The Queen's University of Ireland was established formally by

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

on 3 September 1850, as the degree-awarding university of the ''Queen's Colleges'' of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, and

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

that were established in 1845 "to afford a university education to members of all religious denominations" in Ireland. The university system itself was replaced by the Royal University of Ireland in 1880, which in turn was replaced by Queen's University Belfast, with the Cork and Galway colleges forming the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universit ...

, along with

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. The three Queen's colleges are currently known as: * University of Galway *

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one o ...

Queen's University of Belfast, Lanyon building, May 2006

Establishment

The ''Queen's Colleges (Ireland) Act 1845'' (''An Act to enable Her Majesty to endow new Colleges for the Advancement of Learning in Ireland'') established the colleges with the intention that they would provide for

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

requests for university education, since Catholics did not generally attend Trinity College Dublin at that time (though there were no legal restrictions preventing them from doing so). Nevertheless, at the prompting of Protestant interests, the Queen's Colleges were not permitted to give instruction in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

. Thus, the Queen's Colleges became derided as the "godless colleges" —

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

even ventured as far as declaring them to be "detrimental to religion" in an official condemnation. This non-acceptance was articulated in the creation of a rival to the Queen's Colleges — the Catholic University of Ireland in Dublin. National University of Ireland, Galway - geograph

National University of Ireland, Galway - geograph

In 1845 the Mayor of Limerick applied to have a Queen's College"The Early Years", Dr Edward M. Walsh, President Emeritus
located in the city; however Cork, Galway and Belfast were chosen. The colleges were incorporated on 30 December 1845; and on 30 October 1849 they opened for students.UCC, 2006
"UCC History"
Retrieved 1 September 2006. A ''Board of Queen's Colleges'' was created to draw up regulations for the colleges, consisting of the President and Vice-President of each college.

Academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including und ...

s were conferred by the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of the university with a status similar to those of other universities of the former

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

. In 1866 the university considered examining and conferring degrees on students other than those of the Queen's colleges, such as the Catholic Carlow College the ''St. Patricks College Carlow Report''St. Patricks College Carlow Report, 1866 Introduction: Printed by T. Price, 55 Dublin St.
/ref> was conducted and the college was deemed to meet the suitable, however it was never enacted.''Paul Cardinal Cullen and the shaping of modern Irish Catholicism'' By Desmond Bowen The Queen's College at Belfast became predominantly

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, unlike the colleges at Cork and Galway. A number of significant figures in Irish public life participated in the governing senate of the university such as Sir Dominic Corrigan (Vice-Chancellor). Naturalist Robert Ball became secretary of Queen's University of Ireland in 1851.

Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon, (8 February 17907 February 1866) was a British Whig politician, who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1835 to 1839. Background Spring Rice was born into a notable Anglo-Irish fami ...

served on the senate of the university.

Dissolution

The Queen's University was superseded by a new, inclusive, degree-awarding institution, the Royal University of Ireland in 1880. The Queen's University was formally dissolved on 3 February 1882. Immediately on incorporation, the Royal University broke with the ''“godless"'' convention, by setting examinations for, and awarding degrees to students of colleges with a religious heritage, notably Magee Presbyterian College, and the Catholic University of Ireland (that included

St. Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland ...

and

.)''History of Magee College'' a
UU Library website
. Retrieved on 28 August 2006.O'Donnell, Patrick, 1912. "Catholic University of Ireland". The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XV, fro

Retrieved on 1 September 2006. The Belfast college was separated from the other two in 1908, and became the

(QUB).QUB, 2006
"History of Queen's"
Retrieved on 1 September 2006. Queen's College, Cork is now known as ''

(UCC)'', while Queen's College Galway is now known as '' University of Galway''. Since 1908 the last two have been part of the federal

system.

References

External links

Report of Her Majesty's Commissioners appointed to inquire into the progress and condition of the Queen's Colleges at Belfast, Cork and Galway
(1858)
Annual Reports on Condition and Progress of Queen's University, Ireland, 1851–1882
{{Authority control Defunct universities and colleges in Ireland Educational institutions established in 1850 University of Galway Queen's University Belfast University College Cork