The Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School ( Irish: ''Scoil na Mainistreach, Iúr Cinn Trá'') is a voluntary

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

for boys aged 11 – 18 years in

Newry, County Down Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Clanrye river in counties Down and Armagh. It is near the border with the Republic of Ireland, on the main route between Belfast (34 miles/55 km away) and Dublin (67 miles/108& ...

, Northern Ireland.

History

The school was established in 1851 by members of the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers (; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802. At the time of its ...

. It was named after a Cistercian Abbey founded on the site by

St Malachy Malachy (; ; Modern ; ) ( 1094 – 2 November 1148) is an Irish saint who was Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and an alleged vision of 112 popes later attributed to the apocryphal (i.e. of doubtful authenti ...

in 1144. Since then the school had been located at several sites around Newry including Chapel Street, Kilmorey Street, the Carstands at Margaret Street and the Mall, then on to Abbey Yard. From 1966 to 2010 it was located at Courtenay Hill. In 2010, it moved to a new £18 million building on the outskirts of Newry. The school gives its name to many streets surrounding the former site such as Abbey Yard and Abbey Heights. The school was originally entirely run by the

Irish Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers (; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802. At the time of its ...

, but in the late twentieth century their numbers declined and the school is now entirely staffed by lay teachers. It is now under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust (NI).

Academics

The school provides instruction in a range of academic subjects. In 2018, 94.5% of its entrants achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including the core subjects English and Maths. As of 2019, 77.2% of students who sat the A-level exams were awarded three A*-C grades.

Achievements

* Winners of the NI Regional Senior Schools Quiz Challenge (general knowledge quiz) 2011–2018. * The

Hogan A hogan ( or ; from Navajo ' ) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house. A hogan can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or squ ...

All Ireland Gaelic Schools Cup 2006. * Winners of the Senior UK Schools Quiz Challenge (general knowledge quiz) 2002. * Winners of the

MacRory Cup The MacRory Cup is an inter-college (school) Gaelic football tournament in Ulster at senior "A" grade. The MacLarnon Cup is the competition for schools at senior 'B' grade. Players must be under nineteen at the start of the tournament. The winn ...

(Gaelic football competition): 1954, 1959, 1964, 1987, 2006. * Runners-up of the BM Quizzing Championships (NI Schools General Knowledge Quizzing Championships) 2022/2023.

Notable former pupils

Frank Aiken Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army, chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the I ...

(1898–1983) TD,

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

commander,

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the second-ranking member of the government of Ireland and the holder of its second-most senior office. It is the equivalent of the deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems. The Tánaiste is appointed by the P ...

and served as Minister for Defence (1932–39), Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures (1939–45), Minister for Finance (1945–48) and Minister for External Affairs (1951–54; 1957–69) * Séamus Mallon (1936–2020), Member of Parliament (MP) for Newry & Armagh (1986–2005),

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...

(SDLP) Deputy Leader (1979–2001) and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (1998–2001). * Mickey Brady (b. 1950),

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

MP for

Newry and Armagh (UK Parliament constituency) Newry and Armagh is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Dáire Hughes of Sinn Féin who was first elected at the 2024 election. Boundaries 1983–1997: The District of Armagh, and the Dis ...

Art Cosgrove Art Cosgrove, (born 1 June 1940) in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, was president of University College Dublin (UCD) between 1994 and 2003. Education He was educated at the Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Newry. He graduated fro ...

(b. 1940), Irish historian, writer; Chancellor,

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

* Denis Donoghue (1928–2021), Irish writer *

Kevin McKernan Kevin McKernan (born 3 December 1987) is a Gaelic footballer from County Down, Northern Ireland. He plays for the Down senior inter-county football team. Playing career Inter-county McKernan has been a member of the Down team since 2008 but ...

(b. 1987),

Down GAA The Down County Board () or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Down. The County Board is responsible for preparing th ...

Gaelic footballer *

Peter McVerry Fr Peter McVerry, SJ (born 1944) is an Irish Roman Catholic priest and founder of the Peter McVerry Trust, notable for battling homelessness in Ireland.Eunan O'Neill Eunan O'Neill (born Newry, County Down, 12 August 1982) is a Northern Irish television presenter. O'Neill, who grew up in Crossmaglen in County Armagh, holds a postgraduate degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Sheffield. Since ...

(b. 1982), television presenter (''

Russia Today RT, formerly Russia Today (), is a Russian state-controlled international news television network funded by the Russian government. It operates pay television and free-to-air channels directed to audiences outside of Russia, as well as pro ...

'') * Seán O'Neill (b. 1938),

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er *

Ronan Rafferty Ronan Patrick Rafferty (born 13 January 1964) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who formerly played on the European Tour. He won the European Tour Harry Vardon Trophy, Order of Merit in 1989 European Tour, 1989. Early life Rafferty was ...

(b. 1964), Irish golfer * Patrick Shea (1908–1986),

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

* Gerard Murphy (1948–2018) – actor *

Oisín McConville Oisín McConville (; born 13 October 1975) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He has been manager of the Wicklow county team since 2022. McConville played at senior level for the Armagh county team in the 1990s and 2000s. H ...

(born 1975) –

er * Joe Kernan (born 1954) –

References

External links