Catholic University School
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Catholic University School ''(C.U.S.)'' is a private (voluntary) secondary school 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 Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. The school was founded in 1867 by Bartholomew Woodlock as a preparatory school for the
Catholic University of Ireland The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI; ) was a private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its assoc ...
, the predecessor to
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
, that was founded by St. John Henry Newman in 1854. Under the custodianship of the Marist Fathers, the private school has educated Irish politicians, academic and literary figures, and three Olympic gold medalists.


History


Origins

The foundation of the Catholic University School has its basis in the Catholic Revival movement of the late 1820s. For over 250 years, the only university in Ireland had been
Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...
– the sole constituent college of the
University of Dublin The University of Dublin (), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin, whi ...
. While the Trinity College had been opened to Catholics in 1793 (they could not be elected as Scholars, Fellows, or Professors), only a few attended. Those Catholics who did were mainly educated in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
at schools such as Stonyhurst College. In response, in 1850,
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
granted a Royal Charter founding three colleges of the Queen's University of Ireland. The colleges in Cork,
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
and
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 ...
were non-denominational. However, at the Synod of Thurles in 1850, the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
officially condemned these institutions as "Godless Colleges" and declared a need for a Catholic University. Thus, the
Catholic University of Ireland The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI; ) was a private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its assoc ...
was founded in 1851 – though not fully established until 18 May 1854 with
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 ...
John Henry Newman as its first Rector.


Early years

To ensure larger numbers of students for the new university, Dr Daniel Murray, the
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: ...
established a school at 16–17 Harcourt Street and named the school after
Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
Laurence O'Toole, the patron Saint of Dublin. St. Laurence's Academy, founded in 1850, was accompanied by the establishment of
Belvedere College Belvedere College Society of Jesus, S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a fee-paying voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. Formally established in 1832 at Hardwicke Street in north inner city Dublin, the school was ...
by the
Jesuits 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 ...
in 1832 on the north side of the city. The
University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
, as yet, had no dedicated preparatory or feeder school. By 1862, Dr. Bartholomew Woodlock took over as rector of the Catholic University, and suggested that the university proceed with the foundation of its own feeder school. Over time, St. Laurence's Academy developed a close relationship with the university. Woodlock was the first president of the school and professors from the university also taught in the school. The school was given a name reflecting its function: the Catholic University School. The first teachers in the school were mostly young Dublin priests who had studied at the Irish College in Rome. Among them was Dr. James Quinn, who set about enrolling students from wealthy
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
families. Within a year the school had an enrollment of 130 students. The subjects taught were classical rather than practical and included Greek,
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, French, German, Italian and
the Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of m ...
.
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
eventually chose Quinn as the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
– and he left the school.


Marist takeover

In the early 1860s, the finances of the Catholic University School and
Catholic University of Ireland The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI; ) was a private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its assoc ...
were intertwined, and the rent for the Harcourt Street premises was a high £2600 per annum. Neither the school nor the university were able to cope with this burden.
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: ...
, Paul Cullen was adamant that it was not possible for C.U.S to close down even for a year – because it would be possible that the school would never open again. In 1867 both Cardinal Cullen and Bartholomew Woodlock travelled to
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
for the consecration of Michael Kiernan as Archbishop of Armagh. While there, they visited the Marist College and believed that Marist administration would be beneficial to the Catholic University School. Subsequently, Cardinal Cullen brought the offer to the General Council of the Marist Fathers in Lyons in France. After a two-day petition, he convinced the Council of the benefit of taking on the Dublin school. In July 1867, Woodlock informed Cullen of the financial burden the Harcourt Street premises had been. He recommended that the Marists purchase new premises, and when 89 Lower Leeson Street became available, the Marists purchased it. The Harcourt Street site remained on as the premises for the school for a short while as refurbishments were carried out on the Leeson Street building. On 29 September 1867 the Catholic University School opened on Lower Leeson Street.


Later years

In 2019, the school was involved in a High Court dispute with a former teacher. The court ruled that the teacher had been denied a fair disciplinary process, and the school was ordered to reform its complaints and disciplinary processes.


Curriculum

The curriculum offers over 20 subjects and covers all common subjects in the state examinations including
Classical Studies Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages ...
,
Art History Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...
, German, Art,
Art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...
,
Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
,
Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...
and
Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
. Academically, the school was ranked in 63rd place nationally in 2018. According to the school's website, class sizes "do not exceed 22-24" and are " owerfor option subjects". The preparatory school offers the full primary curriculum as well introducing pupils to Spanish and Mandarin.


Traditions

The school's song, “''Walking On''”, is sometimes heard at school events and at rugby matches. The primary religious anthem of the school in recent years has been Dominican Magnificat, taken from The Magnificat passage in The Gospel of Luke. Historically, the school was divided into three houses; Colin, Sarsfield, and Bodkin. Students were placed under the supervision of a housemaster, usually a clerical member of the teaching staff.


Facilities

The school is located near St Stephen's Green in Dublin. School buildings include; the Georgian buildings to the front of the school containing the Oratory and Headmasters residence, Victorian buildings, a sports hall with gym and changing rooms and the "old school" building. The school also owns land in
Clonskeagh Clonskeagh or Clonskea (; , meaning "meadow of the Crataegus monogyna, Whitethorn"), is a small southern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district straddles the River Dodder. Location and access The district is adjacent to ...
, County Dublin, which is home to the school's rugby pitches, cricket field and a sports pavilion.


School activities


Sports

Teams representing CUS participate in schools rugby and
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
competitions in
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
. CUS has won the Leinster Senior Cup in cricket six times since 1999. Other sports played include
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
and athletics. Rugby and cricket take place at Bird Avenue in
Clonskeagh Clonskeagh or Clonskea (; , meaning "meadow of the Crataegus monogyna, Whitethorn"), is a small southern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district straddles the River Dodder. Location and access The district is adjacent to ...
. Three Olympic Gold Medalists have attended the school; John Pius Boland, Ronnie Delaney, and David Malone. Past pupil
Eoin Morgan Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan (born 10 September 1986) is an Irish-born English former cricketer and current commentator. He captained the England cricket team in limited overs cricket from 2015 until his international retirement in June 2022. He ...
captained the England team to victory in the ICC 12th Cricket World Cup in July 2019.


Other activities

CUS students have represented Ireland at the World Schools Debating Championships. The school has a connection with the
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the service of the poor. Started by Frédéric Ozanam and Emmanuel-Joseph Bailly de Surcy and named ...
and holds an annual "hamper fund" in order to raise funds to the charity. The school has also arranged student visits and fundraising in support of causes in the
Davao Region Davao Region, formerly called Southern Mindanao (; ), is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region XI. Situated at the southeastern portion of Mindanao, enclosing Davao Gulf, it comprises fiv ...
of the Philippines.


Past Pupils Union

The CUS Union, founded in 1902, is the past pupils association of the school. In June 2002, the organisation was hosted at
Áras an Uachtaráin (; "Residence of the President"), formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the List of official residences, official residence and principal workplace of the President of Ireland. It is located off Chesterfield Avenue in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, ...
by then
President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...
. Former
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 ...
Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...
spoke at the school's annual dinner in 2002. Other guest speakers have included Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O'Connor, and broadcasters
Eamon Dunphy Eamon Martin Dunphy (born 3 August 1945) is an Irish media personality, journalist, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional footballer. He grew up playing football for several youth teams including Stella Maris. Since retirin ...
and
George Hook George Hook (born 19 May 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and rugby union pundit. He formerly hosted ''The Right Hook'' and ''High Noon'' on the Irish radio station Newstalk. He had a career as a rugby union coach and businessman, b ...
.


Notable alumni

Former pupils have included:


References


External links

*
CUSUnion.ie
Past Pupils Website {{authority control Private schools in the Republic of Ireland Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland Catholic secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland Secondary schools in Dublin (city) Educational institutions established in 1867 1867 establishments in Ireland