times in the last six years. The school golf team has also won the Cork County Championship consecutively in 2006 and 2007. PBC reached the All-Ireland basketball U-16s cup final for the first time in 2009 and defeated St. Columbs college from Derry to win PBC's first ever All-Ireland. In the last number of years, the college has won numerous soccer titles. These include Cork Cups at First Year, Minor, Junior and Senior level. In February 2015, PBC won the Munster Schools Senior Cup.

Selected alumni

Business

* Ben Dunne, businessman

Law

* Liam McKechnie, Justice of the

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

Media

* Michael Clifford, author and investigative journalist * Cathal Coughlan, singer, songwriter and keyboard player in the bands

The Fatima Mansions The Fatima Mansions were an Irish rock band formed in 1988 by Cork singer/keyboardist Cathal Coughlan, formerly of Microdisney. Career The original line-up consisted of Coughlan, Nick Allum, Jonathan Fell, Zac Woolhouse and Aindrias O'Gruama ...

and

Microdisney Microdisney were an Irish rock band formed in Cork in 1980. They were founded and led by songwriters Cathal Coughlan (keyboards, vocals) and Sean O'Hagan (guitar). Originally typeset as Micro Disney, the band had become Microdisney by the ti ...

* George Hook, journalist * Fergal Keane, BBC television journalist/author * David Marcus, novelist and literary editor * Cillian Murphy, actor * Seán Ó Faoláin, author and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer * Eoghan Harris

Politics

* Daniel Corkery, writer, Professor of English at UCC and Senator. * Barry Desmond, former Minister for Health and Minister for Social Welfare. *

Fergus Finlay Fergus Finlay (born 1 June 1950) is the former Chief Executive of the charity Barnardos in Ireland, leaving the post in 2018. He was a senior member of the Irish Labour Party and is also a weekly columnist with the '' Irish Examiner'' and the auth ...

, political adviser, author and journalist. * Gene Fitzgerald, TD, Minister for Labour, Minister for the Public Service and

Minister for Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. * Gerald Goldberg,

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and first

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Lord Mayor of Cork. * Eoghan Harris, former Senator (Ireland) and columnist * Michael O'Leary, former

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Tao ...

, former leader of the Labour Party, former

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 É ...

TD.

Rugby

* Michael Bradley capped 40 times for Ireland

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

, 15 times as captain, current coach at Edinburgh * Marney Cunningham, former Irish

International and catholic priest * Alex Kendellan * Declan Kidney, former head coach of the Irish national rugby team and former head coach of the Munster rugby team *

Mike Kiernan Michael Joseph Kiernan (born 17 January 1961) is a former international rugby union player. He had 43 caps for Ireland, from 1982 to 1991, scoring 6 tries, 40 conversions, 62 penalties and 6 drop goals, in an aggregate of 308 points. He was cal ...

, former Irish

International and British and Irish Lions team member * Tom Kiernan, Irish

International and British and Irish Lions team member. * Mick O'Driscoll, former Irish

International. * Ronan O'Gara, former Irish

International and British and Irish Lions team member. *

, current Irish

International. *

Niall Scannell Niall Scannell (born 8 April 1992) is an Irish rugby union player for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup. He plays as a hooker and represents Dolphin in the All-Ireland League. Munster Scannell secured ...

, current Munster Rugby squad member *

Rory Scannell Rory Scannell (born 22 December 1993) is an Irish rugby union player for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup. He plays primarily as a centre, but can also play as a fly-half or fullback, and represents Dol ...

, current Munster Rugby squad member * Frankie Sheahan, former Irish

International. * Peter Stringer, former Irish

International. *

Jerry Walsh Jeremiah Charles "Jerry" Walsh (born 3 November 1938 in Cork, Ireland) was a international rugby union footballer. He was capped twenty-six times by Ireland as a centre between 1960 and 1967. That Walsh's prowess was mainly defensive was sho ...

, former Irish

International and British and Irish Lions team member *

, current Munster Rugby squad member

Other sport

* Alan Bennett, current Cork City FC and Ireland

player * John Browne, holder of three All-Ireland Hurling medals (1999, 2004 & 2005) * Noel Cantwell, former Irish

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

Captain, and captain of the 1963

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

winners. * Brian Clifford, Swimmer, competed in the men's 1500 metre freestyle at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games. Brian was still a pupil at Pres at the time *

Eoin Cotter Eoin Cotter (born 29 July 1987 in Douglas, Cork, Ireland) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football with his local club Douglas, and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 2010. Before joining the senior team he also ...

Gaelic footballer, All-Ireland Football medal winner 2010 * Dick Fitzgerald Gaelic footballer & Winner of five All-Ireland Football medals, Fitzgerald Stadium in Kerry is named after him *

Caoimhín Kelleher Caoimhín Odhrán Kelleher (born 23 November 1998) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Liverpool and the Republic of Ireland national team. Early life Kelleher was born in Cork, County Cork, where he attend ...

, Liverpool FC goalkeeper * Brian Lenihan, former Cork City FC, Hull City FC and Ireland soccer player * Jack Short, cricketer for Ireland from 1974–1984

Notable staff

* Jim Corr, former TD and former Lord Mayor of Cork. * Micheál Martin, Taoiseach * Pádraig Ó Caoimh, Irish soldier and long-time administrator of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

Páirc Uí Chaoimh Páirc Uí Chaoimh ( ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Cork, Ireland. It is the home of Cork GAA. The venue, often referred to simply as The Park, is located in Ballintemple and is built near to the site of the original Cork Athletic Grounds. The ...

, the home of the

Cork GAA The Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Contae Chorcaí) or Cork GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Cork and the Co ...

, is named after him. * William Wall, novelist, poet and short story * Fran Keane, Head coach of Rowing Ireland's men's heavyweight program.

References

External links

Irish Amateur Rowing Union

PBC Cork homepage

Pres Debating homepage

{{Authority control Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland Secondary schools in County Cork Educational institutions established in 1878 Sport in County Cork Presentation Brothers schools Private schools in the Republic of Ireland Education in Cork (city) 1878 establishments in Ireland