St Colman's College (Irish: Coláiste Cholmáin) is an all-boys
voluntary secondary school, and former boarding school, in
Fermoy,
County Cork. The College was founded in 1856 and opened in 1858 as the diocesan college of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne. Archbishop
Thomas Croke, after whom Croke Park is named, became the school's first President in this year. The College is renowned for its sporting history.
History
The site upon which St. Colman's was built was bought by Fr. Timothy Murphy in 1856. Murphy commissioned John Pine Hurley to design the new College building. Twenty months after construction began, St. Colman's opened its doors to its first students in 1858. The original College building is three storeys in height and boasts an impressive six-storey tower. The facade of red sandstone with limestone facings. The building, with its tall tower, has since become an iconic structure in
Fermoy and looms over the town's skyline. A west wing was added in 1887 while the school chapel was added in the early 1900s. A new classroom block was added to the College in 1969. This new block boasted a large assembly hall and twenty-two classrooms. A library in the College, known among the students and faculty as the Priest's Library, houses many rare manuscripts and books. From the very beginning, St. Colman's welcomed boarders from all over
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
; however, boarding ceased in the College in 2003.
Sport
The College has a strong hurling tradition and has won the
Dr. Harty Cup
The Dr Harty Cup, officially known as the Munster Colleges Senior A Hurling Championship, is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-schools ...
nine times (1948, 1949, 1977, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002 & 2003). Today all teams are represented by local club players.
Today the sport is as strong as ever but the College also has a much more diverse sporting ethos. The College has successful in competition with sports as diverse as equestrian,
pitch and putt,
tennis,
swimming,
rugby (former Leinster and Ireland prop
Mike Ross being a past pupil), cricket,
basketball, and
badminton in recent years.
The St. Colman's Health & Fitness Campus, a huge redevelopment of the College's sports grounds, was opened in 2015. The project included the building of brand new dressing rooms and showers, three full sized tennis courts and a fitness walkway around the Harty pitch.
Notable alumni
The arts
*
John Stanislaus Joyce, father of writer
James Joyce
*
Peadar Ua Laoghaire, writer and priest
*
Canon Sheehan of Doneraile, writer and priest
Sports
*
Liam Kearney
Liam Kearney ( ga, Liam Ó Cearnaigh; born 10 January 1983, Republic of Ireland), nicknamed "The Conna Maradona", is an Irish professional footballer associated primarily with Cork City in the League of Ireland. As of 2021, Kearney was "Head of ...
, football player, League of Ireland champion 2005, FAI Cup winner 2007, Setanta Sports Cup winner 2008 (Cork City) League of Ireland champion 2006 (Shelbourne)
*
Canon Bertie Troy, Cork hurling manager, photographer, and faculty of the College (1957-1977)
*
Mike Ross, Irish rugby player
*
Andrew O'Shaughnessy Andrew O'Shaughnessy may refer to:
* Andrew O'Shaughnessy (politician) (1866–1956), Irish politician and businessman, independent TD for Cork Borough 1923–1927
* Andrew O'Shaughnessy (historian) (born 1959), British historian
* Andrew O'Shau ...
, Kilmallock, Limerick Hurler. All Ireland Finalist 2007
*
Stephen Molumphy
Stephen Molumphy (born 11 January 1984) is an Irish former hurler with Waterford senior hurling team and currently manager of the Kerry senior hurling team. He played for Waterford Senior Championship club Ballyduff Upper and was a member o ...
, Ballyduff, Waterford Hurler, All Ireland Finalist 2008
*
Aidan Kearney, Tallow, Waterford Hurler, All Ireland Finalist 2008
*
Timmy McCarthy, Castlelyons, Cork Hurler, All Ireland Champion 1999/2004/05
*
Brian Murphy, Bride Rovers, Cork Hurler, All Ireland Champion 2004/05
*
Fergal McCormack, Mallow, Cork Hurler, All Ireland Champion 1999
*
Mark Landers
Mark Landers (born 13 July 1972) is an Irish hurling coach and former hurling, hurler. He is the coach of Cork Senior Hurling Championship, Cork Senior Championship club Bride Rovers GAA, Bride Rovers. Landers played for East Cork club Killeagh G ...
, Killeagh, Cork Senior Hurling Winning Captain 1999
*
Seánie O'Leary, Youghal, Cork Hurler, All Ireland Winner 1976/77/78/1984, All Ireland U21 1970/71/73 Minor 1969/1970
*
Barry Murphy, Scarriff, Clare All Ireland Hurling Champion 1997
*
Colm Spillane
Colm Spillane (born 1 July 1993) is an Irish hurler who plays for Cork Championship club Castlelyons. He played for the Cork senior hurling team at various stages between 2013 and 2021, during which time he usually lined out as a corner-back.
...
, Castlelyons, Cork Senior Hurler, Munster Winner 2017
*
Niall O'Leary
Niall O'Leary (born 1998) is an Irish hurler who plays for club side Castlelyons, divisional side Imokilly and at inter-county level with the Cork senior hurling team. He is usually deployed as a corner-back, but can also be deployed as a full- ...
, Castlelyons, Cork Senior Hurler, All Ireland Finalist 2021
*
Bertie Troy
Bartholomew J. Troy (1930 – 28 January 2007), known as Father Bertie Troy and later as Canon Bertie Troy, was a Roman Catholic priest and an All-Ireland Hurling Final winning manager with Cork.
Troy was born in Newtownshandrum, County Cork i ...
, also taught at the school
Christian mission
*
William Barry DD (1872-1929), Archbishop of Hobart, Tasmania
*
David Keane David or Dave Keane may refer to:
* David Keane (judge) (born 1964), Irish judge
* David Keane (politician), English politician
* Dave Keane
Dave Keane (born 1956 in Passage West, County Cork, Ireland) is an Irish retired hurling manager an ...
, Bishop of LImerick (RC) 1923-1945
*
Fachtna O'Driscoll
Fachtna O'Driscoll, SMA is an Irish priest with the Society of African Missions. From 2013 to 2019 he was superior general.
Early life and education
Fr. O'Driscoll, was born in Rathcormac, County Cork on 10 February 1954 to Jerome and Bridget ( ...
, Superior General of the Society of African Missions worldwide, 2013-2019.
Irish history
One of the seven signatories of the
1916 Proclamation
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored ...
,
Thomas McDonagh
Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh ( ga, Tomás Anéislis Mac Donnchadha; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising ...
, taught in St. Colman's for a period of time.
References
External links
St. Colman's College, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Colman's College, Fermoy
Secondary schools in County Cork
Educational institutions established in 1858
Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland
1858 establishments in Ireland
People educated at St Colman's College, Fermoy