Celbridge Collegiate School is a former charter school and Protestant girls school situated outside

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

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 ...

located 22 kilometres (13 miles) from

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 ...

. It was known as a nursery of teachers for the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

training college and for the proficiency of the Irish language among students.

History

The vision for the school was set out in the will of William Conolly:

"to be laid out by them a convenient building in or near to the town of Celbridge in the county of Kildare on such spot of ground as shall be set out for them for that purpose by my said dear wife and nephew for the reception of forty orphans or other poor children.”

It was developed from 1733–7 by Katherine Conolly, who gave £50 a year for its maintenance during her life.

Architecture

The building is of Georgian architecture and its most characteristic feature is the triple gates. It was designed by architect Thomas Burgh who also built the Royal Barracks and famous library building at Trinity College both in

on fifty acres of land to accommodate forty female who were to be "lodged, clothed and dieted" there. The aim of this

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

was to rescue children of the "poor natives from ignorance and superstition" and instruct them in "the English tongue, in manners and in the Protestant faith." Students were employed on the farm and they carried on linen and hempen manufacture through all stages from seed, to loom, to bleaching. In 1837 one hundred students attended, thirty of whom were nominated by Edward Conolly. At the time of Lady Louisa's death it had 600 pupils, It served as a boarding school for Protestant girls until 1973. when the Incorporated Society for Promoting Protestant Schools in Ireland closed the school and transferred the pupils to

Kilkenny College Kilkenny College is a Church of Ireland co-educational day and boarding secondary school located in Kilkenny, in the South-East of Ireland. It is the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland. In 2013 it transferred to the state/public se ...

Hotel

The building reopened as the Setanta House Hotel on January 25, 1980 and it later became the Celbridge Manor Hotel. It was acquired by a consortium led by US businessman Jeff Leo in 2013 and was later sold in 2022 for around €5.5m.

Principals

*1783 Mary Taylor *1789 Katharine Holt *1811 Bridget Boyle * John Boyle husband of Bridget *1850 Mary McKenny Died *1851 Anne Boyle *1859 Sarah Crawford *1864 Anne Crawford (Interim) *1864 Eliza Crawford (Interim) *1867 Anne E Crawford *1894 Bessie St George (Matron) *1895 Augusta L’Estrange *1898 Annie McCullough *1909 Georgina E Osborne *(Died before taking up office *1909 Emma McClelland *1920 Dora Cos (Interim) *1920 Emma McClelland *1942 Anna Hadassah "Nancy" O’Connor *1967 Mary Taylor *1970 Freda D Yates *1973 School closed *

References

{{Schools and colleges in County Kildare Girls' schools in the Republic of Ireland Educational institutions established in 1737 Educational institutions disestablished in 1973 Defunct schools in the Republic of Ireland Secondary schools in County Kildare Celbridge 1973 disestablishments in Ireland 1737 establishments in the British Empire