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Kilkenny College

Coordinates: 52°40′03″N 7°15′00″W / 52.6674°N 7.2501°W / 52.6674; -7.2501
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Kilkenny College
Address
Map
Castlecomer Road

Kilkenny
,
County Kilkenny
,
R95 CF61

Ireland
Coordinates52°40′03″N 7°15′00″W / 52.6674°N 7.2501°W / 52.6674; -7.2501
Information
TypeCo-educational Day and Boarding School (Public)
MottoComme Je Trouve
(As I Find)
Religious affiliation(s)Church of Ireland
Established1538; 486 years ago (1538)
FounderPiers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond
Board of GovernorsRight Revd. Michael A.J. Burrows, Bishop of Cashel and Ossory
HeadmasterEmma Raughter
StaffApprox 100
GenderCoeducational
Age12 to 18
Enrolmentca. 920 (ca. 500 boarding)
Houses4
Colour(s)Red, Black    
PublicationThe Swift Review
AthleticsRugby, hockey
Websitehttp://www.kilkennycollege.ie

Kilkenny College is a Church of Ireland co-educational day and boarding secondary school located in Kilkenny, in the South-East of Ireland. It is the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland. In 2013 it transferred to the state/public sector and no longer charges fees for schooling. The school's students are mainly Protestant (Church of Ireland), although it is open to other denominations. [1]

The college motto Comme je trouve, which means "As I find" in French, comes from the family coat of arms of the Butlers, an aristocratic family in the area and former patrons of the school. It is intended to encourage grit, striving through adversity and taking life's challenges head on.

It was founded in 1538 to replace the School of the Vicars Choral, which had been founded in 1234. Piers Butler the Earl of Ormond located it in the city centre. It was moved to its current location on the outskirts of Kilkenny in 1985.

History

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Kilkenny College provides schooling mainly for the Protestants of the community but is also open to other denominations, catering for boarders and day-pupils. Founded in 1538 by Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond and his wife, Margaret, Kilkenny Grammar School as was then called was located to the west of the cathedral and sited beside the library of St Canice's Cathedral. The 1538 school replaced the older School of the Vicars Choral, which was founded in 1234. It was closed for a period in the 1650s (because of the English civil war that spilled over into Ireland), reopening as Kilkenny College in 1667 under the auspices of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, following the Butler tradition of promoting education in the city. It soon became a famous school and so, in the 1780s, a new college was built on the same site overlooking the river Nore on John Street.

The College in 1835, The Dublin Penny Journal

In 1985 the college was relocated to the 63-acre (250,000 m2) site at Celbridge House on the outskirts of the city, while the old school with its Georgian buildings and elegant facade, now known as County Hall, houses the offices of Kilkenny County Council within Kilkenny city centre.[2]

At one time the college was termed a university and boasted a complement of three professors. In contrast, the end of the 19th century saw the college reduced to one pupil. The amalgamation with the nearby Pococke school was its saving. Twenty-nine headmasters of Kilkenny College are recorded, including such notable figures as Edward Jones, Bishop of St Asaph and John Mason Harden. In the 20th century there were four long-serving men: C.G. Shankey 1917 - 1952; Gilbert Colton 1953–1979; Samuel McClure 1979–1996; Canon Robert John Black 1996–2005. E. R. Dodds, the famous classicist and Michael Cusack also taught at the school.[3]

During Gilbert Colton's time the school was amalgamated with the Collegiate School Celbridge in 1973 and Kilkenny College became co-educational. During Sam McClure's stewardship, the college moved to its new campus in 1985, relocating to the 63 acre (254,952m2) site at Celbridge House on the outskirts of the city. Under Canon Robert John Black, Kilkenny College saw a significant phase of growth, development and expansion to the facilities and resources of the school during his nine years of leadership.[4]

Coat of arms

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Quarterly: 1st, or, a chief indented, azure; 2nd, gules, quarters: with three covered cups or; 3rd, argent, a lion rampant gules, on a chief of the second a swan, close, of the first, tween two annulets or; 4th, ermine, a saltier gules. Out of a ducal coronet or, a plume of five ostrich feathers, there from issuant a falcon, rising all argent. Dexter, a falcon, wings expanded argent, beaked and membered or; sinister, a male griffin argent, beaked, rayed, collared and chained gold or.

— Charles Mosley

The school's coat of arms is inherited from the Butler family. The escutcheon (shield) and crest in use today are almost identical to those formally described in Burke's Peerage. Butler's heraldric supporters (termed dexter and sinister) do not appear on the school's coat of arms. The Butler family motto ("Comme Je Trouve"), originally appearing on the crest, now appears below the school's shield.

The most widely used version of the school's coat of arms (the official one) has evolved with some changes. The silver quadrants of the escutcheon and the falcon itself have become white, the third quadrant's lion has emerged passant (walking past) while the fourth quadrant has lost its ermine (tail spots on fur). It's not clear if these small changes are attributable to artistic interpretation, simplified draughtsmanship (in the case of ermine) or possibly error (the lion). The modern coat of arms is supported by the letters "K" and "C" at the sides, and 1538, the year the college was founded at the bottom.

Today

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The current campus on the outskirts of the city comprises a complex of classrooms, dormitories, catering and dining facilities, it is set on a landscaped 50-acre (200,000 m2) site. Today Kilkenny College attempts to serve a dual purpose role as the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland and as the local school for a large number of day pupils from the city and surrounding area.[citation needed]

It is one of five schools in the country taking part in a pilot project on self-assessment and interchange in conjunction with 100 other European schools.[citation needed] The ethos of the school is one of a family community and an emphasis is placed on team sport in particular rugby and hockey.[citation needed]

In March 2013, the school announced that it would no longer be charging tuition fees for all students. Instead, only boarders and students who availed of extra-curricular activities would pay for accommodation, food, and other services.[5]

Notable past pupils

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See also: Category:People educated at Kilkenny College

In its almost 500-year history, Kilkenny College has produced a number of notable past pupils, including:

Academia

Arts and Media

  • John Banim (1798–1842), Kilkenny-born novelist and playwright.[13]
  • Thomas Bibby (1799–1863), poet.
  • William Congreve (1670–1729), English-born poet and playwright of the Restoration period (17th and 18th centuries).
  • George Farquhar (1677–1707), a dramatist, who made notable contributions to Restoration comedy.
  • Christopher Hewetson (1737–1798), neoclassical sculptor.
  • Nick Vincent Murphy (born 1977), screenwriter.
  • Jonathan Swift, D.D. (1668–1745), 17th century satirist and author of Gulliver's Travels, Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin, and one of Kilkenny College's most distinguished alumni, so much so that the newest extension of classrooms is called the Jonathan Swift block in his honour.[14]

Law and Politics

Military

Religion

Sport

References

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  1. ^ "Fee-paying Kilkenny College moves to Irish state sector". BBC News. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Kilkenny County Hall". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Michael Cusack, Creator of the Gaelic Athletic Association". Pearl River Ancient Order of the Hibernians. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Black, Rev. Canon Robert John E.F.B." Irish Times. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  5. ^ Harrison, Shane (6 March 2013). "Protestant school joins state sector". BBC News. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Richard Baldwin - Former Provosts - the Provost's Office : Trinity College Dublin". Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  7. ^ Dobbs (1946, p.134)
  8. ^ Dobbs (1946, p.135)
  9. ^ O'Sullivan (2007)
  10. ^ JOURNAL OF THE WATERFORD & SOUTH-EAST OF IRELAND ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. FIRST QUARTER, JANUARY TO MARCH,1915.
  11. ^ "Full text of "Memoirs of George Berkeley, D.D. late Bishop of Cloyne in Ireland"". 23 October 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  12. ^ Clarke (1951).
  13. ^ Murray (1857)
  14. ^ Dobbs (1946, p.140)
  15. ^ Nairn (1969, pp312-315)
  16. ^ Darwin (1961)
  17. ^ David Alfred Chart (Author). An Economic History of Ireland: Amazon.co.uk: David Alfred Chart: 9781116749861: Books. ASIN 1116749866. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ Dobbs (1946, p.138)
  19. ^ Dobbs (1946, p.139)
  20. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. ^ Langtry (1892)
  22. ^ "Copeland signs for Munster as Murray out of Perpignan trip". The Independent. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  23. ^ Rugby (1 April 2013). "Craig Ronaldson signs for Connacht". Rte.ie. Retrieved 3 November 2019.

Sources

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  • Clarke, D., 1951, "Thomas Prior, 1681-1751: Founder of the Royal Dublin Society", in Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, 40(159), pp. 334–344.
  • Darwin, K., 1961, "David Alfred Chart," in Journal of the British Records Association, 4(25).
  • Dobbs, W.E.J., 1946, “A Supplement to the Entrance Register of Kilkenny School, 1684-1800,” in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 76(3), pp133–142.
  • Nairn, B., 1967, “Kinchela, John (1774?-1845)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, pp 51–52.
  • Nairn, B., 1969, "Butler, Edward (1823-1879)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3, Melbourne University Press, pp 312–315.
  • Langtry, J., 1892, History of the Church in Eastern Canada and Newfoundland, New York: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
  • O'Sullivan, G., 2007, Speech by the President of RCSI at Summer Conferrings, University College Cork, 21 June 2007 [1][permanent dead link].
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