The North Monastery ( Irish: ''An Mhainistir Thuaidh''), commonly known as The Mon,Official website
/ref> is a co-educational education campus comprising Scoil Mhuire Fatima Primary School, North Monastery Co-educational Secondary and Gaelcholáiste Mhuire AG, located at Our Lady's Mount, Cork,

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 ...

History

The North Monastery was founded on 9 November 1811 when Brother Jerome O'Connor and Brother John Baptist Leonard were given charge of a school in Chapel Lane by the Bishop of Cork, Rev Dr Moylan. Seventeen students attended on the first day. In 1814, a 14-acre sloping site was acquired from a 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 ...

businessman, Sir George Goold,

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, and a new school was built. The North Monastery had found its permanent home. An outbreak of typhus fever in the city in 1816 saw the school being used as a temporary hospital. Brother Griffin, a poet and novelist, became a member of the North Monastery in 1839. He died on 12 June 1840 in his 37th year. His remains are interred in the cemetery in the grounds of the school. It was shortly after the death of Griffin that

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

visited with the Founder of the Order,

Edmund Ignatius Rice Edmund Ignatius Rice, Presentation Brothers, F.P.M., Congregation of Christian Brothers, C.F.C. (; 1 June 1762 – 29 August 1844) was a Catholic missionary and educationalist who founded two religious institute, institutes of Religious brothe ...

. In 1857, Brother James Burke arrived at the North Monastery and under his guidance the students began the study of natural philosophy (science). At this time John Philip Holland ( inventor of the submarine) studied under the guidance of Br. Burke. In 1879, Patrick J. Kennedy, a past pupil, was installed as Lord Mayor of Cork, the first of a long and distinguished list of past pupils to hold this office. In 1901 the Lord Mayor of Cork, Edward Fitzgerald, organised an Industrial Exhibition. The school represented the Department of Education and Br. Burke and his students built an electric tramway which was the high point of the exhibition. Burke died on 23 March 1904 as the result of an accident and was accorded a public funeral with a procession through the streets of Cork city. He was buried in the cemetery at the North Monastery. In 1911, the school celebrated its centenary and the Br. Burke Memorial Extension, was formally opened in 1913. On the advent of the First World War the British army confiscated lathes, drilling machines and other machinery from the school. They closed and sealed the wireless room and cut down the aerial mast. These precautions were carried out under the Defence of the Realm Act. In March 1920, Lord Mayor Tomás Mac Curtain, a past pupil, paid an official visit to the school and addressed the boys in Irish. Shortly afterwards he was murdered at midnight by a gang of armed assassins. He was given a public funeral at which nearly 2,000 North Monastery boys marched in procession. Terence McSwiney, who was also a past pupil, was his successor. He died in October 1920 in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

prison after 74 days on hunger strike. The school continued to flourish and produced many more past pupils who distinguished themselves in all walks of life including business, politics, sport, the arts and academia, including former Taoiseach and sportsman

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979. He was Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, ...

who formally opened a new secondary school building in 1967.

Notable former pupils

Academic

* Tadhg Begley, Professor at Cornell and Texas A & M universities * Patrick F. Fottrell, Professor and President at NUI Galway *

Vincent Barry Vincent Christopher Barry (17 May 1908 – 4 September 1975) was an Irish scientist and researcher. He is known for leading the team which developed the anti-leprosy drug clofazimine. Early life and education Vincent Christoper Barry was bo ...

, credited with the development of the compound used to cure leprosy.

Arts

* Jonathan Rhys Meyers, actor * Edward Mulhare, actor * Niall Tobin, actor *

Frank O'Connor Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on as ...

, short story writer * Joe Lynch, actor * Donal Farmer, actor *

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometim ...

, blues rock guitarist * Matt Cooper, journalist and radio presenter *

Seán Ó Ríordáin Seán Pádraig Ó Ríordáin (3 December 1916 – 21 February 1977), sometimes referred to as an Ríordánach, was an Irish language poet and later a newspaper columnist. He is credited with introducing European themes to Irish poetry, and is wi ...

, poet * Gavin O'Connor, actor

Politicians

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 ...

and Cork hurler * Tomás Mac Curtain,

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork () is the honorific title of the Chairperson () of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council. The incumbent ...

* Terence McSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork * Donal O'Callaghan, Lord Mayor of Cork

Sport

* Johnny Clifford, hurler *

Paddy Collins Paddy "Fox" Collins (12 April 1903 – 17 February 1995) was an Irish hurling, hurler who played as a left corner-back for the Cork GAA, Cork senior team. Born in Kinsale, County Cork, Collins first played competitive hurling during his school ...

, hurler * Con Murphy, hurler * Mick Kennefick, hurler * John Buckley, hurler * Dónal O'Grady, hurler * Tomás Mulcahy, hurler and footballer * Tony O'Sullivan, hurler and footballer * Kieran McGuckin, hurler * Teddy McCarthy, hurler and footballer * Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, hurler * Setanta Ó hAilpín, hurler *

Aisake Ó hAilpín Aisake is a Melanesian name. Notable people with this name include: * Aisake Nadolo (1964–2009), Fijian rugby union player * Aisake Tarogi (born 1981), Fijian rugby union player * Aisake Ó hAilpín (born 1985), Fijian-Irish sportsperson * Lu ...

, hurler * Patrick Horgan, hurler * Mark Carroll, Olympic athlete * Ciaran Teehan, Darts * Daire Connery, hurler

Notable former teachers

* John Philip Holland, inventor of the submarine * Dónal O'Grady, former hurler and manager

References

External links

Primary School Official SiteSecondary School Official SiteGaelscoil website
{{Cork City 1811 establishments in Ireland Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland Educational institutions established in 1811 Primary schools in County Cork Secondary schools in County Cork