St Comhghalls Secondary School

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St. Comhghalls College
Motto Pray and work together
Established 1920
Principal Gary Kelly
Head Boy Emmet Lavery
Head Girl Catherine Conlon
Location Drumcree Road, Lisnaskea
Students 420
Type Secondary School
Colours Navy Blue and Silver
Homepage http://www.stcomhghalls.20m.com/

St. Comhghalls College is a co-educational school providing second level education to pupils from 12 to 18 years old. The school is in Lisnaskea, a small town situated 12 miles from Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, and was founded in September 1920.

The current roll is 388, mainly from Lisnaskea, Maguiresbridge, Newtownbutler, the Knocks and Donagh. The school motto is "Pray and Work Together". The principal of the school is Gary Kelly and the vice principal is Michael Cassidy.

Contents

[edit] Sport

Sport plays a vital part in the day-to-day life of a St. Comhghalls Student and all sport is encouraged at the school. St. Comhghalls made national headlines in 1996 after the Under 16 boys team won the All-Ireland. In 2006 the Under 16 girls team made it to the final in the All Ireland.

[edit] Visit from the President

The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese and her husband, Dr Martin, who has maternal (McElgunn) roots here, has visited five venues in the county, among them St Joseph's Primary School, Donagh where, among the guests, were members of the McElgunn clan.

In the President's address to the student body of St Comhghall's Secondary School, Lisnaskea, she recalled the bad old days when people were forced by poverty and politics to emigrate.

The present, however, was different: "By some kind of a miracle, things are beginning to come together", she said, "not by coincidence but by sheer hard work and you young people, you will rove to us and show us the reality which is what Ireland should be like, that there is peace and prosperity. It is going to be an extraordinary Ireland, the best Ireland ever, and you are to be its inheritors and its leaders".[citation needed]

[edit] Grammar Status

St. Comhghalls Secondary school had grammar status in the years 1978 - 1982 but the then board of governors lifted the grammar status in order to give all candidate pupils an equal chance when applying for entry. The Western Education and Library Board has since pushed for the status to be re-introduced but the board of governors continue to strongly resist any such moves but instead since 1995 pupils must pass the entry tests to be admitted to year 8.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Business seminars

Former pupil and local multi-billionaire businessman Sean Quinn frequently holds talks with GCSE and A-Level Business Studies pupils about starting a new business and has donated large amounts to the school over the years and he most recently donated £2,000,000 towards an extension to the schools ICT department and donated £200,000 towards the schools new Sean Quinn library.

[edit] Principals/President

Years Name
1957 - 1966[1] Fr. Patrick Mulligan
1920 - 1954 Fr. Seamus O'Neill
1954 - 1978 Dr. John Livingstone
1978 - 1981 Mrs. Joan Leonard
1981 - 1990 Mr. MacEntee
1990 - 1998 Mr. John Murphy
1998 - 2006 Mr Hugh Kelly
2006 - Mr. Gary Kelly

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Fermanagh Story, Fr. Peadar Livingstone, Fourth Impression, L.W.N Hall, Booksellers, Enniskillen, 1990.