Presentation Brothers College (PBC Cork) (; colloquially known as Pres) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, boys, private fee-paying secondary school in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, Ireland. As of 2020, Presentation Brothers College was ranked as the top 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 The Congregation of Presentation Brothers (; English: "Brothers of the Presentation of Mary"; abbreviated F.P.M.) is an international Catholic congregation of laymen founded in 1802 in Waterford, Ireland, by a local Irish businessman, Edmund Ig ...

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 initialism UCC may stand for: Law * Uniform civil code of India, referring to proposed Civil code in the legal system of India, which would apply equally to all irrespective of their religion * Uniform Commercial Code, a 1952 uniform act to ...

. The college has developed new rugby facilities at Dennehy's Cross and has its own rowing club, located on the Marina. In 1969, Jerome Kelly returned home from missionary work in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

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 Students Harness Aid for Relief of Elderly (formerly ''Schoolboys Harness Aid for Relief of Elderly'') or SHARE, is a charitable organisation based in Cork (city), Cork, Ireland, dedicated to providing housing and other support for the elderly ...

'' in 1970. SHARE expanded and now includes pupils from other

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 ...

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 It is one of the few private fee paying schools in Cork.

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 certificate ...

cycles. The current curriculum teaches first years

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

; Irish as L2; English as L1;

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

;

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

; French as L2;

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

as L2;

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

;

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 manageme ...

;

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

;

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

; CSPE; SPHE;

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

; social education; ICT and

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

. In second year, the students may choose to drop two of the L2 foreign languages and choose between art and geography. From second year onwards, students do not study social education or ICT. Unusually for a private school, streaming is not used until third year. After completing the

Junior Certificate The Junior Cycle () is the first stage of the education programme for post-primary education within the Republic of Ireland. It is overseen by the Department of Education (Ireland), Department of Education and the National Council for Curriculu ...

, the college requires students to complete a mandatory

Transition Year Transition Year (TY) () is an optional one-year school programme that can be taken in the year after the Junior Cycle in Ireland. However, depending on school population and funding it may not be available, and in other schools it is compulsory. ...

. In fifth year, students begin the Leaving Cert cycle. At the

level, the college offers a wide range of courses. Irish as L2, English L1 and

are compulsory. One language must be taken from French as L2,

as L2 and

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

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

, agricultural), the businesses (

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

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

, politics and society, physical education and

Rugby

The college sport is

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

. , the college has won 32 Senior Schools Cups and 32 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 Ronan John Ross O'Gara (born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland's third most-capped player and second highest points scorer. He i ...

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 Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

- Tom Kiernan (1962 & Captain in 1968 ), Jerry Walsh (1966), Michael Kiernan (1983), Ronan O'Gara (2001, 2005 & 2009), Simon Zebo (2013) and Peter O'Mahony (2017). In March 2014, PBC won the Junior Schools Cup for the first time in five years in a 17–12 win over

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

. 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. Previous productions have included '' Sive'' (2013) and ''

All My Sons ''All My Sons'' is a three-act play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway at the Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1947, and ran for 328 performances. It was directed by Elia Kazan ...

'' (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 a number of students who have been members of the various Cork

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 a ...

clubs since 1890, some of whom have won Irish Championships with these clubs but never as Pres College Rowing Club. In 1985, the Presentation College Rowing Club was registered officially for the first time with the 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 was a tenant of Shandon Boat Club, Cork Boat Club and Lee Rowing Club, but has subsequently constructed its own club, located next to Lee RC. The club now owns 4 eights, 7 fours, 4 pairs and 8 singles along with a 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 (appro ...

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

. 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. The school has also won several soccer titles, including 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 The Supreme Court of Ireland () is the highest judicial authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal (Ireland), Court of Appeal and the High Court (Ireland), Hig ...

Media

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

Eoghan Harris Eoghan Harris (born 13 March 1943) is an Irish journalist, columnist, director, and former politician. He has held posts in various and diverse political parties. He was a leading theoretician in the Marxist-Leninist Workers' Party (previously ...

, journalist and former politician *

George Hook George Hook (born 19 May 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and rugby union pundit. He formerly hosted ''The Right Hook'' and ''High Noon'' on the Irish radio station Newstalk. He had a career as a rugby union coach and businessman, b ...

, journalist * Fergal Keane,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television journalist/author * David Marcus, novelist and literary editor *

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy ( ; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. His works encompass both stage and screen, and his accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He made his professional debut in Enda Walsh's 1996 pl ...

, Oscar winning actor *

Seán Ó Faoláin Seán Proinsias Ó Faoláin (27 February 1900 – 20 April 1991) was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Irish culture. A short-story writer of international repute, he was also a leading commentator and critic. Biography Ó ...

, author and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...

writer

Politics

* Daniel Corkery, writer, Professor of English at

and Senator. *

Barry Desmond Barry Desmond (born 15 May 1935) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who was Minister for Health from 1982 to 1987 and Minister for Social Welfare from 1982 to 1986. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1969 to 1989, a Minister of St ...

, former

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

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 aut ...

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

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer 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 enabled to p ...

and first

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

of Cork. *

, former Senator (Ireland) and columnist * Michael O'Leary, former

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 ...

, former leader of the Labour Party, former

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...

TD.

Rugby

* Michael Bradley capped 40 times for Ireland

Rugby Union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

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

International and catholic priest * Alex Kendellan, Munster player *

Declan Kidney Declan Kidney (born 20 October 1959) is an Irish rugby union coach. He was the head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team from 2008 to 2013, where he won the 2009 Six Nations with a Grand Slam, winning the 2009 IRB Coach of the Year a ...

, 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 The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

team member *

Tom Kiernan Thomas Joseph Kiernan (7 January 1939 – 3 February 2022) was an Ireland international rugby union player. He won 54 caps for Ireland as a full-back between 1960 and 1973 and captained his country 24 times. At the time of his retirement he w ...

, Irish

International and

team member. * Mick O'Driscoll, former Irish

International. *

, former Irish

International and

team member. * Peter O'Mahony, current Irish

International. * Niall Scannell, current

Munster Rugby Munster Rugby () is one of the professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union, ...

squad member * Rory Scannell, current

squad member * Frankie Sheahan, former Irish

International. * Peter Stringer, former Irish

International. * Jerry Walsh, former Irish

International and

team member * Simon Zebo, current

squad member

Other sport

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

, Cork City FC and Ireland

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

Noel Cantwell Noel Euchuria Cornelius Cantwell (28 February 1932 – 8 September 2005) was an Irish football player and sometime cricketer. Club career Cantwell was born in Cork, Ireland, and was educated at the Roman Catholic Presentation Brothers College ...

, former Irish

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

Captain, and captain of the 1963

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

winners. * Brian Clifford, swimmer, competed in the men's 1500 metre freestyle at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was still a pupil at Pres at the time * Eoin Cotter Gaelic footballer, All-Ireland Football medal winner 2010 * Ben Cunnigham, Cork two time Under-20 All-Ireland Hurling medalist * Dick Fitzgerald Gaelic footballer & Winner of five All-Ireland Football medals,

Fitzgerald Stadium Fitzgerald Stadium () is the principal GAA stadium in Killarney, Ireland, and is the home championship venue for the Kerry senior football team. Named in honour of one of the first great players of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Dick Fitz ...

in Kerry is named after him * Brian Hayes, Cork hurler and All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling medalist * Caoimhín Kelleher,

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

goalkeeper soon to join Brentford F.C. on 1 July 2025. * Brian Lenihan, former Cork City FC,

Hull City FC Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

and Ireland soccer player * Jack Short, cricketer for Ireland from 1974–1984 * Ethan Twomey, Cork hurler and All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling medalist

Notable staff

* Jim Corr, former TD and former Lord Mayor of Cork. *

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...

, former 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. Often referred to simply as "The Park", it is the home of Cork GAA and is located in Ballintemple, near the site of the original Cork Athletic Grounds. In February 2024, follo ...

, the home of the

Cork GAA The Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Cork GAA is one of the 32 County board (Gaelic games), county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Cork and the Cork county teams. It ...

, is named after him. * William Wall, novelist, poet and short story

References

External links

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