Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ (), formerly known as Laurel Hill Convent, is an
all-girls secondary school in
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
where all subjects are
taught in Irish (
gaelcholáiste). The school has around 400 students and has been ranked the top
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
in Ireland for six years in a row.
History
The school was founded in the 1840s by
Sisters Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ) and was known as Laurel Hill Convent.
In 1935 the school switched to teaching all subjects in Irish
[.] when there was a push by the government to revive the
Irish language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
through schools.
Academic results
For six years straight, 2014–2019,
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
Best Schools Guide ranked Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ as the top
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
in Ireland with 95.2% of its students going on to university.
Notable alumnae
*
Neasa Hourigan,
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice.
Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
politician
*
Detta O'Cathain, Baroness O'Cathain
Detta O'Cathain, Baroness O'Cathain, (; 2 February 1938 – 23 April 2021) was an Irish-born British businesswoman and Conservative politician.
Early life and education
Margaret M. B. Ó Catháin was born in Cork, daughter of Caoimhghin Ó C ...
, Irish-born British life peer
*
Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of
The Cranberries
The Cranberries were an Irish rock music, rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Dolores O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan (Noel's brother), and drummer Fergal Lawler. O'Riord ...
*
Kate O’Brien, writer
See also
*
Education in the Republic of Ireland
Education in the Republic of Ireland is a primary, secondary and higher (often known as "third-level" or tertiary) education. In recent years, further education has grown immensely, with 51% of working age adults having completed higher edu ...
*
Gaeloideachas — Irish national organisation supporting the development of Irish-medium
immersion schools
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurel Hill Colaiste
Girls' schools in the Republic of Ireland
Education in Limerick (city)
Secondary schools in County Limerick
Catholic secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland
1840s establishments in Ireland
Educational institutions established in the 1840s