O'Connell School
The O’Connell School is a secondary and a primary school for boys located on North Richmond Street in Dublin, Ireland. The school, named in honour of the leader of Catholic Emancipation, Daniel O’Connell, has the distinction of being the oldest surviving Christian Brothers school in Dublin, having been first established in 1829. It is now under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust.
| O'Connell Secondary School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| |
North Richmond Street, Dublin 1, D01 Y4A9, | |
| Coordinates | 53.3593°N 6.2515°W |
| Information | |
| Motto | "Ciall agus neart" (Power and strength) |
| Established | 1828 |
| Principal | Liam Newell |
| Staff | Over 30 |
| Gender | Male |
| Number of students | Over 300 |
| Religious order | Congregation of Christian Brothers |
| Website | oconnellschool |
The school was for many years dubbed the "working man's Belvedere College" (in reference to the nearby fee-paying school of that name, and due to its good reputation). James Joyce transferred from O'Connell School to Belvedere after being offered a place there.
The school offers the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate programmes.
Notable staff and past pupils
A number of significant figures in Irish public life attended O'Connell's School.
Arts, journalism and entertainment
- Michael Holohan – composer, member and former chair of Aosdána.
- James Joyce – writer who briefly attended the school; the school is mentioned in Dubliners in the story "Araby"
- Pat Kenny – radio and television presenter
- Barry Keoghan – film and television actor
- Thomas Kinsella – poet and playwright
- Declan Masterson – multi-instrumentalist, composer, former Musical Director at Riverdance
- Colm Meaney – film and television actor
- Michael O'Hehir – radio broadcaster and sports commentator
- Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh – sports commentator who briefly taught at the O'Connell School[1]
- Luke Kelly – former lead singer of folk group The Dubliners
Business and philanthropy
- Bill Cullen (businessman) – Irish businessman, philanthropist and star of The Apprentice (Irish TV series)
Science, medicine, technology, engineering and mathematics
- Peter V. Delaney – Irish colorectal surgeon
- John Hooper (Irish statistician) – BA (1898) – first Director of the Statistics Branch of the Department of Industry and Commerce in Ireland
- William Mulholland – Irish-American dam civil engineer
- Joseph Ó Ruanaidh – scientist
Politics
- Maurice Ahern – former Lord Mayor of Dublin
- Brendan Bracken, 1st Viscount Bracken – British Minister of Information during the Second World War
- Ray Burke – former Fianna Fáil politician
- Éamonn Ceannt – Irish Nationalist; one of the 1916 signatories
- John A. Costello – former Taoiseach of Ireland
- Thomas Kettle – Nationalist MP and Irish Volunteer who died in the First World War
- Seán Lemass – former Taoiseach of Ireland
- P.J. Mara – Fianna Fáil guru
- Seán T. O'Kelly – second President of Ireland
- Ernie O'Malley – Irish Nationalist and writer
Religion
- Bishop James Kavanagh – University College Dublin professor and bishop in the Dublin Diocese
Sports
- Tom Farquharson - goalkeeper for Cardiff and Ireland, dubbed the penalty king
- Bertie Kerr – Ireland football international and bloodstock agent
- Paddy Neville – cricketer
- Troy Parrott – professional footballer
Veterans
- Paddy Finucane – World War II top-scoring fighter pilot ace in the RAF
- Frank Flood – IRA officer executed in 1921 during the War of Independence; one of The Forgotten Ten
- Seán Heuston – leading member of the 1916 Easter Rising
References
- O Muircheartaigh, Micheal (2006-10-29). "Micheal and the Far East connection". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2012-09-15.