St Paul's College in

Raheny Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 AD (Mervyn Archdall (Irish antiquary), Mervyn Archdall). The district ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, 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 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 ...

for boys under the trusteeship of the Vincentian Fathers, formally the

Congregation of the Mission The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vin ...

. Founded in 1950, it is one of two Vincentian schools for boys in Dublin.

Operations

The school reported they have approximately 500 schoolboys , and they prepare them for the Irish

Junior Cycle The Junior Cycle () is the first stage of the education programme for post-primary education within the Republic of Ireland. It is overseen by the Department of Education (Ireland), Department of Education and the National Council for Curriculu ...

and the

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certificate ...

final examinations and assessments. Teaching support facilities include two computer rooms, four science laboratories, a technical graphics room, and a

woodwork Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinetry, furniture making, wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by ...

room. The school has a music department and school choir, which performs a Christmas carol service and a summer concert each year. Senior students perform in the school's annual musical.

Governance

The school is overseen by a board of management, appointed by the trustees, the Vincentian Fathers, a member of the

Vincentian Family The Vincentian Family comprises organizations inspired by the life and work of Vincent de Paul, a 17th-century French priest who "transformed the face of France." Catholic Church Vincent de Paul directly founded the Confraternities of Charity ...

of Roman Catholic religious institutes. It comprises representatives of the trustees, parents, and teaching staff. Operations and teaching are directed by the Principal, assisted by the Deputy Principal.

Presidents and Principals

The school was originally led by a President, assisted by a Dean. The principal teachers to date have been: Fr Walshe, Fr Lyne, Dominic McQuillan, Ciaran McCormack, Michael Behan and Sean Moran.

History

The site

St Paul's College, was developed on the a site at Sybil Hill, a location on the border of Raheny and Clontarf, which was formerly the residence of Reverend Benjamin Plunket, the retired Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath who was the nephew of the 1st Earl of Iveagh and Lady Ardilaun from whom he inherited the entire Saint Anne's estate. Unable to afford to keep the large estate, Plunket kept Sybil Hill House and about 30 acres of park, and sold the remainder of the estate, valued using the Compulsory Purchase Order process, to Dublin Corporation. The Corporation developed it, about half each as public park and housing, with small pieces used to assist in school provision.

Foundation and lands

Archbishop John Charles McQuaid requested the Vincentian order to open a school for boys in Raheny, which was a population growth area, and after some discussion, the order agreed to do so. They bought some 31 acres of the former St Anne's estate from Dublin Corporation in 1948, and then, in 1950, completed a purchase of Sybil Hill House and lands from Bishop Plunket's son, and were able to open the school on a limited basis in Sybil Hill House, that year.History of St. Annes park and the red stables
www.tirnaog-caife.ie Additional lands were purchased from Dublin Corporation, in 1952 for 2,400 pounds, partly to compensate for lands sold to allow the city authorities to form Sybil Hill Road, and in 1953 in a land swap for a net 256 pounds, and the last major addition to the college estate was the purchase of nearby Maryville House and four acres of land in 1959. Maryville was demolished and playing fields laid out on its lands. Sybil Hill House was dedicated to Vincentian order administration and the accommodation of retired priests.

Later history

Following the burning down of the Belgrove Football Club pavilion in Clontarf in 1975, the college gymnasium became the venue for the Grove Social Club until it ceased operations in 1997.

Sports and grounds

Pupils play rugby,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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 ...

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 ...

, basketball, golf, and athletics. The school had grounds of over , including all-weather grass pitches and grass playing fields. The sports grounds of the college were also used by local sports clubs such as Clontarf Gaelic football and hurling teams, and Belgrove Football Club, as well as other teams.

St. Paul's Swimming Pool

St Paul's College had a swimming pool on its lands, which was run both for the school and as a public facility, with pay-as-you-go admission available at certain times. The pool was closed on 31 August 2006, despite Dublin City Council offering financial support in recognition of its availability for public use, to help with repairs to the pool. The statements from the Vincentians that there was no plan to sell, was deemed disingenuous by some, since the land was sold for development, which was completed, with apartments constructed.

The playing fields and development plans

It was announced in 2015 that the Vincentian Fathers planned to sell half the college land for development, and they were sold to Crekav Trading, part of the Marlet property group, in 2017. The lands were zoned "to protect and provide for institutional and community use." The developer applied for re-zoning and for planning permission to develop on the lands, which resulted in multiple legal battles over several years and public demonstrations against re-zoning and development. In 2017 the developer stopped sports clubs using the pitches and stopped cutting the grass. Light-bellied Brent geese also use St. Paul’s playing pitches at St. Anne's for feeding and wintering as part of their migration pattern, which some contended should make development on the playing fields illegal under EU Habitats Directive.Geese to the Rescue
by Mike Smith, Village Magazine, February 10, 2018. Planning was applied for, granted on appeal by An Bord Pleanála, but refused by the same body after a judicial review, and new plans were approved in March 2020. In May 2021, the High Court overturned a Bord Pleanála decision and another attempt to clear building on the fields. In 2022 Dublin City Council rezoned the lands from "Z15 - institutional and community use" to "Z9 - recreational use", which could block further plans for residential use. 2022 also saw plans announced for the sale and development of Sybil Hill House (now a Vincentian administration centre) and nearby lands, at the northern side of the school.

Order facilities

Within the grounds of St Paul's is the administrative centre for the Vincentians in Ireland and the order's Provincial, the superior for the province that includes Ireland, resides there.Vincentians website
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Notable alumni

Ivor Callely Ivor Callely (born 6 May 1958) is an Irish former politician who served as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-Central constituency from 1989 to 2007 and a member of Seanad Éireann from 2007 to 2011, having been nominated b ...

- Former politician * Mick Clohisey - Long distance runner and Olympian * P.J. Gallagher - Comedian and radio presenter * Seán Haughey - Politician *

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- Award-winning writer and film director * Paul Anthony McDermott - Barrister, academic and media personality *

Gerry Ryan Gerard Ryan (4 June 1956 – 30 April 2010) was an Irish people, Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented ''The Gerry Ryan Show'' on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1 ...

- Radio broadcaster * Marty Whelan - TV and radio presenter *

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- Judge *

Declan Kiberd Declan Kiberd (born 24 May 1951) is an Irish writer and scholar with an interest in modern Irish literature, both in the English and Irish languages, which he often approaches through the lens of postcolonial theory. He is also interested in th ...

- University professor and writer *

Damien Kiberd Damien Kiberd is an Irish journalist and commentator. He is one of the four founders of, and was formerly editor of, ''The Sunday Business Post''. He is also a former business editor of ''The Irish Press'', and of the ''Sunday Tribune''. Kiberd ha ...

- Journalist * Mick Fitzpatrick - Irish Rugby international * Kevin Mays - Irish Rugby international * Frank Ennis - Irish Rugby international

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul's College, Raheny Raheny Vincentian schools Secondary schools in Dublin (city) Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland