St Jarlath's College () 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 ...

co-educational

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 ...

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. The college was founded in 1800 and in 2009 absorbed St. Patrick's College, Tuam. The College, which operates under patronage of the

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ) is an Episcopal polity, archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Cathol ...

, is named after Jarlath, or ''Iarlaith'', who founded a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

in the town when, as legend has it, his

chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

wheel broke. , the enrolment was 625.

History

Foundation

The original St Jarlath's College was founded in 1800 by the

Edward Dillon, with the aim of preparing young boys for seminars formation at

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mou ...

. Dr Dillon had to seek permission to establish the college from the Protestant Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Beresford. It began with two thatched cottages at the Mall, Tuam later moving to a new building in Bishop Street, now commonly known as "the Old College". Its first president was Rev Oliver Kelly, who later became Archbishop of Tuam. In 1824, the facilities of the College were enlarged by the erection of additional houses in Bishop Street and in 1856, the site of the present college and grounds was bought by Archbishop John McHale. This property was known as Keighrey's Park and a portion of it was used as the town's fair green. McHale continued to set it as a fair green to the town commissioners at a yearly rent of 30 until 1875 in which year the college was extensively enlarged by the addition of two wings to the first building which had been erected in 1858. In 1851, Archbishop John McHale invited the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers (; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802. At the time of its ...

to Tuam. The invitation resulted in the birth of Tuam CBS, and later St Patrick's College, a Catholic day secondary school, which was to play a not insignificant role in the education of young men from the lower orders in Tuam.

Amalgamation

Plans to amalgamate St Patrick's And St Jarlath’s colleges had first been suggested in the late 1990s. At that time, a new school building had been promised by the Government. However, no such building materialised. The phasing out of boarding in St Jarlath's led to a reduced enrolment. In March 2008, Archbishop Michael Neary (bishop), a trustee of both schools, announced to staff that the amalgamation would proceed in the absence of a new school building. The amalgamation process commenced in September 2008 with enrollment of all first year students in St Jarlath's. The process was completed in September 2009 when students from both schools amalgamated into the new school, in the old St Jarlath's building.

Opera

Starting with ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' in 1944, the college's Amateur Operatic Society has performed a yearly musical or opera for the local community. The 1969 production, The Quaker Girl was the first to be held in conjunction with Mercy Convent, Tuam. The 2008 Opera was also in conjunction with St Patrick's College, due to the amalgamation process in progress at the time. The tradition of the annual Opera was continued following the amalgamation, the 2009 Opera being the first production of the newly amalgamated school. The Opera has been successful in recent years in the

Connacht Tribune The ''Connacht Tribune'' (''An Curadh Connachtach'') is a newspaper circulating chiefly in County Galway, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Ge ...

organised musical awards, winning a Best Overall and a Best Chorus award in 2008 for Hot Mikado.

Sport

The St Jarlath's College's senior football team hold the prestigious record of winning 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 ...

12 times – the first time in 1947 - more than any other school, and have also been runners-up on a further 14 occasions. The college also holds the record for winning the most

Connacht Colleges Senior Football Championship Connacht colleges senior football "A" championship, is the top level Gaelic football competition for secondary schools in Connacht. They compete for the Aonghus Murphy Memorial Cup. The winners advance to the Hogan Cup, the All-Ireland college ...

s, with an outstanding 49 wins. Since amalgamation, the school has won three Connacht Senior titles, reaching the

Final in 2011. Under the management of Joe Burke, and captained by

Ian Burke Ian Burke is a Gaelic footballer from Corofin, County Galway, who played at senior level for the Galway county team. In November 2018, Burke won an All-Star award. It was Galway's first football All-Star since 2003. Career Burke plays his ...

from Corofin, the school narrowly lost out to

St Colman's College, Newry St Colman's College is a Roman Catholic English-medium education, English-medium grammar school for boys, situated in Newry, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The college was founded in 1823 as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dromore, Dromore Dio ...

by just one point.

Sporting honours

: 2022(*covid year)) *Paddy Buggy Cup (All-Ireland Colleges Senior 'B' Hurling Championship) : 1 *

: 2 (2011, 2012, 2022) *

Runners-Up : 1 (2011)

Notable staff

* J. J. Cribbin — worked as Prefect of Studies *

Elaine Feeney Elaine Feeney (born 1979) is an Irish poet, novelist, and playwright. Her writing focuses on "the central themes of history, national identity, and state institutions, and she examines how these forces structure the everyday lives of Irish wom ...

— Irish writer * Michael Meehan — the former

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

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 ...

er teaches mathematics

Selected past pupils

John Birmingham John Birmingham (born 7 August 1964) is a British-born Australian author, known for the 1994 memoir ''He Died with a Felafel in His Hand'', the ''Axis of Time'' trilogy, and the well-received space opera series, the ''Cruel Stars'' trilogy. ...

— well known amateur geologist and astronomer *

John Blowick Rev John Blowick (1888–1972) was an Irish missionary priest and theologian. He was one of the founders of the Maynooth Mission to China which was later known as the Missionary Society of St. Columban. Life John Blowick was born 26 October 188 ...

— co-founder of the Missionary Society of St. Columban * Thomas Carr — former archbishop of Melbourne, Australia *

Enda Colleran Enda Colleran (May 1942 – 8 April 2004) was an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager who played for the Mountbellew–Moylough club and at senior level for the Galway county team. Career A native of Moylough, Colleran's Gaelic football prowe ...

— former Gaelic footballer for, and later manager of,

* Damien Comer — Gaelic footballer for

* J. J. Cribbin — Gaelic footballer for Mayo, played for the school team * Seán Óg De Paor — former Gaelic footballer for

* Michael Donnellan — former Gaelic footballer for

* Patrick Duggan — former bishop of Clonfert * Peter Fallon — Columban priest kidnapped and killed by Japanese forces in 1945 in the Philippines *

Seán Flanagan Seán Flanagan (26 January 1922 – 5 February 1993) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and Gaelic footballer who served as Minister for Health from 1966 to 1969, Minister for Lands from 1969 to 1973 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minis ...

— Fianna Fáil politician and Gaelic footballer * John Heneghan — Columban priest kidnapped and killed by Japanese forces in 1945, in the Philippines, alongside Peter Fallon * Jim Higgins —

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for the North–West constituency of Ireland * Monsignor James Horan — Parish Priest of Knock, responsible for the building of Ireland West Airport *

Colm Keaveney Colm Keaveney (born 11 January 1971) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician. He was elected as a Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway East constituency at the 2011 general election, He sat as an Independent TD after losing the L ...

— TD, Labour Party and Fianna Fáil * Thomas J. Kelly — Irish Nationalist and former leader of the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

* Mark Killilea — politician, former

for the North–West Constituency * Michael P. Kitt — former

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the Galway East constituency * Tom Kitt — former Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South constituency * Patrick Lavelle - nicknamed ''Patriot Priest Of Partry'' * Seamus Leydon — former Gaelic footballer for

* Patrick Anthony Ludden — first bishop of Syracuse, New York * Michael Lyster — former RTÉ presenter * George McDermot — lawyer, scholar, Paulist priest * Kevin McStay — former Gaelic footballer, played for the school team * Michael Meehan — former Gaelic footballer for

* Michael Neary — current archbishop of Tuam * Patrick O’Boyle- Bishop of Killala, 1950-1970 *

John O'Connor Power John O'Connor Power (13 February 1846 – 21 February 1919) was an Irish Fenian and a Home Rule League and Irish Parliamentary Party politician and as MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland represented ...

— M.P. for Mayo (1874–1885), Orator * John O'Donohoe QC — Senator for Ontario, Canada (1882–1902) *

Seán Purcell Seán Purcell (17 December 1928– 27 August 2005), was a Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Galway county team. Best known as a centre half-forward, he played in most outfield positions during his career. In 2009 he was ...

— Gaelic footballer for County Galway * John Sheehy — former British colonial official *

Tomás Tierney Tomás Tierney (born 14 September 1961) is an Irish people, Irish former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Galway county football team, Galway and Mayo county football team, Mayo county teams in the 1980s and 1990s. He played ...

— former Gaelic footballer for

and Mayo

Presidents

St. Jarlath's College

St Jarlath's College (post-amalgamation)

References

External links

Tuam Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Jarlath's College 1801 establishments in Ireland Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in Tuam Catholic secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland Educational institutions established in 1801 Secondary schools in County Galway