St. Patrick's College, Tuam

St. Patrick's College (Irish: Coláiste Phadraig Naofa) was a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys in Tuam, County Galway, Ireland.

The college was named after St. Patrick, as the foundation stone of the school was laid on St. Patrick's Day, 17 March 1860. The school was amalgamated with nearby St. Jarlath's College in 2009, to form the new St. Jarlath's College.

History

St. Patrick's began life as Tuam Christian Brothers School (Tuam C.B.S.) in 1851, in a rented building at Prospect, off the old Ballygaddy Road. The building was owned by the Protestant Archbishop of Tuam. The first superior and principal was Brother Laurence Lowe. The school prospered until 1859, when in June of that year, the landlord refused to renew the lease.[1]

The Bishop, Thomas Plunket, demanded vacant possession of the property, and on Wednesday, 1 June 1859, the sheriff, his bailiffs and a force of police attempted to take vacant possession of the school. Due to the endeavours of the local people, they did not succeed until 16 June. The brothers were then recalled to Dublin, and on the following night the premises was broken into, set alight, and burned to the ground.[2]

The departure of the Brothers in 1859 created a grave problem for the town of Tuam. The people found themselves deprived of an education for their children, St. Jarlath's being exclusively for boarders at that time. So, on 31 July 1859, Archbishop MacHale, who had first invited the Brothers to Tuam, called a meeting in the sacristy, at which it was decided to build a new school, for which the Archbishop donated a site on the Dublin Road.[1]

On this site the new school was built, and opened in November 1861 with two brothers. The building housed both the primary and secondary schools for many years, as well as the Brothers' monastery. A separate primary school was built in the 1940s, allowing more space for the secondary school.

The school continued to operate here until 1980, when a new school and gymnasium were built on a site behind the old monastery. This school continued to be run by the Christian Brothers until 1990, when, due to a lack of vocations, the Brothers left Tuam. The school then came under the patronage of the Archbishop of Tuam.

References

  1. 1 2 "The History of the Christian Brothers' Schools in Tuam", John J. Waldron, Tuam Herald, 11 October 1969.
  2. ↑ "The Christian Brothers and Tuam", Dr. A.J. Claffey, Tuam Herald, May 2009.

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