A SHORT HISTORY OF
CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE
BRENDAN CULLEN Teacher of History, Clongowes Wood College. 1971 - 2007
The Pale
The Castle In 1171 Strongbow granted most of North Kildare to his friend and companion Adam de Hereford. However, in 1317 the de Hereford lands reverted to the Crown and were granted to Sir John Wogan of Rathcoffey, then Lord Deputy of Ireland, by Edward II. The first mention of Clongowes Wood occurs in a legal document dated 24th February 1417. On that date an assignment was made to Anastacia, the widow of Sir David Wogan of Rathcoffey, of lands that included, “the third part of the Sylva de Clongowe in the western part therein, that is to say 40 acres.” The name Clongowes Wood comes from the hybrid Latin/Irish : silva, wood; cluain, meadow; gobha, smith; i.e. the wood of the meadow of the smith. From the Wogans the Clongowes land passed to the Eustace family who built a castle there in 1450. Originally this was a Pale castle built to protect the English frontier from incursions by the Irish clans in search of cattle and plunder. There are remains of the Pale in close proximity to the castle. The Pale was first proposed in 1435 as a result of a report to the English king 2
that it was only in the area around Dublin, “that a man might safely go to answer the king’s writ and to do his commandments.” The frontier was defined by an Act of Parliament in 1488 and in 1494 the actual Pale rampart was ordered to be built by Poynings’ Parliament in Drogheda. The rampart was to consist of a bank, six feet high surrounded by a double ditch. The top of the bank was to be flat and wide enough to serve as a footpath, a bridle-path or even a road in some places. Parts of it were to be topped by a wooden palisade. There are two well preserved stretches of the Pale boundary on Clongowes land. The first section begins at the east gate of the present farmyard and runs for nearly 500 yards to the lane at Rathcoffey. The second and best known section between Clongowes and Capdoo Commons starts in the grounds of the College just south west of the castle and runs for over half a mile from north west to south east towards the Gollymocky river, perhaps intending to make the river part of the defence. As a result of the Eustace involvement in the 1641 Rising General Monck attacked the castles of Clongowes and Rathcoffey in 1642. He placed a garrison of 100 soldiers at Rathcoffey and blew
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up the castle at Clongowes, “to make it uninhabitable for the rebels.” Because of their part in the Rising the Eustace’s lands were forfeited. They didn’t regain them after the restoration of Charles II in 1660 as they were declared to be, “ Irish Papists, not innocent.” In July 1667 the ruined castle and confiscated lands were granted to Richard Reynell, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas of Ireland, by letters patent of Charles II. Six weeks later Reynell sold the castle and 1000 acres to Thomas Browne, a Dublin Barrister and a Catholic, for £2100. Browne changed the name to Castle Browne, by which it was known until 1814 when it was changed back to Clongowes by the Jesuits. The Brownes and their near neighbours, the Wogans of Rathcoffey were Catholics and inevitably the two families intermarried. Stephen Fitzwilliam Browne married Judith Wogan and later Michael Browne married Catherine Wogan. Hence the family name Wogan Browne. In 1718 Stephen Fitzwilliam Browne rebuilt the castle that was destroyed by Monck in 1642. This rebuilding saw the completion of the western façade just as it is today, consisting of the central keep and the two square towers. In 1788 Thomas Wogan Browne extended and decorated the castle. The extension consists of the eastern façade and two round towers at the back of the castle all built in the Georgian style. Both building phases are recorded in the Latin inscription incised on the lintel over the hall-door of the castle beneath the Wogan Browne Coat of Arms. Thomas Wogan Browne died in 1812 and the property was inherited by his younger brother General Michael Wogan Browne who was helping Napoleon at the siege of
Fr Peter Kenney, SJ
Moscow. When he returned to Ireland on hearing of his brother’s death, he found the Estate heavily in debt and sold the castle and 219 acres to Fr Peter Kenney SJ in March 1814 for £16,000.
The Early Years On May 18th 1814 the first pupil, James McLorinan of Dublin was admitted to the school. His parents were drapers and belonged to the evolving prosperous class of Catholics who were willing to take advantage of the classical education which Fr Kenney proposed to offer. The annual fee was 50 guineas; the boys spent 11 months in the school with the annual holidays confined to the month of August. In winter the students rose at 6am and retired at 8.45pm each day. In summer they rose at 5am and retired also at 8.45pm. The school uniform consisted of a cap made from rabbit skin, a blue blazer with brass buttons, a yellow cashmere waistcoat and corduroy trousers. Students were accepted from the age of seven. The first three Rectors were: Fr Peter Kenney 1814-1817; Fr Charles Aylmer
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Earliest photograph of Clongowes students (1860)
1817-1820; and Fr Bartholomew Esmonde 1820-1821. Fr Kenney came back in 1821 and remained until 1830 when Fr Esmonde returned. In 1814 all three were young men. Fr Kenney was only thirty five while Frs Aylmer and Esmonde were both in their twenties. The fact that a large number of wealthy, sophisticated middle- class parents of the period were willing to entrust the welfare of their sons to such young and inexperienced men for eleven months of the year, is ample testimony to the esteem and respect they had for the Jesuit system of education. The reputation of the College spread rapidly and by 1815 there were 110 pupils enrolled. This figure rose alarmingly in 1816 to 201. It is difficult to ascertain where such a large number were accommodated. Various suggestions include, in the castle itself and in the castle yard where the Wogan Brownes’ stables, outhouses and offices were located. One thing was certain; the school was overcrowded and that overcrowding combined with a poor quality water supply led to a major 4
outbreak of typhus in the College in 1819. Fr Aylmer reacting to medical advice and to the concerns of the parents closed the school and sent the students home for six months. This hiatus enabled him to embark on an extensive building programme which was to transform the College campus dramatically: 1819-1821 saw the construction of the Study Hall/ Refectory block and the Higher Line Gallery (now the 1966 Building). The Higher Line Building was famous for its long gallery. Lewis in his Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837), states that the corridor was, “more than 300 feet long”. This period also saw the construction of a shorter gallery parallel to the Lower Line Building (built in 1815). This is now the People’s Church. Despite all the building, when the students returned in September 1819 the numbers had dropped significantly to somewhat over 100. The figure of 200 was not reached again until 1886 with the amalgamation of Tullabeg and Clongowes. Fr Kenney returned as Rector in 1821. He realised with just over 100 students in the school
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that he wouldn’t require the two storey building that ran parallel to the Lower Line Building and which consisted of classrooms and dormitories. In August 1822 he converted it into a chapel for the boys. It is the People’s Church since 1907.
Why Clane? Fr Kenney in founding the College, was aware of an emerging prosperous class of Catholics who were anxious to acquire a classical education for their sons at home rather than on the continent. This was the type of education Fr Kenney was offering. But why did he open his school at Clane? Why did he choose the castle at Clongowes rather than an estate elsewhere? To open a school nearer the city or in the city would have attracted the unwelcome attention of the Protestant Establishment; if it was too far away from Dublin, especially before the coming of the railway, it mightn’t have attracted the sons of wealthy middle class Catholics whom Fr Kenney wanted to attract. Daniel O’Connell acted as adviser to Fr Kenney and he encouraged Kenney to purchase a confiscated property because with such a property one could prove title. Richard Reynell, the Chief Justice, was granted the castle and surrounding lands in 1667. The estate was confirmed to him by letters patent of Charles II. These documents provided proof of title, thereby eliminating the possibility of any future dispute. However, Fr Kenney encountered an unforeseen problem. He needed a licence to teach. According to the law he had to obtain it from the Protestant Bishop of Kildare. The licence was not forthcoming but Kenney went ahead and opened the College anyway in May 1814. Although this was technically illegal the Authorities turned a blind eye.
Daniel O’Connell O’Connell played a prominent role in the early life of the College. He advised Fr Kenney on the purchase of the castle and was also a constant visitor to the school from the time of its foundation. In a letter dated 6th January 1831, John O’Connell wrote to his young brother Danny, “Mama wishes you to tell Rev. Fr Esmonde that my father will be down to dinner on Saturday and remain till Monday if allowed.” O’Connell loved Clongowes and after his wife Mary died he wrote of his desire to leave politics, “and going if I am received to Clongowes ….. to spend the rest of my life there.” He sent his four sons to Clongowes: Maurice and Morgan (1815); John (1823) and Danny (1830). As a parent O’Connell’s expectations for his sons’ education can best be gauged from a letter he wrote to Fr Kenney from his home in Dublin in 1815. In it he says he was interested in “the acquisition of much classical learning” for his sons and also states, “ a solid formation in the classics especially Greek, being in my opinion of great value to real education.” O’Connell was anxious that his sons would receive a classical education in the European Jesuit tradition. The rest of the parents expected no less. Samuel Lewis in his Topographical Dictionary of 1837 referred to Clongowes as, “A college for the education of the sons of the Catholic nobility and gentry.” The type of education received by the students was based on the classics with an in-depth study of Latin and Greek at the core of the system. Fr Kenney emphasized the study of the classics to the detriment of other subjects. The hierarchy of subjects was made very clear to the students and their parents, “Geography, History, Writing,
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Arithmetic are necessary acquirements, yet they are acquirements of which we may say that it is rather a disgrace to be ignorant of them than an honour to know them. You must remember that though you knew (these subjects) in the most perfect manner, you would still not be a scholar, and you could not be said to be a man of liberal education or of a cultivated mind.”
Mary O’Connell (Daniel’s wife) We are fortunate in having a series of letters written by Mary O’Connell to her youngest son Danny when he was a student in the College in the early 1830s. Like all mothers of sons living away from home she expressed an interest in all his school activities; in his religious formation, in his academic progress and in a special way in his health and general welfare. She frequently encouraged him to attend Mass, she corrected his spellings in his letters to her and she constantly berated him regarding his poor personal appearance and his lack of acceptable personal hygiene. She was also concerned that he was well fed and many of her letters refer to the tuck she sent to him to supplement his school diet. Like most mothers Mary focused on his lack of personal cleanliness. On one occasion O’Connell had spent a weekend in Clongowes and when he returned home on the Monday he had nothing good to report on his son’s personal appearance. This news upset Mary and in an angry letter to Danny she showed her annoyance and her obsession with cleanliness when she wrote, “your father told me your hair and your hands were filthy both days. Did you not my child promise me you would be particular in keeping your head combed 6
Thomas Francis Meagher
and your person clean? But when you neglected to do so on those two days your neglect on other days must be dreadful.” However, despite Danny’s difficulties we are left in no doubt what Mary thought of Clongowes. In another letter to Danny she informed him that, “ Morgan John left his brother Maurice at Exeter School in Co. Carlow. Phrey Mynahan is away to leave his brother at Carlow College. What fools they are not to leave their brothers at your college, the only real good catholic school in Ireland.”
Thomas Francis Meagher Thomas Francis Meagher entered Clongowes in 1833 and remained until 1839 when he left for Stonyhurst, where he completed his education in 1842. Meagher was a gifted orator even as a schoolboy.
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John Redmond
He became the first secretary of the Clongowes Historical Debating Society which was founded in 1837 and was formally inaugurated by Daniel O’Connell. When he left school Meagher joined The Young Irelanders and was involved in the Rising of 1848. He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered but this sentence was commuted to transportation to Van Diemen’s Land. He eventually escaped from Tasmania with the help of his friend Patrick Joseph Smyth, who was a fellow student in Clongowes in 1839. He made his way to New York and when the American Civil War broke out he joined the Northern side and saw battle in several places including Fredericksburg. In 1865 he was appointed Acting Governor of Montana Territory. In July 1867 Meagher fell overboard from a steamer on the Missouri and was
drowned at the relatively young age of forty four. In 1905 an equestrian statue to Thomas Francis Meagher was erected in front of the Capitol in Helena, Montana. Meagher wrote in some detail about his time in Clongowes before his premature death. He didn’t think highly of the education he received at Clongowes as is evidenced by this angry outburst against the system in later life. He wrote, “That’s the fault I find with Clongowes. They talked to us about Mount Olympus and the Vales of Thessaly; they birched us into a flippant acquaintance with the disreputable gods and goddesses of the golden and heroic ages…………........but, as far as Ireland was concerned, they left us, like blind and crippled children, in the dark. They never spoke of Ireland. Never gave us, even what is left of it, her history to read………… All this was then to me a cloud. Now I look back to it, shake my hand against it, and say it was a curse…….”Strangely, Meagher ended his tirade on a positive note when he said, “But, I can’t bear to say anything against Clongowes. It is to me a dear old spot.”
John Redmond John Redmond arrived in Clongowes in 1868 and stayed until 1874. Although he was interested in cricket, his great passion was drama. He appeared in Macbeth (1873) and Hamlet (1874) to great acclaim. It was said he was the best actor ever to appear on a Clongowes stage. Fr Robert Kane was a scholastic when he taught Redmond. According to him Redmond only made any kind of effort to study when examinations were imminent. Kane maintained that Redmond was never troublesome in class except for his “lazy dreaminess.” Only on one occasion did
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he reprimand him for this. This happened when Redmond couldn’t recall his Homer because he hadn’t studied it. Kane stopped the class for a while, pointed out Redmond’s admirable talents and then told him he was letting his gifts, “melt or rot or rust through laziness and lack of self-mastery.” John Redmond M.P., leader of the Irish Party at Westminster, was the principal guest at the Clongowes Centenary celebrations in 1914.
Fr Carbery The second major building project of the 19th century occurred in the early 1870s and was implemented by Fr Carbery who was appointed Rector in 1870. 1872 saw the construction of the Infirmary which is a tall free-standing limestone building with large windows to ensure adequate ventilation. It also contained a unique feature in that the top storey could be turned into an isolation ward to be used to contain contagious diseases. In 1874 Fr Carbery built the Third Line Building for younger students. It is still to this day called, “The Carbery Building.” It is a large three storey structure with high ceilings and three rows of very large windows. The ground floor then consisted of a study hall, a recreation area and a toilet block, while the second and third storeys were occupied by dormitories.
1886 This year was the most traumatic year in the history of 19th century Clongowes because of two major events. The first occurred on the 9th April 1886 when the study hall and the refectory underneath were destroyed by fire. The fire started in the roof and had a secure hold by the time it was noticed. The ceiling of the study hall 8
James Joyce
collapsed sending burning debris and a large iron girder from the roof through the floor down into the refectory below. Maynooth College sent their fire engine but nothing could save the building. Among the many valuable items lost were the minutes of the Higher Line Debating Society which were kept in the rostrum in the study hall. Both study hall and refectory were rebuilt in 1887. The second major event of 1886 took place in September when the Jesuit Boarding School at Tullabeg, near Tullamore was amalgamated with Clongowes. Tullabeg, founded in 1818, achieved a very high academic reputation but because of debt and lack of personnel it was decided to close it in 1886 and amalgamate it with Clongowes. When Clongowes broke up for the summer holidays there were about 140 boys in the school. In September, after
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1929 Building
the holidays this had increased to nearly 250. This was the first time since the typhus outbreak in 1819 that the College had over 200 students. Amalgamating the examination- driven curriculum of Tullabeg with the old liberal classical education provided by Clongowes had its difficulties for both staff and pupils. However, due to the wisdom and expertise of a vigilant and caring staff all differences were resolved and any tension which accompanied the merger soon disappeared.
Post Amalgamation To improve the “new” Clongowes performances in the recently introduced Intermediate Examinations Fr James Daly was appointed Prefect of Studies in 1887. The Intermediate system was basically a system of payment to schools by results. To all intents and purposes it was a “league table” system of education and was the Government’s way of providing funds to Catholic schools. Fr Daly embraced and worked the system to perfection and Clongowes became outstandingly successful, producing some of the best examination results in Ireland for many years. But this success was achieved at great cost. Fr Daly’s regime was a very
harsh one with an over-emphasis on discipline driven by a liberal use of the pandybat. This austerity is graphically illustrated by James Joyce in “ A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” where Fr Daly appears under the pseudonym, Fr Dolan.
James Joyce James Joyce entered Clongowes in the autumn of 1888 and stayed until Christmas of 1891. He was only six and a half years old at the time and because of his age and small stature he acquired the nickname, “Half-past-six” from early on. Joyce came to a strict and exacting institution and soon suffered what he considered to be a major injustice when Stephen Dedalus, his fictional alter ego, received two pandies from Fr Dolan (Daly) for not writing his theme during Fr Arnall’s Latin class. Stephen’s reaction to the punishment; the anger and resentment he felt; his decision to complain to the Rector and his actual journey along the Serpentine Gallery to Fr Conmee’s office are well chronicled in the “Portrait” and need not be discussed here. Suffice it to say that the “Portrait” paints a vivid picture of everyday life in the College as experienced by and as seen through the eyes of a small boy, Stephen Dedalus – a young boy who was
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often ill, who appears to have been homesick and who missed the intimacy of family life.
World War 1 Old Clongownians responded to the urging of John Redmond and played a prominent role in the Irish contribution to the Allied effort in World War 1. Over 600 past pupils participated in the War; 95 lost their lives – their names appear on a brass plaque on the wall outside the Boys’ Chapel. Among them was Thomas Kettle who was a student in the College between 1894 and 1897 and was killed at Ginchy on the Western Front on September 9th 1916. Since the inception of the Victoria Cross in 1856 Old Clongownians were recipients of this prestigious award on four occasions: Captain Thomas Esmonde from the Crimean War; Thomas Crean from the Boer War; John Vincent Holland from the First World War and Lieut. Commander Eugene Esmonde, who was posthumously awarded the V.C. for heroism in the Battle of Dover Strait in 1942.
1929 Building 1932, the year of the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, saw the completion and opening of the 1929 Building. This project was one of enormous magnitude, eagerly anticipated not only by staff and pupils of the College but also by many locals who looked forward to several years of full employment in what was then a very harsh economic climate. The new building formed a quadrangle with the Carbery Building and the Study Hall complex and was intended to provide up-to-date facilities and extended living space for 325 pupils. It was built of local limestone from Dunne’s quarry at Moatfield not far 10
from the College. It was a labour intensive undertaking: in the absence of modern machinery like JCB’s etc. the foundations were dug by pick and shovel; the limestone was quarried manually and transported by horse and cart to the College; the stones were dressed by hammer and chisel on site and were placed in position by hand. The door and window dressings were made from reconstructed granite. Granite from the Ballyknockan quarry was crushed into fine sand and this was mixed with cement and put into moulds on site. The stone masons were from Ballyknockan, Co. Wicklow and because there were no motor cars at the time they stayed locally in “digs” and drank in the local pubs in Clane and in the Royal Oak. Those who lodged in Capdoo and Castlebrowne used to walk along the Pale rampart to work. Some of the workers from outside the locality were accommodated in wooden huts erected especially for them near the Red House by the contractor Macken Brothers of Dublin. The New Building was a huge structure measuring over 250 feet along its eastern façade and consisted of three storeys of classrooms and dormitories. The dormitory accommodation was sheer luxury compared to the 1874 Carbery Building. The dormitories are 30 feet wide, well ventilated and centrally heated. All the floors are made of concrete, overlaid with parquet flooring made from teak. The dormitories are divided into wooden cubicles affording a large degree of privacy to every student. Each cubicle is a spacious 10’ x 6’ with its own window, a wash-hand basin with hot and cold water, a bed and a large wardrobe. By the time
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The Study Hall
The Refectory
the 1929 Building was completed the College was able to take advantage of electricity generated by the new power station at Ardnacrusha.
school. The last major study/bedroom block to be built is the magnificent 1999 Building which houses Rhetoric and is designed around small units with a definite emphasis on living and learning. September 2010 saw the opening of the Science, Arts and Technology (SAT) Building which possesses the most modern facilities for the teaching of Science at secondary level. This was followed in 2011 by the opening of the impressive new Sports Hall which provides the most up-to-date indoor sports’ facilities. The latest edition to the campus is the spacious and imposing 25 metre Swimming Pool, built to replace the old ‘Bath’ of 1887.
Modern Times The latter half of the 20th century witnessed the completion of three major building schemes which have resulted in the upgrading of facilities in line with modern educational practice. In 1964 the old Higher Line Building was demolished and was replaced by the 1966 Building which contained a new departure for Clongowes, i.e. each Rhetoric student had his own study/bedroom providing him with a degree of privacy and comfort unheard of before. This block is now occupied by Poetry. The old Lower Line Building was the next to vanish to accommodate the construction of the 1976 Building which contains a large and airy central concourse. This is ideal for large gatherings like morning prayer and also provides a type of cross-roads at the centre of the
Possessing such superb educational facilities the College can look forward to the future with confidence and optimism and to continuing the Jesuit tradition of educating its students to be “people who are authentically Christian and able and willing to work for the good of others.” (Vision Document 1984).
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The Study Hall / Refectory Block The original Study Hall/Refectory block was built between 1819 and 1821 during the Rectorship of Fr Charles Aylmer, whose family lived nearby at Painstown House. The study hall formed the top storey of a large two-storey building, the ground floor being occupied by the refectory. The study hall was a large, spacious, airy building capable of accommodating the whole school, with excellent lighting provided by a double range of large windows on the north and south walls and two large ornate windows in the eastern façade. Students spent 3 hours 15 minutes per day in the study hall. The study times were as follows: 7.15 to 8.30 am; 12.45pm to 1.15pm and 5.45 to 7.15pm. All students were encouraged to do voluntary study outside of these times. The principal form of lighting at night in the study hall was probably candlelight. Luckily, we have a series of letters written by Mary O’Connell (Daniel’s wife) to her youngest son Danny, who was a student in the College in the early 1830s. In a letter dated 24th November 1831, she gives us a clue as to how the College in general was lit when she wrote, “I shall also send the candles which Hanna forgot to send the last time.” Later some form of oil lamp may have supplemented or even replaced the weaker candlelight. Gas was introduced into the College in 1861 and because of the better quality of the gaslight, study time was extended later into the evening. Gaslight illuminated the school until 1929 when electricity was introduced. In April 1886 the study hall and refectory 12
underneath were both destroyed by fire. Only the walls were left standing. The fire started in the roof of the study hall. On Wednesday 7th April 1886, a plumber who was repairing the roof of the study hall left a brazier with lighted coals behind him on the roof. Having started, the fire smouldered for two days and went unnoticed until the following Friday morning. By then it had a secure hold and it was too late to save the study hall. However, the refectory was cleared of tables, chairs and delph which were safely removed to the Lower Line Gallery. Soon the ceiling of the study hall collapsed sending burning debris and a large iron girder from the roof through the study hall floor into the refectory below. Luckily no one was injured. St Patrick’s College, Maynooth sent their fire engine but it arrived too late to save the building. The Lower Line Gallery was quickly converted into a refectory and several classrooms served as study halls. The “wooden building” which was erected on a temporary basis to replace the study hall, remained in use, fulfilling a variety of functions, until 1932 when the 1929 Building was opened. Among the valuable items lost in the fire were the minutes of the Higher Line Debating Society which were kept in the rostrum in the study hall. Both the study hall and the refectory were rebuilt in 1887. In the “new” study hall the two windows in the eastern wall were replaced by a very large single window decorated by stained glass panels. While the study hall is still in use, the refectory remained in use only until 1966 when it was converted into the theatre. It is now the James Joyce Library.
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Although strict silence was enforced in the study hall during study times nevertheless, the crowded study hall was the scene of much fun and many practical jokes especially during night study. Eric MacDermott who was a pupil in the College in the early 1890s related the following story: “One of the boys having succeeded in capturing a cockerel he smuggled the bird into evening study. When everything was quiet, all heads buried in their books, he released it. The outraged animal paraded down the centre of the great hall giving vent to its feelings with loud caws and squawks. The Jesuit father who was presiding over ‘prep’ roared from his rostrum, ‘Catch that bird!’ Immediately every boy in the college jumped up to comply with his order making sure, of course, not to lay hands on the cockerel, which terrified by the pandemonium took to flight and perched on one of the cross beams of the roof. At that time there were a number of Spanish-American lads at the school. One of these produced a revolver from his pocket (or perhaps from the waistband of his pants) and with one shot brought the bird down to the floor—dead.” The Clongowes refectory has been immortalized in James Joyce’s, “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.” In the following extract Stephen Dedalus, describes a visit to the refectory sometime during the period 1888-91:
“The bell rang and then the classes began to file out of the rooms and along the corridors towards the refectory. He sat looking at the two prints of butter on his plate but could not eat the damp bread. The tablecloth was damp and limp. But he drank off the hot weak tea which the clumsy scullion, girt with a white apron, poured into his cup. He wondered whether the scullion’s apron was damp too or whether all white things were cold and damp. Nasty Roche and Saurin drank cocoa that their people sent them in tins. They said they could not drink the tea, that it was hogwash.” In Joyce’s time the tables were covered with white tablecloths and were arranged in four rows along the length of the room. The seniors were seated at the top beside the two stained glass windows while the juniors occupied the area just inside the door. The Clongowes food had a very poor reputation and Stephen had difficulty in eating it. One student called the Friday pudding “dogin-the-blanket” and Stephen “could not eat the blackish fish fritters they got on Wednesdays in Lent”.
The People’s Church The People’s Church at Clongowes Wood College was constructed between 1819 and 1821. It was originally a two storey building and consisted of a large classroom on the ground floor with a dormitory overhead. In 1819, following a serious outbreak of typhus in the College Fr Aylmer sent the boys home for six months until September. In the interim
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The People’s Church
he proceeded to build the Study Hall/ Refectory block, the Higher Line Gallery and a shorter gallery which is now the People’s Church. When the students returned in September their numbers had dropped considerably to just over 100. Fr. Peter Kenney returned as Rector in 1821. He realised that with just over 100 pupils in the school he wouldn’t need the shorter gallery for student accommodation. In August 1822 he converted it into a chapel for the boys. The first Mass was celebrated here on the 1st November 1822 – The Feast of All Saints. It was the Boys’ Chapel until 1907 when the present Boys’ Chapel was built. Since 1907 it has been known as the People’s Church and serves the local people of the surrounding area and is much loved by them. 14
The name of the saintly Fr. John Sullivan will always be synonymous with the People’s Church where he ministered for many years. John Sullivan was born in Dublin on the 8th May 1861. He was the child of a mixed marriage; was raised a Protestant and was received into the Catholic Church in 1896. He was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1907 and was appointed to the academic staff at Clongowes where he was to spend most of the rest of his life. Fr. John lived an austere and frugal life in Clongowes and was renowned for his asceticism throughout the surrounding countryside. He was always available to the needy, the poor and the infirm of the locality. People came to him from far and wide to seek his blessing and his prayers. Fr. John was a familiar sight on the roads around Clongowes as he cycled his old bicycle or
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walked at a brisk, trotting pace usually on his way to visit someone who was sick. To this day his memory is held in great reverence in the locality and many visit the People’s Church to pray to him. He died on the 19th February 1933 and was buried in the Community Cemetery at Clongowes. In 1960 he was declared a Servant of God and his mortal remains were transferred from Clongowes to St. Francis Xavier’s Church, Gardiner St. Dublin. Pope Francis declared Fr Sullivan Venerable
John Sullivan on November 7th 2014 much to the delight of the people of Clane where he spent most of his priestly ministry. In the first ever beatification ceremony to occur in Ireland Fr John was declared Blessed John Sullivan on May 13th 2017 in Gardiner Street Church, Dublin – a truly joyful and moving occasion. The great Irish writer James Joyce, in the person of Stephen Dedalus in, “ A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” describes attending night prayer in the People’s Church during his time in Clongowes (1888-1891). “The bell rang for night prayers and he filed out of the study hall after the others and down the staircase and along the corridors to the chapel. The corridors were darkly lit and the chapel was darkly lit. Soon all would be dark and sleeping. There was cold night air in the chapel and the marbles were the colour the sea was at night.”
Fr John O’Sullivan, SJ
The tradition of people from the locality attending Sunday Mass in the People’s Church was well established in Joyce’s time at Clongowes as is evidenced by the following passage from the “Portrait” when Stephen allowed his mind to wander during night prayer in the chapel, (i.e. the People’s Church).
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“There was a cold night smell in the chapel. But it was a holy smell. It was not the smell of the old peasants who knelt at the back of the chapel at Sunday Mass. That was a smell of air and rain and turf and corduroy. But they were very holy peasants. They breathed behind him on his neck and sighed as they prayed. They lived in Clane, a fellow said: there were little cottages there and he had seen a woman standing at the halfdoor of a cottage with a child in her arms, as the cars had come past from Sallins.” The People’s Church has always been and still is an integral part of the religious life of Clongowes and the surrounding locality since the first Mass was celebrated there on the Feast of All Saints in 1822.
The Boys’ Chapel The Boys’ Chapel at Clongowes Wood College was designed by Messrs. Ashlin and Coleman, Architects, Dawson Street, Dublin and built by William Connolly and Son, Contractors, Upper Dominick Street, Dublin, in 1907. The foundation stone was from Mount Charles quarries, Co. Donegal. Inserted in it was a large glass vessel, which contained several relics, some 1907 coins, copies of the national and local newspapers of the day and an engrossed parchment. The original intention was to build the chapel of granite but because of the cost involved this plan was abandoned. Instead all the walls were faced on the outside with hollow concrete blocks “manufactured” on site by mixing local sand and gravel with cement. Apart from reducing the cost of the building the 16
cement blocks also reduced the risk of dampness and shortened the construction time by over six months. Externally, the Boys’ Chapel is a very imposing building. Its four turrets, its battlemented parapets and its dark-coloured stonework blend in admirably with the castle and surrounding College structures. Internally, the chapel is also very impressive. On entering, one gets the impression of a well-proportioned building of great height, length and spaciousness. The chapel consists of a nave, a semi octagonal apse – separated from the nave by a large attractive chancel arch, a sacristy and a small Ignatian Chapel (formerly the Prefects’ Chapel) to the left of the High Altar. The length of the nave is 25.8m, that of the apse 9.2m, giving an overall length of 35m. The chapel is 10.5m wide and the height of the roof ridge is 16m. There are seven Gothic style pointed windows on each wall of the nave. Under the windows are arched recesses which contain the Stations of the Cross. The stations were painted specially for Clongowes by the distinguished Irish artist Sean Keating and are executed in oil on canvas. The base of each canvas is 2.5m long and the height is 1.5m. The richness of the colours is very striking and each station is still imbued with its original freshness. The splendid stained glass windows by Irish artists Michael Healy and Evie Hone are especially beautiful and appealing. The first Healy window was the depiction of St Joseph’s Dream, St Joseph searching in Bethlehem and the
A S H ORT H ISTORY OF CLONGOWES WOOD C O L L EG E
Flight into Egypt in three lights in the apse (1916). This was followed by his St Patrick and St Brigid in two lights on the south wall of the nave (1920). His work continued on the north wall with three of the Seven Dolours series of two light windows: Prophesy of Simeon (1936-38); Flight into Egypt (1936-39); Search for the Holy Child (1936-41). Unfortunately, he died before he finished the Fourth Dolour, Christ meets His Mother (1941). This was completed by Evie Hone after his death. Hone continued the series with The Crucifixion (1941) and The Taking Down from the Cross (1941). The last window of the series, The Burial of Christ, was not made until 2015 by Margaret Becker in the style of Evie Hone. There are two other Evie Hone windows in the Ignatian Chapel to the left of the High Altar: Head of Christ Crucified (1949) and SS Ignatius and Francis Xavier (1955). The remaining stained glass window in the Ignatian Chapel is St Peter Claver (1982) by George Walsh.
Christopher to whom Chief Baron Palles had a special devotion. The comment in the 1909 Clongownian is most appropriate, “Viewed from the standpoint of stately and splendid proportions of artistic merit, of lavish wealth of ornament, or of chaste and noble design, this magnificent work surpasses most altars the country possesses, and forms the most striking feature of the Chapel”. There are also two small side altars in the sanctuary. On the left is the Sacred Heart altar and statue while on the right is Our Lady’s altar and statue. Both altars are beautifully executed in white marble and both have been donated by past pupils.
The beautiful High Altar made from Carrara marble was presented to Clongowes by Chief Baron Palles who was a pupil in the College between 1843 and 1847. It is a magnificent structure, is well lighted by seven windows in the apse and is adorned with a number of attractive sculptures. Chief among these is the representation of the Last Supper underneath the altar and facing the nave. On the left side of the tabernacle is a group representing the First Communion of St Aloysius and on the other side the Deathbed of St Stanislaus is depicted. Individual statues include, St Ignatius, St Francis Xavier, St Brigid and St
The Boys’ Chapel is one of the largest and most attractive chapels attached to an Irish boarding school and has been at the centre of religious worship in the College for over a century. Its august dignity and austere splendour is a fitting memorial to all those people who contributed to its construction and also to the generations of students who worshipped in front of its magnificent High Altar over the past hundred years.
The organ was built by Evans and Barr of Belfast in 1913/1914. It underwent major rebuilding by Peter Conacher and Co. of Huddersfield in 1959 when it was enlarged from 23 stops to 37. In 1969 it was cleaned by The Irish Organ Co. of Antrim. 1987 saw a complete overhaul of the organ with minor tonal changes, which was carried out by Derek Verso and Co. Dublin.
Gravel Football Although in modern times the name of Clongowes Wood College is synonymous with the game of Rugby football, it was not
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always so. The great Irish writer James Joyce entered Clongowes as a student in the autumn of 1888 and stayed until Christmas of 1891. In the following extract from his semi-autobiographical novel, “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” he describes a football game in which Stephen Dedalus (the hero of the novel) takes part. “The wide playgrounds were swarming with boys. All were shouting and the prefects urged them on with strong cries. The evening air was pale and chilly and after every charge and thud of the footballers the greasy leather orb flew like a heavy bird through the grey light. He kept on the fringe of his line, out of sight of his prefect, out of reach of the rude feet, feigning to run now and then. He felt his body small and weak amid the throng of players and his eyes were weak and watery……………… He was caught in the whirl of a scrimmage and, fearful of the flashing eyes and muddy boots, bent down to look through the legs. The fellows were struggling and groaning and their legs were rubbing and kicking and stamping. Then Jack Lawton’s yellow boots dodged out the ball and all the other boots and legs ran after. He ran after them a little way and then stopped. It was useless to run on.” Contrary to common belief the football game played here is not Rugby. It is in fact, Gravel football. Gravel was organised long before any other game in Clongowes and seems to have been introduced from 18
the Jesuit college at Stonyhurst, England soon after Clongowes was founded by Fr Peter Kenney in 1814. It was the dominant game at Clongowes for most of the 19th century. Gravel was an unusual game and was unique to Clongowes. The ball could not be handled but played only with the feet. It was not played on grass but on the gravel area behind the castle now partly occupied by the 1929 Building. By all accounts it was a very skilful game, especially the art of “forcing” which was essentially dribbling the ball at one’s feet through one’s opponents. The main rule was “come up fair” i.e. when a player had the ball at his feet (the striker) he could only be tackled if the opponent ran from three yards in a straight line in front of him. In the heat of battle sometimes players tackled diagonally or from less than the required three yards. In such circumstances the team in possession of the ball shouted “come up fair” to warn the opposition not to breach the rule. Gravel was played during the winter months, the season lasting from September to St. Patrick’s Day. Every boy in the Line played, so teams could consist of 30 or 40 aside. The ball was “inert” and was made in the shoemaker’s shop by a Jesuit Brother. It weighed 25 ounces and because it lost its shape easily several had to be used in each game. In wet weather the ball became soggy and heavy and encrusted with sand making it difficult to kick and to control. In the latter years of the game, the ball was made of a bladder, encased in strong heavy leather. The goals consisted of tall uprights,
A S H ORT H ISTORY OF CLONGOWES WOOD C O L L EG E
placed about nine feet apart but without a crossbar. The uprights faced each other diagonally across the pitch. The only score was a goal and that was registered when the ball passed between the uprights. Players were not permitted to catch the ball but they could punch it with a clenched fist. Unlike modern football there were no playing systems. There were only two groups on a team: the “goal minds” and the rest of the team. A semicircle with a radius of twelve yards was drawn in front of the goals. One of the “goal minds” guarded the circle and another stood between the posts. Their job was to defend the goal. They didn’t get involved in “forcing” but kicked the ball clear of the goal with great speed and alacrity. The staging of a “Colours” match on St. Patrick’s Day marked the end of the gravel season. The teams attached a red or a green flag to the uprights at the start of the game. Every
time a goal was scored the defenders’ “colours” were lowered a little and the match was over when one flag reached the ground. The winners were awarded extra pancakes at dinner. The amalgamation of Clongowes and Tullabeg occurred in 1886 and with the great changes in the organization of the school curriculum and the introduction of “new” games, the popularity of Gravel football embarked upon a downward spiral. The editor of the 1908 Clongownian expressed great sadness at the demise of Gravel football and observed that, “Gravel is departing. For the first time for many a long year we had no Gravel match on St. Patrick’s Day. Those who played up at gravel when it was a great game at Clongowes will greatly regret that it is dying fast.” In the late 1880s, Association Football and later Rugby were introduced and gradually replaced Gravel which was phased out around 1912.
Clongowes in 2014
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SOME MEMORABLE MILESTONES Clongowes Golden Jubilee 1864
Clongowes Centenary 1914
On July 21st 1864 Clongowes celebrated the Golden Jubilee of its foundation in 1814. Hundreds of parents, past-pupils and dignitaries from all walks of life were invited to the College to celebrate this great occasion. The special train reserved for the invited guests left Kingsbridge station at half-past nine in the morning and on arrival at Sallins station was met by numerous jaunting cars and carriages which conveyed the visitors to the College. The celebrations continued throughout the day and into the evening. The conclusion of the festivities signalled not only the end of another academic year but also the completion of fifty years of extraordinary educational achievement.
The Centenary celebrations in 1914 extended over four days, May 31st to June 4th. May 31st was officially designated “Old Boys’ Day.” The highlight of the day was the Pontifical High Mass which was celebrated by Most Reverend Dr Donnelly, Bishop of Canea, with his Eminence Cardinal Logue presiding. The Union Dinner, at which John Redmond MP was principal guest, was held in the highly decorated gymnasium in the evening. The toast of “Prosperity to Clongowes College” was proposed by John Redmond.
A short extract from an article in the Freeman’s Journal of July 22nd 1864 illustrates the esteem and admiration in which Clongowes was held at the time of the Golden Jubilee: “Looking back through the fifty years how sublime did the old College of Clongowes appear, how incalculable were the blessings it bestowed, and how priceless were the treasures which it conferred on, not only those who were trained within it but upon all over whom they exercised an influence in the various positions in which Providence had placed them.”
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The following is a short excerpt from his speech: “In this century of struggle for land, for learning, and for liberty, Clongowes men have borne a noble part. In the public life of the country in every national movement wherever risk and sacrifice and suffering had to be faced, Clongowes men had been in the van. In the great educational developments they have been pioneers. In the Universities and in the professions they have shed glory on their Alma Mater, and in every phase of Catholic endeavour, not only in Ireland but throughout the world, the sons of Clongowes have proved themselves.”
A S H ORT H ISTORY OF CLONGOWES WOOD C O L L EG E
SOME MEMORABLE MILESTONES Clongowes Sesquicentenary 1964
Clongowes Bicentenary 2014
The Sesquicentenary celebrations commenced on May 24th and ended on June 22nd. “College Day” was held on Sunday May 31st. At noon Solemn High Mass was celebrated in the Boys’ Chapel at which the Papal Nuncio, Most Rev. Dr. Sensi, presided. The sacred music was specially composed for the occasion by one of the music teachers, Mr. T. C. Kelly and was sung by the College choir. The Mass was followed by a special lunch in the Boys’ refectory which was attended by the Archbishop of Dublin, Most Rev. Dr. McQuaid and other dignitaries of Church and State.
The highpoint of an event-filled Bicentenary year was the concelebrated Mass in the Sports Hall, on Fr. Kenney Day, at which the Jesuit community was joined by Bishop Denis Nulty. Dr. Nulty, in his homily was full of praise for the Jesuits of Clongowes and their spiritual and educational contribution to the life of his Diocese. He remarked: “The young people I meet here, some of them your sons, your grandsons are the finest of young people anywhere in the Diocese or the Irish Church at this time.”
Mr. Patrick McGilligan, S.C., T.D., President of the Clongowes Union, proposed the toast of the College. “The Jesuit Order,” he said, “could look on the school as one of the enduring monuments to their success…….The boys produced were the stuff out of which the best Irish Catholic citizens could be formed.” The Minister for Education, Dr. Hillery, replied to the toast of the guests and said, “The foundation of Clongowes Wood College in 1814 marked the beginning of a new era……The establishment of Clongowes was the first indication that some of the old Catholic Irish were beginning to lift their eyes upward beyond the hewing of wood and the drawing of water. Not only did Clongowes start among the leaders, but it had remained there.”
Following the Mass John Bruton, President of the Union and former Taoiseach in a wide-ranging speech stressed the spiritual aspect of Jesuit education. He said, “But it is important to stress that the motive of the Jesuit Fathers coming here 200 years ago was not primarily educational or economic. Educational, political and economic uplift for Catholics in Ireland may have been secondary goals, goals to which this school contributed enormously, but the primary goal was religious: eternal not temporal –Aeterna non Caduca – to bring the faith to a young generation of people who, through their example, would bring it to others…………Jesuit education was, and is, about passing on a faith that does justice in the concrete circumstances of each generation, a faith that helps young people to become men and women for others. That was true in 1814, was true in 1914, and is true, and even more relevant today.”
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SOME SIGNIFICANT DATES 1814. May 18th, First pupil, James McLorinan of Dublin was admitted. 1815. Construction of Lower Line Gallery. 1819 - 1821. Study Hall/Refectory block built. The Long Gallery (the old Higher Line Building) and the present People’s Church were also constructed. 1835. The Pleasure Grounds were laid out to provide “a quiet place” for the Jesuit Community. 1840. The Main Avenue was developed. The Main Gate and Gate Lodge erected. 1861. Gaslight introduced. Night study extended. Gas manufactured on site . 1864. Golden Jubilee celebrations. 1866. Remains of deceased Jesuits transferred from Mainham to Community cemetery on Main Avenue. 1871. Steam central heating installed. 1872. An impressive free standing Infirmary built. 1874. The Carbery Building for the Third Line erected. 1886. April. The Study Hall and Refectory underneath were destroyed by fire. September. Tullabeg College amalgamated with Clongowes. 1887. Study Hall and Refectory rebuilt. The Swimming Pool (Bath) constructed. 1902. The old Gymnasium erected. It had been a temporary church in Letterkenny when the cathedral was under construction. 1907. The building of the Boys’ Chapel. The Red House was constructed as an isolation hospital. 1914. Centenary celebrations. A new organ built and erected in the Boys’ Chapel. 1929. Electricity installed in the Castle and School. 1932. Completion of the 1929 Building containing dormitories and classrooms. 1964. Sesquicentenary celebrations. 1966. The 1966 Building completed – it replaced the old Higher Line Building. 1976. The old Lower Line Gallery knocked and rebuilt as the 1976 Building. 1999. The last major study/bedroom block to be built was the 1999 Building. This building phase also included the new Refectory. 2009. The James Joyce Library opened. 2010. Science, Art and Technology Building completed. 2011. New Sports Hall opened. 2014. Clongowes celebrates its Bicentenary. September. Commemorative trip to Flanders to the Battlefields of WW1. 2018. Opening of the new 25metre Swimming Pool. 22
A S H ORT H ISTORY OF CLONGOWES WOOD C O L L EG E
A game of Gravel 1885
The Boys’ Chapel
PHOTOGRAPHS: Larry Breen, J.J. Woods, David Nelson and College Archives. © 2019