St Kieran's College
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St Kieran's College (Coláiste Chiaráin) is a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
secondary school, located on College Road,
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
, Ireland.


History

St Kieran's College was founded in
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
, in the diocese of Ossory in 1782, after the passing of the Catholic Relief Act of 1782. This act enabled Catholics to found schools (with the consent of the Protestant bishop of the diocese) for the first time since the Irish penal laws were introduced. Prior to this only Protestants could found educational institutions. The college was founded as the diocesan school and was the first of its kind in the country. The school's motto is "Hiems Transiit", Latin for "The winter has passed", It is a metaphor for the repeal of the penal laws which had kept Catholics as second class citizens in Ireland. It is taken from chapter 3:17 verse 11 of the
Song of Solomon The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, it is erotic poe ...
book of the Bible: The saint for whom the school was named was St
Ciarán of Saigir Ciarán of Saigir (; 5th century – ), also known as Ciarán mac Luaigne or Saint Kieran (), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and is considered the first saint to have been born in Ireland,''Catholic Online''St. Kieran/ref> a ...
, Apostle of
Osraige Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...
, "first-born of the saints of Ireland" (''Primogenitus Sanctorum Hiberniae''). By the 1790s upheaval on the continent led to the demand for the provision of education for priests at home. In 1782 the college opened its doors to students of
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
, the first college in Ireland to do so. The first location of the college was at Burrell's Hall, James Street, Kilkenny, which is now the location of Saint Mary's Cathedral (the seat of the
Bishop of Ossory . The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but i ...
) and the
Irish 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 ...
secondary school. It was later moved to the present location of the Loreto Convent Girls' Secondary School, Granges Road, Kilkenny. In 1814, the Birchfield Estate was purchased for ecclesiastical students for ''St Kyran's College'' with the name ''Birchfield College'' also being used. The College was at Birchfield, St Patrick's civil parish, Barony of Shillelogher, until 1838 when the estate was bought by the Smithwick family. Between 1811 and 1845 a new permanent building was constructed on what is now College Road. Architect William Deane Butler, who also designed St Mary's Cathedral, was the architect; he was assisted by George Ashlin. The tower which rises from the centre of the cathedral was actually originally intended for the college. Some distinguishing features of the building include the Clock Tower, the Chapel and the Glass-Hall. The college chapel contains some stained glass windows designed by
Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau ...
which have recently undergone restoration. Fundraising has begun for maintenance and restoration work on the pipe organ in the College Chapel which dates from the 1800s.


Seminary

As well as teaching lay students St Kieran's was a minor and major seminary. In 1793 courses in philosophy and theology were added, previously only humanities were taught. As it was located in Birchfield, Shillelogher, the seminary for a time was known as Birchfield College, and would have had a President and professors of philosophy and theology. As a seminary, the College educated many priests who went on to be ordained to serve in Ireland and abroad (some 600 in the United States). Unlike
Maynooth College St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland. The college and national seminary on its grounds are often referred to as Maynooth College. The college was of ...
St Kieran's was not supported by the British government financially.William L. Smith
St Kierans' College - Irish priests in the United States: a vanishing subculture
books.google.ie; accessed 24 October 2014.
During the 19th century following the example of
St. Patrick's, Carlow College St Patrick's, Carlow College, is a liberal arts college located in Carlow, Ireland. The college is the second oldest third level institution in Ireland and was founded in 1782 by James Keefe, then Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, a ...
students were able to sit degree examinations for the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
, where the name of the college was sometimes misspelled as ''St. Kyrans''. In 1982 the College celebrated its bicentenary with over 200 priests from around the world attending. In 1994, with the approval of the authorities in the seminary and all the priests of the diocese, a decision was made by Bishop Forristal to close the seminary at St Kieran's after 212 years due to a dramatic fall in vocations to the priesthood.


Present day education

The college had originally catered to seminarians and boarding students but eventually day students were allowed to attend. This led to the abolishment of a three day week class structure and the introduction of the five-days-a-week school time. In 2003 it ceased boarding students and became solely a day-student secondary school.


Adult education


Adult faith formation

The College is the base for the diocesan adult religious education and faith formation office. This office works with parishes and diocesan groups to help facilitate education in the faith for people of the diocese. It is the office which publishes the diocesan magazine, Ossory Times. In association with the Catholic Diocese of Ossory, 2011 saw the commencement of a Certificate in Theological Studies (Level 7) accredited by
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 ...
. In 2014 the Diploma in Catholic Education (Level 8) for teachers in Catholic secondary schools was offered in the college, in conjunction with
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 ...
, and the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
.


Kilkenny Campus - Maynooth University (1997–2018)

From 1997 to 2018 the Kilkenny Campus of
Maynooth University Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...
, an outreach project of the university, was housed in the west wing of the original college buildings. Two modular and inter-disciplinary part-time degree programmes (in Local Studies and in Community Studies) were offered, as well as a range of undergraduate certificates. Postgraduate programmes for adult education practitioners were offered on a part-time basis. Approximately 1,400 awards were made by the university to students who took their courses in Kilkenny between 1997 and 2012. In September 2013, the first full-time students registered at the campus for the First Year of their BA. This initiative offered students a chance to commence their studies locally, before transferring to the main campus in Maynooth for second and third year.
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 ...
taught the Theology modules in St Kieran's as part of the university's BA programme, and could progress to a BA Th from Maynooth (Pontifical University). From 2010 Maynooth University, Kilkenny Campus hosted the Certificate in Christian Studies for lay Anglicans, in association with the
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
Diocese of Cashel and Ossory The United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory (''Full title'': the United Dioceses of Cashel, Waterford and Lismore with Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin, ) is a diocese of the Church of Ireland in the south-eastern part of Ireland
, accredited by St. Patrick's College, Maynooth (Pontifical University). Graduation ceremonies took place in Kilkenny Castle; in its initial years they took place in Maynooth. Maynooth University closed the Kilkenny Campus at St Kieran's in June 2018.


ICT Research Centre

In February 2011 it was announced that a new ICT Research centre was to be established in St Kieran's, this is a partnership between Kilkenny County Council (Invest Kilkenny),
Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ) was an Institutes of technology in the Republic of Ireland, institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engi ...
(Telecommunications Software and Systems Group) and the
Institute of Technology, Carlow The Institute of Technology, Carlow (IT Carlow; ) was an institute of technology, located in Carlow, Ireland. The institute had campuses in Carlow, Wexford, and Wicklow, as well as a part-time provision elsewhere in Ireland. Along with the Wate ...
. it is on the campus in Burrell's Hall it was officially opened on 24 May 2012 by Taoiseach
Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...
.


Extra services

St Kieran's College also provides services and class-room usage for the City Vocational School and Coláiste Pobail Osraí, the city's Irish-language medium secondary school.


Archives

The Carrigan Room contains all of the documents and pictures collected by William Carrigan for his four-volume encyclopaedia on the history of the diocese. The archives also contain documents collected by Carrigan for an intended second edition. These were never used for that purpose after Carrigan died during the
1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, H1N1 subtype of the influenz ...
. A collection of papers of Kilkenny families and businesses, including the Wandesforde papers, the Aylward papers, the Smithwick papers, the Swift Heath papers and the Catherine Lanigan papers, is also stored at the college.


Avonmore Cooperative Foundation

Glanbia Glanbia plc ( ) is an Irish multinational nutrition company that owns several consumer brands that produce products such as food supplements and ingredients businesses. Glanbia is headquartered in Kilkenny, Ireland with over 5,500 employees in ov ...
Plc recently became the first commercial company in Kilkenny to recognise the value of Kilkenny Archives Ltd., to see a community value in what it does, when it passed all its old original Creamery Records to them for safekeeping as the Glanbia Collection. Glanbia, one of the world’s top nutrition companies with revenues of over €3.5 billion and 5,815 employees, was originally formed by local farmers through the amalgamation of small rural co-operative Creamery societies from Kilkenny and some neighbouring counties, when together with Unigate Limited support they formed the Avonmore Creameries Federation. Realising the benefits of increased scale and greater diversification in the 1960s, they saw the need for an amalgamation of many small, locally focused co-operatives across Ireland. It led to the construction of a new multi-purpose Avonmore dairy plant facility in
Ballyragget Ballyragget () is a small town on the river Nore in the north of County Kilkenny in Ireland. Ballyragget is on the N77 road (Ireland), N77 road, north of Kilkenny. As of the 2016 census of Ireland, 2016 census, it had a population of 1,082 peo ...
,
County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () 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. It is named after the City status in Ir ...
, and a Plant they claimed was the biggest food processing facility in Europe at that time. Today that giant global entity is known as Glanbia. Glanbia has its origins in the Irish agricultural co-operative movement that evolved over the last century since first Irish Co-operative in 1889, founded by
Horace Plunkett Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (24 October 1854 – 26 March 1932), was an Anglo-Irish agricultural reformer, pioneer of agricultural cooperatives, Unionist MP, supporter of Home Rule, Irish Senator and author. Plunkett, a younger brother of J ...
. Today Glanbia has operations in 34 countries and is exporting to more than 100 countries worldwide. Glanbia plc was formed in 1997 out of the merger of Avonmore Foods plc and Waterford Foods plc. Glanbia is ranked by revenue (2010 figures) in the top 100 Cooperatives, No 98 in the world and No 1 in Ireland by the International Co-operative Alliance, the global apex organisation of co-operatives worldwide. According to Glanbia Collections in Kilkenny Archives at St Kieran's College, Kilkenny, the Avonmore Coop brand was created through the merger of over 30 village creameries that are now included among their archives, and available for public viewing. Among the records lodged include the minute books and papers of Kilmanagh Co-operative Creamery, which is one of the oldest creameries in Kilkenny.


Activities

St Kieran's is also famed as a
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
school. The college has won 26 All-Ireland Senior Colleges Finals (the greatest number by any school in the country); 55 Leinster Senior Colleges titles; 39 Leinster Junior titles; and 34 Leinster Juvenile titles. Other sports that the school partakes in are
Gaelic handball Gaelic handball (known in Ireland simply as handball; ) is a sport where players hit a ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return, and that may be played with two (singles) or four player ...
,
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 ...
, soccer, basketball, equestrian trials and showjumping, chess, swimming, golf, tennis, and athletics with a growing reputation for cross-country running in recent years. On 7 May 2009, the U-16 soccer team won the All-Ireland for the first time in the school's history. Other than sports, there are poetry workshops with a writer-in-residence, poet Mark Roper, who has helped compile poetry broadsheets and advised people on the way to being published. Musical and artistic studies are also part of the school curriculum. The school also has a film-editing suite, which was used to complete a feature-length film about the Great Famine. This project was undertaken as part of a Schools Integration Project in Kilkenny.


School crest and motto

The motto of the school is "Hiems Transiit",
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 ...
for "The Winter Has Passed". The school crest is the diocese's crest emblazoned on a
Celtic cross upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...
. The coat of arms of the diocese has a representation of St Kieran between two pillars. It appears on Episcopal arms from the 18th century and on a beautiful book plate of Archbishop Troy as well as the college crest.


People associated with the college

As a seminary, the college trained many priests for ministry in Ireland and abroad. Patrick Kelly, Bishop of Richmond, taught at Birchfield College, and also served as president.
Thomas MacDonagh Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh (; 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 of 1916, a signatory of the Proclama ...
, an Easter Rising leader, was a teacher at the school (1901–03), as was the pacifist Francis Sheehy Skeffington (1900–01). Both men died in the aftermath of the Rising in 1916. John Wilson, former Tánaiste, was a teacher in the school (1957–60).


Past pupils

Notable students to have attended the school include: * Rev Dr Patrick Collier, Bishop of Ossory * Raymond Crotty, economist * Michael Egan, Irish-American politician *
Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...
, actor (did not graduate) *
Phil Hogan Philip Hogan (born 4 July 1960) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as European Commissioner for Trade between 2019 and 2020, and previously European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development between 2014 and 2019. He p ...
, former EU Commissioner for Agriculture. * Thomas Kilroy, playwright who played
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
for the school team, captaining them in 1952 * Rev. Dr. Walter McDonald Professor of Dogmatic Theology, Maynooth, also taught at St. Kieran'. * Patrick McKee, politician *
Tomm Moore Thomas "Tomm" Moore (born 7 January 1977) is an Irish filmmaker, animator, illustrator and comics artist. He co-founded Cartoon Saloon with Nora Twomey and Paul Young, an animation studio and production company based in Kilkenny, Ireland. Hi ...
, filmmaker and animator * Patrick Neary, banker * Dr Richard Phelan,
Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh The Diocese of Pittsburgh () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. It was established on August 11, 1843. The diocese is a suffragan diocese of the Archdi ...
, Bishop of Pittsburgh * Brendan Mulvey, former member of Cellar Door * Father Peter Whelan, OSM, Army chaplain during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
* Seán J. White, writer, academic, broadcaster and journalist * Gavan Holohan, professional footballer * Archbishop Thomas A. White, served as Apostolic Nuncio to Rwanda, Fiji and New Zealand. * Bishop James Whyte of
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...
, New Zealand * Bishop William J. McDonald, American bishop and Rector of the
Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...
* Diarmuid Cody, hurler ( Brian Cody's son) * Several members of the bands
Kerbdog Kerbdog were an alternative metal band from Kilkenny, Ireland, formed in 1991. Following two albums released on Mercury Records, the band split up in 1998. Since 2005, they have reformed for a series of occasional one-off performances. In 2012 ...
and Engine Alley


Presidents of St Kieran's College

* Rev John Dunne (1782–1787) * Dr Lanigan (1787–1791) * Rev Richard Mandfield and Rev Patrick McGrath (joint Presidents) (1793–1816) Maudlin St & Birchfield * Rev Thomas Quinlan (1815–1816) * Rev Nicholas Sherman (1816–1817) * Rev Patrick Kelly (1817–1820) * Rev
Edward Walsh Edward Walsh may refer to: Sports * Ed Walsh (1881–1959), Major League pitcher * Ed Walsh Jr. (1905–1937), Major League pitcher, son of Ed Walsh * Ed Walsh (ice hockey) (born 1951), retired goaltender * Eddie Walsh (footballer) (1914–2006), K ...
(1820–1836) * Rev Gerald Foley (1836–1838) (and see below) * Rev Edward Aylward (1838) - President of Ecclesiastical Seminary Burrell's Hall * Rev Lawrence Reynolds (1817) * Rev Nicholas Sherman (1817–1829) * Rev Gerard Foley (1829–1832) * Rev John O'Shea (1831–1838) * Rev Edward Nolan (1838–1839) - President of Lay Seminary Present buildings * Rev Edward Nowlan, (1839–1842) (Pro-President) * Dean Nowlan (1839–1842) * Rev James Ryan (1842–1843) * Dr Kinsella (1843) * Rev Ed. McDonald (1858–1873) * Rev Nicholas Murphy (1873–1875) * Rev Patrick Murphy (1875–1885) * Rev Michael Barry (1885–1894) * Rev James Doyle (1894–1901) * Rev Dr Brennan (1901–1903) * Rev John Doody (1903–1911) * Rev Cornelius McNamara (1911–1919) * Rev Richard Aylward (1919–1925) * Rev Dr Patrick Collier (1925–1928) * Rev James Staunton D.D. (1928–1938) * Rev James Ryan (1939–1947) * Rev P Dunphy (1947–1956) * Rev Gabriel Loughry (1956–1964) * Rev John Holohan (1964–1973) * Mgr Tommy Maher (1973–1983) * Rev Martin Joseph Campion (1983–1990) * Mgr Michael Ryan (1990–1994) * Mgr Jim Cassin (1994–2005) * Mgr Kieron Kennedy (2005–2012) * Rev Dr Dermot Ryan (2013–present)


References


Sources

* ''Saint Kieran's College Kilkenny'', Rev P Birch, M H Gill & Son Ltd, 1951 * ''St Kieran's College Kilkenny 1782-1882'', Fearghus O Ferghail, Wellbrook Press, 1982 {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Kieran's College St Patrick's College, Maynooth Maynooth University Catholic seminaries Secondary schools in County Kilkenny Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland Educational institutions established in 1782 1782 establishments in Ireland Presidents of St Kieran's College, Kilkenny People educated at St Kieran's College, Kilkenny