Farranferris was a secondary school in

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It opened in 1887, closed in 2006, and was an important institution in the twentieth century history of the city.

History

Saint Finbarr’s Seminary

At the time of the Penal Laws Irishmen who wanted to study to become priests had to travel overseas and many of them went to France (Cork, for example, had close links with colleges in Bordeaux and Toulouse). French colleges were closed down after the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

and this caused a drop in the supply of priests to Irish parishes. In 1795

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland ...

was opened to provide for the education of Catholic priests in Ireland and that same year the

Bishop of Cork The Bishop of Cork was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the city of Cork in Ireland. The title is now united with other bishoprics. In the Church of Ireland it is held by the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, and in the Roman ...

set up a post-primary preparatory seminary in

Ballyvolane Ballyvolane () is a townland and suburb of Cork on the north side of the city, that borders Mayfield, White's Cross, Glenheights and Dublin Hill. The townland of Ballyvolane is in the civil parish of St. Anne's Shandon. Ballyvolane is within the ...

House (near present-day Ellis's Yard), it was to prepare boys for Maynooth and other seminary colleges.Walsh, Fr. J. C.: Farranferris: The Heritage of St Finbarr 1887-1987. Tower Books, Cork 1987. The residential seminary in Ballyvolane House closed after a short time and in 1813 the Bishop of Cork established Saint Mary's Seminary across the road from the North Cathedral. A recession associated with the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

closed Saint Mary's after eight years. Cork's next preparatory seminary would be set up by the

Vincentians Vincentian can refer to: *A citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A person from Saint Vincent (island), the largest island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A member of one of the orders or societies in the Vincentian Family, both Roman ...

in 1845, it would occupy a building that had previously been the Lord Mayor's Mansion House (now Mercy Hospital) for twelve years before moving to a vacant school building located at Saint Patrick's Place (in the red-brick building where

Cork's 96FM 96FM is one of three local radio stations licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland for Cork City and County in Ireland (the other two being its sister station C103 and youth music station Red FM). It broadcasts from studios at Broadca ...

is based now). The Patrick's Place building did not have facilities for boarders.Farna's Hurling Story by Tim Horgan, Publisher: St. Finbarr's Seminary, Farranferris, , 1996. In September 1876, the Bishop of Cork took control of the Saint Patrick's Place seminary and renamed it Saint Finbarr's Seminary. The first president of Saint Finbarr's was Fr. J.J. Coughlan. In April 1881 the church acquired Carrollina House in Montenotte so Saint Finbarr's could function as a residential seminary for pupils who wished to become priests (Carrollina, which was situated where the Ardnalee housing estate now stands, was named by John Carroll in 1770s, he was a great grand-nephew of Charles Carroll). At the beginning there were fourteen students in residence in Carrollina.

Farranferris

The idea for a new purpose built residential seminary school was raised immediately on the founding of Saint Finbarr's. In 1881 a bequest of £1200 from a Miss O’Driscoll set things in motion and from 1883 to 1885 a new college was built at Farranferris on the northside of the city (Farranferris – land of Ferris, supposedly Ferris was an old English landlord in the area). It was constructed by E. P. O'Flynn at a cost of £17,000 to designs by Samuel Francis Hynes (it is listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as a "fine and imposing example of late Victorian ecclesiastical architecture in the Gothic Revival style"). Two workers were killed in an accident during its construction. The new college opened in September 1887; the pupils who had lived in Carrollina moved to the new dorms and the old classrooms at Saint Patrick's Place were handed over to the Christian Brothers (who founded a

new school The New School is a private research university in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over ...

in its place). At the time Farranferris was being built the Bishop of Cork, William Delany, was infirm with old age and most of his duties, including the driving forward of the college, were being carried out by

Henry Neville Henry Neville or Nevile may refer to: *Henry Neville (died c.1415), MP for leicestershire * Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland (1525–1564), English peer *Henry Neville (Gentleman of the Privy Chamber) (c. 1520–1593) *Henry Neville (died 16 ...

. Before the college opened, Delany died (to be replaced by Thomas A. O'Callaghan), and Neville was moved on. Dr. John B. O’Mahony was President of Farranferris for its first twenty years.

Becoming a day school

Dr. Patrick Sexton became the president of Farranferris in 1907; at the time the college had about 20 students, all of whom were intending to become priests in time (there was no entrance exam, a candidate only needed a testimonial from his parish priest to be admitted). A short time after he took over Sexton decided that Farranferris should accept day pupils for outside students. The first of these boys began classes in September 1909. In 1916, the Bishop of Cork, Thomas A. O'Callaghan, died and was replaced by Daniel Cohalan; Cohalan was the first bishop of Cork who had previously passed through Farranferris as a student. At the time Cohalan was appointed bishop,

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

was well underway and several Cork priests were on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

; amongst them were two Farranferris priests Fr.

Joe Scannell Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

MC and Archdeacon

T. F. Duggan T is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet. (For the same letterform in the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, see Te and Tau respectively). T may also refer to: Codes and units * T, Tera- as in one trillion * T, the symbol for "True" in lo ...

MC. In the autumn of 1922 one of the teachers as Farranferris,

Patrick MacSwiney Rev. Patrick J. MacSwiney (frequently spelled ''McSwiney'' or ''MacSweeney'', 16 March 1885 – 16 November 1940) was an Irish Catholic priest, Gaelic scholar, antiquarian, historian, teacher, founder of the Kinsale Regional Museum, and benefac ...

did a favour for his cousin

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

and took charge of a bag for a friend whose premises were in danger of being raided by

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

forces. Fr. MacSwiney did not examine the contents and deposited the bag in the Clifton convent in Montenotte (where he was chaplain). The convent was raided shortly afterwards, the bag was discovered and found to contain £3,000. It was rumoured that this was part of the £100,000 that had been robbed by republican forces from the Customs House in Dublin and that the priest had abused the nuns' trust by hiding the stolen money in the convent on behalf of Mary MacSwiney. The incident led to Fr. MacSwiney being removed from his clerical duties in Cork and sent to Dunmanway. In the summer of 1923 the Great War veteran Fr. Joe Scannell replaced Patrick Sexton as President of Farranferris (Sexton would later become a parish priest at St. Patrick's and was instrumental in building

St Patrick's School, Cork Saint Patrick’s School is a campus of schools (St Patrick's infants school, St Patrick's Girls Primary, St Patrick's Boys Primary and Saint Patrick's College) in Cork, Ireland. Saint Patrick’s is situated on Gardiner's Hill and has a history ...

). In his first year as president, Joe Scannell introduced an entrance exam for Farranferris, the newspaper notice advertising the new regime stated that pupils were being prepared for "the professions (the Church, Medicine, Law, Engineering, Primary and Secondary Training, etc.), Government Appointments, Commercial and Industrial Purposes".

Mid-to-late 20th century

The Golden Jubilee (fiftieth anniversary) of Farranferris college was celebrated in 1937. At the time it had 120 students. In February 1938, Fr. Denny Murphy was made President of Farranferris. In December 1945 T. F. Duggan, a former

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

who had been a

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

in WW1 and had won a medal for gallantry in

WW2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, was made President of Farranferris. In June 1954, Fr. Daniel Luke Connolly was made President of Farranferris. In 1960, St Finbarr's College, Farranferris was expanded (to the designs of James Boyd Barrett) to provide extra schoolroom accommodation and it began to take non-seminary boarders. In September 1962, Fr. Carthach McCarthy was made President of Farranferris. In 1969, Fr. Michael Murphy (later

Bishop of Cork and Ross The Bishop of Cork and Ross is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Cork and the town of Rosscarbery in Republic of Ireland. The combined title was first used by the Church of Ireland from 1638 to 1660 and again from 1679 to ...

) was made President of Farranferris. In 1976, Fr. John Buckley (later

) was made President of Farranferris. In July 1983, Fr. Micheál O Dálaigh was made President of Farranferris. The centenary of the Farranferris was celebrated in 1987. When uniforms were introduced Farranferris adopted a wine-coloured jumper with grey shirt and trousers.

Final decades

Fr. Noel O'Sullivan was President of Farranferris in 1996. Farranferris closed to boarding pupils at the end of the 1999–2000 academic year. Fr. Aidan O'Driscoll was President of Farranferris when it closed in 2006.

Sports

The school was successful at

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of pla ...

, having 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 ...

and

Dr. Croke Cup The Dr Croke Cup is the trophy presented to the winner of the All Ireland Secondary Schools Senior "A" hurling championship. Before that it was an inter-county GAA competition in hurling. The first Croke Cups (which included hurling and Gaelic f ...

on several occasions.

Literature

* Walsh, Fr. J. C.: ''Farranferris: The Heritage of St Finbarr 1887-1987''. Tower Books, Cork 1987. * Horgan, T.: Farna's Hurling Story, Publisher: St. Finbarr's Seminary, Farranferris, , 1996

Notable pupils and staff

* Daniel Cohalan, Bishop of Cork *

Patrick Coveney Patrick Coveney (29 July 1934 – 22 October 2022) was an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1966 to 2009. He became an archbishop in 1985 and fulfilled several assignments as Aposto ...

, Archbishop, Apostolic Nuncio, 1960-66 member of College staff *

Timothy Smiddy Timothy Aloysius Smiddy (1875–1962) was an Irish academic, economist, and diplomat. He is best known as Ireland's first Ambassador/overseas Minister, serving as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of America fo ...

, Ireland's first Ambassador/Overseas Minister *

Aloys Fleischmann Aloys Fleischmann (13 April 1910 – 21 July 1992) was an Irish composer, musicologist, professor and conductor. Life Fleischmann was born in Munich to Ireland-based German parents. Both were musicians, both graduates of the Royal Academy of Mu ...

, Composer, Cathedral Organist and Choirmaster * *

, Priest, Gaelic Scholar, Antiquarian, Historian and Teacher *

Seán Hyde John Francis Hyde (17 April 1897 – 12 April 1977), also known as Seán Hyde, was an Irish people, Irish hurling, hurler who played in various positions for the Cork GAA, Cork and Dublin GAA, Dublin senior teams. Hyde was born in Ballinhassig ...

, Revolutionary and Hurler *

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Adm ...

Sir Francis Fogarty Air Chief Marshal Sir Francis Joseph Fogarty, (16 January 1899 – 12 January 1973) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War and also in the post-war years. During the First World War he served as a pilot in ...

, a senior commander in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

* Michael Joseph Sheehan, Brigadier in the British Army (service during

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

) *

Cornelius Lucey Cornelius "Con" Lucey (1902–1982) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork and Ross. Youth and education Cornelius Lucey was born 15 July 1902 into a farming family at Windsor, Ovens, County Cork near Cork City. He attended Ballinora Primary School ...

, Bishop of Cork/Bishop of Cork and Ross *

Dinny Barry-Murphy Dinny Barry-Murphy (17 July 1903 – 21 August 1973) was an Irish hurler who played as a centre-back for the Cork senior team. Born in Cloughduv, County Cork, Barry-Murphy first played competitive hurling during his schooling at St Finbar ...

, Hurler * Aloys Fleischmann Jnr., Composer *

Daniel Costigan Daniel Costigan (1911–1979) was Commissioner of the Garda Síochána from July 1952 until February 1965. Costigan was the second, and final, civilian commissioner of the Garda Siochana. Personal life He and his wife Hilda had three sons and thr ...

, Commissioner of An Garda Síochána * James Young, Hurler and Gaelic Footballer *

Christy Ring Nicholas Christopher Michael Ring (30 October 1920 – 2 March 1979) was an Irish hurler whose league and championship career at senior level with the Cork county team spanned twenty-four years from 1939 to 1963. He established many champions ...

, Hurler ( Coached at Farranferris) * Joe Kelly, Hurler *

Jerome Kiely Jerome Kiely (born 23 May 1925) is an Irish poet. Born in Kinsale, County Cork on 23 May 1925, Kiely was educated at the county's diocesean college and at St. Patrick's, Maynooth. He was ordained a priest in 1950 and he won the Adam Prize fo ...

, Poet *

John A. Murphy John A. Murphy (17 January 1927 – 28 February 2022) was an Irish historian and senator. He was professor of history at University College Cork (UCC). Biography Murphy was born in Macroom, County Cork, and has said he was very bookish as a bo ...

, Historian * Paddy Barry, Hurler *

Seán Ó Riada Seán Ó Riada (; born John Reidy; 1 August 1931 – 3 October 1971), was an Irish composer and arranger of Irish traditional music. Through his incorporation of modern and traditional techniques he became the single most influential figur ...

, Composer and founder of

Ceoltóirí Chualann Ceoltóirí Chualann (pronounced ) was an Irish traditional band, led by Seán Ó Riada, which included many of the founding members of The Chieftains. Ceoltóirí is the Irish word for musicians, and Cualann is the name of an area just outs ...

* Michael O Brien, Hurling Coach and Hurling Manager * Terry Kelly, Hurler *

Bill O'Herlihy Bill O'Herlihy (26 September 1938 – 25 May 2015) was an Irish television broadcaster and public relations executive. He was best known for his broadcasts for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), primarily in the sporting arena. Presenter for 10 ...

, Broadcaster * John Buckley, Bishop of Cork and Ross *

Denis O'Riordan Denis O'Riordan (born 1941) is an Irish former hurler who played as a centre-back and full back at senior level for the Cork county team. Career Born in Ballincollig, County Cork, He started his sporting career as a minor with Ballincollig ...

, Hurler *

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, Politician *

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, Hurler * Donal "Donie" Collins, Hurler *

Francis Collins Francis Sellers Collins (born April 14, 1950) is an American physician-geneticist who discovered the genes associated with a number of diseases and led the Human Genome Project. He is the former director of the National Institutes of Health (N ...

, Hurler * Pat Barry, Hurler * Tim Crowley, Hurler * Tadhg Murphy, Hurler and Footballer *

Johnny Crowley Johnny Crowley (born 21 February 1956) is an Irish former hurler who played as a centre-back at senior level for the Cork county team. Born in Enniskean, County Cork, his family later moved to the city. He attended Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa ...

, Hurler *

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, Singer * John Minihan, Politician *

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, Hurler and Hurling Manager * Tom Kingston, Hurler *

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, Politician *

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, Politician *

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, Hurler * Kevin Murray, Hurler *

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, Hurler *

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, Hurler * Paul Tierney, Hurler * John Gardiner, Hurler * Shane Murphy, Hurler *

Donal O'Mahony Donal O'Mahony (born 1974) is an Irish hurling coach, selector and former hurler and Gaelic footballer. He is currently a selector with the Cork senior hurling team. Early life O'Mahony was born in Bishopstown, Cork. His father, Dan O'Mahony, ...

, Hurler and Hurling Manager

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Finbarr's College, Farranferris Secondary schools in County Cork Educational institutions established in 1887 1887 establishments in Ireland Educational institutions disestablished in 2006 2006 disestablishments in Ireland