St Augustine's and Our Lady of Good Counsel College (''Coláiste na Dea Comhairle''),

New Ross New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Barrow on the border with County Kilkenny, northeast of Waterford. In 2022, it had a population of 8,610, making it the fourth-largest t ...

, known as "Good Counsel College" by its students and residents of the local area, is an all-boys secondary school in

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

, Ireland, which caters for over 850 students. It was founded and is now conducted by the Irish Augustinians. It is one of only two secondary schools in Ireland under the order of the Augustinians, with the other being in

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

. It is the largest school in New Ross. The current principal is Mark O Brien, who assumed the post in 2013, after the principal Fr. John Hennebry O.S.A. took the position of Provincial of the Order of Saint Augustine.

Patron saint

The college is named in honour of the 4th-century

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, a philosopher and theologian whose writings were very influential in the

doctrinal Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymolog ...

development of

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...

. Other English-speaking Augustinian schools with the same patron include one in Richland, New Jersey and one in San Diego, California – both in the United States;

Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod Colegio San Agustin – Bacolod, also referred to by its acronym CSA-B, is a private, Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Augustinian Province of Santo Niño de Cebu, Philippines of the Order of Saint Augus ...

, Colegio San Agustin, Biñan and Colegio San Agustin, Makati in the Philippines; a school in Malta, another Irish one in Dungarvan, and one in Sydney, Australia.

History

Since it was established in its present form in 1256, the

Augustinian Order Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13th ...

throughout the world has viewed involvement in education as an important part of its apostolate. Beginning in the 1790s, the Augustinians made various attempts to establish colleges in

, but due to adverse political and economic circumstances their efforts met with a limited degree of success until 1890, when Good Counsel College was established. From 1890 until 1980, the old Good Counsel College stood in the heart of New Ross. It was a small boarding school which catered for students from all parts of Ireland. During the 1960s, student numbers increased greatly, the majority of them being local day-students. A greatly expanded curriculum placed increasing demands on the existing facilities. Accordingly, a new college was constructed on the outskirts of the town and opened its doors as the new "Counsel" in 1984. Since then, the college has grown further with the addition of a technology block (Villanova), a new classroom block (Cascia), and a sports hall with gymnasium named after the past rector of the college, Fr. John Cosgrave, O.S.A.. Four floodlit astro turf pitches were also subsequently added. As of the early 21st century, Good Counsel College Catering has an enrollment of over 850 boys and continues to provide an education in the Augustinian tradition.

Facilities

Facilities include a refectory, assembly hall, sports centre including an indoor sports hall and gymnasium, learning support centre, technology block, first year block and various playing fields including three GAA pitches, two rugby pitches, a soccer pitch and four astroturf pitches. There are two basketball/tennis courts behind the sports hall. The APEX Gym & Swimming Pool is located on the grounds of Good Counsel College.

Former students

Notable former students include: * Ger Aylward, hurler * Ben Brosnan, Wexford football captain and businessman * Pádraic Delaney, actor *

Dermot Desmond Dermot Desmond (born 14 August 1950) is an Irish businessman and financier. He is estimated to be worth €2.04 billion and is ranked by the '' Sunday Independent'' as the ninth-richest person in Ireland. Early life and education Desmond was ...

, businessman and financier * Kevin Doyle, former professional footballer *

Tadhg Furlong Tadhg Vincent Furlong (born 14 November 1992) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays tighthead prop for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team. Furlong is widely considered to be one of the world' ...

, Ireland and Leinster rugby player *

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

, racehorse trainer * Matthew O'Hanlon, Wexford hurling captain *

John Paul Phelan John Paul Phelan (born 27 September 1978) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency from 2011 to 2024. He previously served as Minister of State for Local Government and E ...

, Fine Gael TD *

Maverick Sabre Michael Stafford (born 12 July 1990), better known as Maverick Sabre, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and rapper. Early life Stafford was born in Stoke Newington, in Hackney, London. At age four, he moved with his family to New Ross, County W ...

, recording artist *

Walter Walsh (hurler) Walter Walsh (born 25 May 1991) is an Irish Hurling, hurler who plays for Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship club Tullogher–Rosbercon GAA, Tullogher–Rosbercon and previously at inter-county level with the Kilkenny senior hurling tea ...

, Kilkenny hurler

Sport

In 1999 the school secured the Senior Colleges A Football Championship and won the

Hogan Cup The Hogan Cup (), also known as the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Football Championship, is the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools (sometimes referred to as colleges) in Ireland. The competition itself is re ...

, the premier trophy for post-primary schools in

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 ...

External links