Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a fee-paying

voluntary secondary school In education in the Republic of Ireland, education in Ireland, a voluntary secondary school (or privately-owned secondary school; ) is a secondary education, post-primary school that is Private school, privately owned and managed. Most are Denomin ...

for boys in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland. Formally established in 1832 at Hardwicke Street in north inner city Dublin, the school was later moved to Belvedere House in 1841 and it is for this building that the school is named. It remains in the same location as of 2024. The school has numerous notable alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, business and religion. Belvedere College also forms the setting for part of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's semi-autobiographical novel ''

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' is the second book and first novel of Irish writer James Joyce, published in 1916. A ''Künstlerroman'' written in a modernist style, it traces the religious and intellectual awakening of young Ste ...

.''

History

Belvedere owes its origins to the efforts of John Austin who opened primary and secondary schools at Saul's Court off

Fishamble Street Fishamble Street (; ) is a street in Dublin, Ireland within the old city walls. Location The street joins Wood Quay at the Fish Slip near Fyan's Castle. It originally ran from Castle Street to Essex Quay until the creation of Lord Edward S ...

in 1750. The

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

has been active in the area around Hardwicke Street since 1790. They founded St Francis Xavier's College in the disused Poor Clare convent on Hardwicke Street with nine students in 1832, three years after Catholic emancipation. In 1841, the Jesuits purchased Belvedere House on neighbouring Great Denmark Street, which gave the school its name. George Augustus Rochfort (1738–1814), who became the second Earl of Belvedere in 1774, built Belvedere House, whose interior decoration was carried out by Michael Stapleton, a leading stucco craftsman of his time. Belvedere was caught up in the events of the 1916

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

, when it was struck by British artillery shells. The Jesuits at Belvedere and the neighbouring Gardiner Street Community helped the wounded and distributed food across the locality. In February 2012 Chinese

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

member and future

paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important Supreme leader, political figure in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberatio ...

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

visited the college as part of his visit to Ireland for a special reception in the O'Reilly theatre. An annual exchange with a Jesuit school in Hong Kong was the catalyst for this visit.

School museum

A school museum and archive were opened in 2002 by former teacher Oliver Murphy, dedicated to the history of the institution and its past pupils.

Education

Belvedere offers the Irish

Junior Certificate The Junior Cycle () is the first stage of the education programme for post-primary education within the Republic of Ireland. It is overseen by the Department of Education (Ireland), Department of Education and the National Council for Curriculu ...

and

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certificate ...

curricula.

Classics

The school still offers Latin as both a Junior and Leaving Certificate subject and offers Ancient Greek as a Junior and Leaving Certificate subject when there is sufficient demand. Classical Studies is also offered at Leaving Certificate level.

Science

Garret A. FitzGerald, an Old Belvederian and senior faculty member at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, has instituted an annual five-week scholarship for two students who excel in Transition Year science.

Facilities

Belvedere has a 25m 5 lane indoor swimming pool, gym, restaurant and

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

, music suite, learning resource centre, museum, chapel and oratory, 3 hard tennis courts (Cabra Sports Ground), 1 astroturf (Distillery Road) and 5 grass rugby pitches (Cabra Sports Ground), a cricket pitch (Cabra Sports Ground), 1 grass soccer pitch (Cabra Sports Ground), 1 astro 7-a-side football pitch on top of the O'Reilly Theatre and a 60m 8 lane roof-top running track (Kerr Wing). The school also has a professional standard 590-seat theatre with a motorised stage and retractable seating, the O'Reilly Theatre, which is used to stage school plays and musicals but has also been used by RTÉ, TV3 and an assortment of dramatic organisations and hosted live audience TV shows such as The Panel and

Tonight with Vincent Browne ''Tonight with Vincent Browne'' (formerly ''Nightly News with Vincent Browne'') was a news analysis, Current affairs (news format), current affairs and politics programme which was broadcast on Republic of Ireland, Ireland's Virgin Media One, T ...

. The school also has three computer labs, cabled and wireless networking to every classroom, and other IT features including dedicated networks for the library and certain functions. In 2004, Belvedere opened the Dargan Moloney Science and Technology Block, which has state-of-the-art laboratories, lecture theatres and IT hubs.

Charitable activities

The school has a wide range of charitable activities. Some students travel with the annual Dublin Diocesan, Meath Diocesan and Oblate Pilgrimages to

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

, France, to assist the elderly and the disabled. Belvedere's St Vincent de Paul Society is one of the largest among secondary schools in Ireland, organising activities such as old-folks events and a weekly soup run in inner city Dublin. Beginning in 1981, some students have undertaken a charity walk from Dublin to

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

each summer to raise funds for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, St Francis Hospice, and The Temple Street Children's University Hospital, located very near the school. The "block-pull", as it is known, has raised over €70,000 in a single event. An annual charitable fundraising event held by the college is the "Belvedere Sleep-Out", which takes place from 22 to 24 December each year. Students "go homeless" on Dublin's

O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections bisected by Henry ...

for three days and two nights. The Sleep-Out is run primarily by students from the college, with the assistance of a number of teachers and past pupils, to raise funds for Focus Ireland, The Home Again Society, and Father Peter McVerry's Society for homeless boys. The students fast for 24 hours during the Sleep-Out. The culmination is

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

midnight mass in the college chapel. In 2015, the event raised over

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

189,000 over the Christmas period for the charities. This record was broken in 2016, when the event raised €225,021 for the charities. However, in 2022, the Belvedere College Sleepout became a huge national story and was promoted across multiple platforms and set a new All Time record of over €304,000.

Sports

Belvedere has the most Royal College of Science Cup (Overall best school in track and field) wins at the Irish Schools Athletics Championships. Belvedere won 15 consecutive Royal College of Science Cup awards between 1999 and 2014. Field sports are a traditional strength of the school. In October 2013 Belvedere held the all-Ireland schools senior track and field trophy, having won the title in the previous seven years. It also held numerous other titles at provincial levels. Belvedere has won 35 Leinster Senior Cricket Schools Cup titles, as of 2016. The school has a strong

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

football tradition. In 2005, for the first time in the school's history, it won both the Leinster Junior Cup and the Leinster Schools Senior Cup. In 2024 Belvedere, with twelve titles, stood second in the Leinster Senior Cup roll of honour, behind Blackrock College (71).

Drama

Drama productions form an integral part of Belvedere's year. Each academic year, there are four performances: a Junior Musical, a Senior Musical, a Drama Society production, and a First Year Play. Productions have included ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (school edition) in 2004, and the stage adaptation of

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. He is best known for the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. The first volume, ''Northern Lights'' (1995), won the Carnegie Medal

's ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

'' in 2007. Other productions of note include '' Bugsy Malone'', ''

The Adventures of Roderick Random ''The Adventures of Roderick Random'' is a picaresque novel by Tobias Smollett, first published in 1748. It is partially based on Smollett's experience as a naval-surgeon's mate in the Royal Navy, especially during the Battle of Cartagena de Ind ...

'', ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'', ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'', ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'', ''

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specif ...

'', ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

'', '' Prince Caspian'' and '' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'', ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

'', ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'', '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

'', ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

''and ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 3 ...

''. In 2016, an original play entitled ''Children of the Rising'' was staged at the school. The play was written by a member of staff and was nominated for a Bord Gáis Energy Student Theatre Award for Best Overall Play. The play was based on the book ''Children of The Rising'' by

Joe Duffy Joseph Duffy (born 27 January 1956) is an Irish people, Irish radio and TV presenter employed by RTÉ. One of the public service broadcaster's highest-earning stars, he is the current presenter of ''Liveline'', an interview and phone-in chat s ...

Other activities

The school has debating societies in the English, Irish, Spanish, German, and French languages. Belvedere has won the all-Ireland schools debating competition (2005 among other years), the Denny Leinster Schools Senior Debating Championship in 2010, the L&H society Leinster Junior debating competition, and also the

Alliance Française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

debating championship and Leinster Irish debating final. Belvedere was successful in the last series of ''Blackboard Jungle'', a popular television programme on

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

. The school's longstanding Concert Choir hosts the Annual Christmas Carol Service in December, and the Annual Musical Evening in May. The choir have undertaken recordings in

, and has been successful at both the Feis Ceoil and the Wesley Feis. The college

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

has won events at both the Wesley Feis and the Feis Ceoil. The school has an active urban farm, growing vegetables and housing bees. The farm won the Global High Schools Europe Category at the Zayed Future Energy Prize in 2017.

Culture of Belvedere

Belvedere College is run by the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

order. Most of the school's teaching staff are laypersons, although a number of Jesuit priests and brothers assist with administration and chaplaincy. The school motto is ''Per Vias Rectas'' – "By Straight Paths" – and the college aspires to produce "Men for Others". Students often write "AMDG" for ''

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam ''Ad maiorem Dei gloriam'' or ''Ad majórem Dei glóriam'', also rendered as the abbreviation AMDG, is a Latin language, Latin quote which can be translated as "For the greater glory of God." It has been used as a rallying cry for Catholics thr ...

'', "For the greater glory of God", the motto of the

, on the top left of pages of their copybooks. They formerly also wrote "LDSetBVM" or ''Laus Deo Semper et Beatae Virgini Mariae'' ("Praise to God forever and to the Blessed Virgin Mary") on the bottom right of the same page. The students are assigned to one of six lines or houses, mainly named after Jesuits who were either famous or had an association with Belvedere: Loyola, Xavier, Aylmer, Kenney, Finlay and Scully (previously named Dempsey after George Dempsey). Years are named after the progression in the Jesuit '' Ratio Studiorum'': Elements, Rudiments, Grammar, Syntax, Poetry, and Rhetoric. Each form except Rhetoric has a captain and vice-captain. The school's yearbook is ''The Belvederian''. The term "Belvederian" is also sometimes used to refer to current students and "Old Belvederian" (OB) for alumni. Old Belvederians normally refer to their graduation by using "OB" followed by their final year in the college, for example, "OB 1984". Belvedere College is the backdrop for some of

's novel ''

''. It is a semi-autobiographical piece of work and the teacher, Mr Tate, was based on Joyce's own English teacher, George Dempsey. In the book, Joyce mentions his involvement in the College Opera which continues today.''Critical companion to James Joyce: a literary reference to his life and work'', by A. Nicholas Fargnoli and Michael Patrick Gillespie. In 1884, James Aloysius Cullen was appointed spiritual father at Belvedere, a position he retained for twenty years while also engaged in other ministry. Cullen was the founder and director of the Sodality of Our Lady at the college, which duties included counselling students. In 1896,

was elected Student Prefect of the Society. According to Neil R. Davison, the sermons in Chapter III of ''A Portrait of the Artist'' are modelled on those given by Cullen during a retreat held in 1897. Physical and sexual abuse of students In 2025 15 Jesuit priests were named for various physical and sexual abuses of students at the school. Most notable was Fr Jack (Jacko) Leonard who was Prefect of Studies (head teacher of the senior school) during the 60's and early 70's.

Notable alumni

Alumni and teachers played major roles in modern Irish literature (James Joyce, Austin Clarke, the foundation of Ireland's National Theatre), the standardisation of the Irish language (de Bhaldraithe), as well as the Irish independence movement – both the 1916 Rising (Joseph Mary Plunkett, Éamon de Valera) and the Irish War of Independence (Éamon de Valera, Cathal Brugha, Kevin Barry). The school's notable alumni and former faculty include two

Taoisigh The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the office ...

(Irish prime minister), one

Ceann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session ...

(Speaker of the Lower House of the Irish Parliament), several cabinet ministers, one Blessed, one

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

, one

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

, one signatory of the

Proclamation of the Irish Republic The Proclamation of the Republic (), also known as the 1916 Proclamation or the Easter Proclamation, was a document issued by the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising in Ireland, which began on 24 April 1916. ...

, two Supreme Court Justices, one

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold medal, gold, silver medal, silver, and bronze medal, bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respect ...

list, thirty Irish international rugby players and numerous notable figures in the world of the arts, academia and business.

The arts

* Thomas Bodkin – Director of the National Gallery of Ireland (1927–35) * Francis Browne – photographer * Austin Clarke – poet *

Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau ...

– artist *

Tim Pat Coogan Timothy Patrick "Tim Pat" Coogan (born 22 April 1935) is an Irish journalist, writer and broadcaster. He served as editor of ''The Irish Press'' newspaper from 1968 to 1987. He has been best known for such books as ''The IRA'', ''Ireland Since t ...

– historian and journalist * Denis Devlin – poet * Owen Dudley Edwards – historian and literary expert on

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

and

P.G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

* Patrick Duggan – actor * William Fay – co-founder of the Abbey Theatre * Jimmy Glover – composer * Mark Greaney and Fergal Matthews – members of indie rock band JJ72 *

– writerJames Joyce profile
* Donagh MacDonagh – poet, playwright, broadcaster, folklorist, and district justice * Eoin Macken - model and actor * Hugh Maguire – violinist * John O'Conor – pianist and Beethoven master * Jimmy O'Dea – actor *

Liam O'Flaherty Liam O'Flaherty ( ; 28 August 1896 – 7 September 1984) was an Irish novelist and short-story writer, and one of the foremost socialist writers in the first part of the 20th century, writing about the common people's experience and from their ...

– writer * Conal O'Riordan – writer * Jack Reynor – actor * Rejjie Snow – rapper * Mervyn Wall – writer * Leo Whelan - painter

Irish history, politics

* Kevin Barry – Irish republican (did not graduate) *

Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (; born Charles William St John Burgess; 18 July 1874 – 7 July 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1919 to 1922, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann in January 1919, the first presid ...

– Irish republican (did not graduate) *

Richard Bruton Richard Bruton (born 15 March 1953) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Bay North from 2016 to 2024, and previously from 1982 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Central constituency. He was the Cha ...

–

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) Deputy Leader of Fine Gael & Government Minister * Jack Chambers –

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

(TD) * Garret FitzGerald –

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

former Leader of Fine Gael * Barry Heneghan –

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

(TD) for Dublin Bay North * Brothers Brian Lenihan and Conor Lenihan –

Teachtaí Dála (TD) *

James McNeill James McNeill (27 March 1869 – 12 December 1938) was an Ireland, Irish colonial administrator, politician, and diplomat, who served as the first High Commissioner to London and second Governor-General of the Irish Free State. Early life One ...

– Governor General of the Irish Free State *

William Martin Murphy William Martin Murphy (6 January 1845 – 26 June 1919) was an Irish businessman, newspaper publisher and politician. A member of parliament (MP) representing Dublin from 1885 to 1892, he was dubbed "William ''Murder'' Murphy" among the Iris ...

– Member of Parliament (MP) * Cian O'Callaghan – member of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

(TD) for Dublin Bay North * Chris O'Malley –

Member of European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP), 1986–89 * Joseph Mary Plunkett – rebel; signatory of 1916 Proclamation; executed a month later

Legal

* Arthur Cox – founder of eponymous law firm and member of the Seanad * Kevin Dixon - Attorney General of Ireland from 1942 - 1946 * William FitzGerald (Irish judge) - former chief justice of Ireland * Adrian Hardiman – Supreme Court Judge * John Hedigan – High Court Judge * Michael Joseph Hogan -

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong The chief justice of Hong Kong was, until 1997, the chief judge (, later 首席大法官) of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong and the most senior judge in the court system. Supreme Court of Hong Kong The Supreme Court of Hong ...

for 14 years * Séamus Woulfe –

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

; Attorney General of Ireland since June 2017

Irish language

* Tomás de Bhaldraithe – lexicographer * Lambert McKenna – lexicographer, editor, educationist, and former principal of Belvedere College

Science and academia

* John Gabriel Byrne - first professor of computer science in Trinity College Dublin * Myles Dillon – Celticist, President of the Royal Irish Academy * Desmond Fennell - writer, cultural philosopher and linguist * Peter Lalor * Garret A. FitzGerald – Professor of Medicine and Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania * Peter Lalor * Fergus O'Rourke – zoologist * Frank Winder – biochemist, vice-president of the Royal Irish Academy

Religion

Desmond Connell –

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

and

Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest Order of precedence, precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that t ...

* Columba Marmion (1858–1923) – Abbot of the Maredsous Abbey (

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) *

Malachi Martin Malachi Brendan Martin (23 July 1921 – 27 July 1999), also known under the pseudonym of Michael Serafian, was an Irish-born American Traditionalist Catholic priest, biblical archaeologist, exorcist, palaeographer, professor, and writer on ...

– priest, author * Robert Dermot O'Flanagan – Bishop of Juneau *

Dermot Ryan –

and

Rugby

Ollie Campbell Seamus Oliver Campbell (born 5 March 1954) is an Irish former rugby union player. He played flyhalf for Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland from 1976 to 1984 and represented the British and Irish Lions, British Lions on two tours. He hel ...

–

* Andrew Clinch (1867–1937) – rugby union Irish international 10 caps, President of Irish Rugby Football Union * Thomas Crean – rugby union and military; and his nephew Cyril Patrick Crean * Eugene Davy – rugby union and founder of the Davy Group with his brother James * James Downey – rugby union * Andrew Dunne – rugby union, cricket * James Hart - current

Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Iparralde, Basque city of Biarritz in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

rugby player * Cian Healy – rugby union * David Hawkshaw - rugby union * Ian Keatley – rugby union * George J Morgan – rugby union * Karl Mullen – rugby union * Eoin O'Malley – rugby union * Sir

Tony O'Reilly Sir Anthony John Francis O'Reilly (7 May 1936 – 18 May 2024) was an Irish businessman and international rugby union player. He was known for his try scoring in rugby, his involvement in the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from ...

– rugby union and business as head of

Heinz The Kraft Heinz Foods Company, formerly the H. J. Heinz Company and commonly known as Heinz (), is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. ...

and Independent News and Media and former chairman of

Waterford Wedgwood Waterford Wedgwood plc was an Irish holding company for a group of firms that specialized in the manufacture of high-quality porcelain, bone china and glass products, mostly for use as tableware or home decor. The group was dominated by Irish bu ...

* Hugh O'Sullivan - current

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby () is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Leinster Branch, one of t ...

player * David Shanahan - Current

Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won ...

player

Other sports

* Paul Corry – soccer *

Kevin Grogan Kevin Grogan (born 15 November 1981 in Dublin) is an Irish former professional football player and current coach of Clarkstown SC Eagles in the National Premier Soccer League. A uniquely talented youth player, Grogan was signed by Alex Fergu ...

- soccer * James McGee - tennis player * Frank Miller - cricketer * Alec O'Riordan – cricketer * Cathal Pendred – retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

in the UFC and actor * Pat Taaffe Cheltenham Gold Cup winner on the horse Arkle and Tom Taaffe - jockey and trainer * Frank Winder –

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

Olympians

* Peter Coghlan -

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

at Sydney 2000 * Brian Fay - 5,000m at Paris 2024 * Scott Flanigan - sailing at

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

* Barry Murphy –

in swimming * Cian O'Connor – ( Athens 2004,

, Tokyo 2021, Paris 2024 – equestrian) * Noel Purcell –

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

, rugby union, international rugby union referee and Olympian separately with Great Britain at Antwerp 1920 and with Ireland at Paris 1924. * Lexie Tynan - 200m at Helsinki 1952

Gaelic sports

* Seán Boylan – former Meath GAA football manager, international rules coach and traditional medical herbalist * Ger Brennan – Former Dublin and St.Vincents GAA player and member of the 2003 Senior Rugby team 1st XV * Dr. Jack McCaffrey – GAA, 2015 FOTY and Clontarf GAA player

Business and professional

* Alfred Edwin Jones – architect * Garrett Kelleher – construction * Michael Scott – architect who established Scott Tallon Walker * Sam Stephenson – architect who established Stephenson, Gibney & Associates

Broadcasting

* John Bowman – broadcaster *

Ian Dempsey Ian Dempsey (born 16 January 1961) is an Irish presenter of television and breakfast radio. He is the long-running presenter of the breakfast show on Today FM, self-titled ''The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show'', which runs from 6-9 am each weekday. ...

– radio DJ with Today FM (Did not graduate) * Henry Kelly – BBC and RTE television presenter, radio disc jockey and the person on whom the character Henry Sellers in

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...

was based * Anton Savage – TV and Radio Host and PR advisor * Sir

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...

– BBC and RTE broadcaster

Peers

* Edward Pakenham, Lord Silchester * Thomas Pakenham, 8th Earl of Longford – historian

Other

* Arthur Beveridge - British military officer and Military Cross Holder, Norwegian War Cross holder and honorary physician to

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

* Edward Joseph Garland - Canadian member of parliament for Alberta and diplomat * William Russell Grace - first Roman Catholic Mayor of New York City and founder of W. R. Grace and Company

Notable faculty

* Phil Conway - Former PE teacher who competed for Ireland at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in Munich in the Shot Put * George Dempsey – model for Mr. Tate in ''Joyce's Portrait of an Artist'' and after whom a stream class "Dempsey" was named for a number of years * * John Hennig - worked as a teacher for a period during the 1940s * Peter McVerry - homelessness campaigner in Dublin * Michael Morrison - photographer at the liberation of Bergen Belsen concentration camp

References

External links

Belvedere College website

Belvedere College Past Pupils Union website
{{Authority control Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland Secondary schools in Dublin (city) Private schools in the Republic of Ireland Jesuit secondary schools in Ireland Educational institutions established in 1832

History

School museum

Education

Classics

Science

Facilities

Charitable activities

Sports

Drama

Other activities

Culture of Belvedere

Notable alumni

The arts

Irish history, politics

Legal

Irish language

Science and academia

Religion

Rugby

Other sports

Olympians

Gaelic sports

Business and professional

Broadcasting

Peers

Other

Notable faculty

See also

References

External links