Gormanston College

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Gormanston College
Gormanston College

Gormanston College, is a private, fee-paying, coeducational Catholic secondary school under the trusteeship of the Franciscan Province of Ireland. The College is located at Gormanston Castle (built 1786), near Gormaston, County Meath, about 32 kilometres (20 miles) north of Dublin, Ireland.

The student body numbers 596 and enjoys a strong international flavour. There is a mix of boarding and day boarding (day boarding is co-educational). The first students graduated from the College in 1957 a number of whom returned to become rectors at the College, Pat McSweeney OFM, Bob Doyle OFM, Paddy Timothy OFM

The College ethos strives to be fair and firm in an atmosphere where students are directed towards the values of mutual respect, social awareness and reverence for Gospel values. Our College Motto is Dei Gloriae, Hiberniae Honori which translates To the glory of God and the honour of Ireland. There are over 600 students enrolled at the College and it accommodates both day boarders (both genders) and boarders (male).

Contents

[edit] Foundation

The College was founded in the middle of the twentieth century, partially to establish a quality secondary college with a more Nationalist ethos than other boarding schools in the pale area; the most obvious manifestation of this emphasis was the establishment of Gaelic Football as the main sporting activity evcouraged by the college. Gormanston Castle and demesne was acquired by the Franciscan Order from Mrs. Pamela O'Connor whose husband was the late sixteenth Viscount Gormanston. He held this title from 1925 until his death in 1940, and was a member of the Preston family who were Viscounts Gormanston since the fourteenth century. This longevity means that Viscount Gormanston is the Premier Viscount of Ireland. The foxes of County Meath gather in the precincts of the Castle when a member of the Preston family is about to pass away. The current Viscount Gormanton is Jenico Preston, 17th Viscount Gormanston who lives in Kensington, London.

[edit] Sport

A nine-hole golf course surrounds the castle, and a many other sports are practiced. Due to the varied range of sporting activities available and encouraged, the college did not excel in any one discipline, nonetheless many fine sportsmen established themselves in the various activities.

[edit] Other Functions

During the school holidays the college plays host to various activities, including the Irish beekeepers' summer school[1]

[edit] Distinguished Past Pupils

[edit] College Grounds

The college consists mainly of a modern building, built in a manner after the Festival of Britain, and is attached to the residential castle. The grounds, straddling County Meath and County Dublin, contain a river, a mature wood and a small golf course. The main approach avenue scrolls through a wood of selected trees. There are several playing fields, in two different locations but contigious with the college. The college and grounds are located between Dublin - Belfast motorway and the old main Dublin - Drogheda road. The eastern face of Gormanston Castle looks to the sea, down a long straight field, known as "Cromwells Avenue". One of the most remarkable features of the estate is the yew walk, a foliage enclosed triangular area that dates back some hundreds of years, and leads down to the grave-yard; where several of the Order, both prieste and nuns, as well as some students, are buried. The old coach road from Dublin to Belfast runs alongside the eastern college boundry walls.

[edit] References

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[edit] External links

[edit] See also