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Clongowes Wood College

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Clongowes Wood College is a private secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane in County Kildare, Ireland. Founded by the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits) in 1814, it is one of Ireland's oldest Catholic schools, and featured prominently in James Joyce's semiautobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Its current headmaster is Fr. Leonard Moloney S.J.; Fr. Michael Sheil S.J. retired as rector in 2006 and Fr. Bruce Bradley (headmaster 1992-2000) is his successor. Clongowes is one of a number of Jesuit schools in Ireland. It currently has 450 students. 2007 is its 194th academic year.

In 1886 St Stanislaus College, Tullamore, was amalgamated to Clongowes Wood College. Relatively recent histories of the college were written by Fr. Roland Burke Savage S.J. (published in The Clongownian school magazine during the 1980s) and Peter Costello (Clongowes Wood: a History of Clongowes Wood College, 1814-1989, published by Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1989). An important earlier history is The Clongowes Record 1814-1932 by Fr. Timothy Corcoran, S.J. (Browne and Nolan, Dublin, 1932). Currently there are 12 jesuits living in the castle.

History

The school traces its history back to a estate owned by the Wogan family in 1418 under the reign of Henry IV. The name "Clongowes" comes from the Irish for "meadow" (cluain) and for "blacksmith" (gobha). The estate was originally known as "Clongowes de Silva" (de Silva meaning "wood" in Latin).

The estate later passed to the Eustace family and became part of the fortified border of the Pale in 1494. The Eustaces lost their estates during the Restoration.

The estate was sold by the Wogan-Brownes to the Jesuits in March 1814 for £16,000.

The school accepted its first pupil, James MacLorinan, on 18 May 1814.

Buildings

The medieval castle, which is the residence of the religious community, was improved by a "chocolate box" type restoration in the 19th century. it is situated astride the Ramparts, which are the ditch and wall constructed for the defense of the Pale in the 14th century. It was completely refurbished in 2004 and the reception was moved back there from the 1999 building.

The castle is connected to the modern buildings by an elevated corridor hung with portraits, the Serpentine Gallery referred to by James Joyce. This gallery was completely demolished and rebuilt in 2004 as part of a redevelopment programme for the school buildings.

In 1929 another new building was built costing £120,000, which is now the main façade of the school. It houses the main classrooms and the Rudiments, Grammar, Syntax, and Humanities dormitories.

The Boys' Chapel has an elaborate redos, a large pipe-organ in the gallery, and a sequence of Stations of the Cross painted by Sean Keating. It is rumoured that on the 12th station, Pontious Pilot resembles the rector of Clongowes at that time, a mark of spite when the rector refused to pay Mr Keating his asking price.

Aspects of life at Clongowes

There are six class or year forms, namely Rudiments, Grammar, Syntax, Humanities, Poetry and Rhetoric. These are grouped into three Lines - Third Line, Lower Line and Higher Line.

Alumni

Nial Fennelly. Judge on the Supreme Court of Ireland

Military

Victoria Cross Holders

Four alumni have won the Victoria Cross:

Partner schools

See also

External links



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Last updated on Friday March 07, 2008 at 16:08:41 PST (GMT -0800)
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