St. Patrick's College, Thurles
Encyclopedia
St. Patrick's College, Thurles is a third level college of education in Thurles
Thurles
Thurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...

, Co. Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....

, formerly a seminary the College specializes in Humanities courses in Accounting, Business Studies, Irish and Religious Studies.

History

St. Patrick's College, Thurles was founded in 1837. The College is a charitable institution operating under the patronage of the Dr. Patrick Everard, Archbishop of Cashel and Emly. Dr. Everard died in 1821 and left £10,000 for the purpose of founding a college to provide a liberal education of catholic youth destined for the priesthood and professional/business careers.

The College was built on church land bought from a local Protestant minister, and building began in 1829.

The College opened as an educational institution in September 1837, to day students and boarders, offering second level education in the humanities, with a limited contribution from the sciences, to students wishing to prepare for priesthood as well as careers in business and other professions.

In 1842 a Philosophy Department was added to the College. Prevailing poverty and hardship caused by the Famine temporarily inhibited the development of St. Patrick's College. However, by the middle of the 1860s, the College had developed into a major seminary with the addition of a full Theological Faculty.

In 1842 Archbishop of Cashel Michael Slattery established a foreign mission department in St. Patrick's College, Thurles, many of its graduates going to the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

In 1849 the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

, allowed Thurles to offer degrees in Arts and Laws, following an example from St. Patrick's College, Carlow. The relationship with London University lasted over 20 years.
In 1875 the college was linked to the Catholic University of Ireland
Catholic University of Ireland
The Catholic University of Ireland was a Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland and was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its associated colleges which were nondenominational...

, and subsequently the Royal University of Ireland
Royal University of Ireland
The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the University Education Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on April 27, 1880 and examinations were opened to candidates irrespective of...

 in the 1900s, before being linked with the Pontifical University in Maynooth.

In 1850 a synod
Synod of Thurles
The Synod of Thurles was the first synod of Catholic clergy since the Middle Ages. The Synod was called by Paul Cullen who had been just appointed Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. The Synod took place in St...

 of bishops met in Thurles, the first since the Middle Ages.

Lay students attended the college from its opening in 1837 up until 1907. Although lay students stopped being boarders in 1873, by 1907 only 20 lay students were enrolled.

From 1973 students were able to qualify with Diplomas in Theology from Pontifical University in Maynooth. This programme developed into a Degree (BTh) and was available under the Pontifical University via the CAO
Central Applications Office
The Central Applications Office is the organisation responsible for overseeing most undergraduate applications in the Republic of Ireland....

 system until 2002.

In 1977 a National Certificate in Philosophical Studies was awarded by the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA)

From 1909 to 1986 priest from the local Palatine college in thurles trained at St. Patrick's, also from 1950 until recent years the Mercy Sisters
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....

 lived and worked in the College.

In 1988 after a gap of 81 years, lay students were readmitted and the college, had its courses validated by the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA), such as the BA in Theology which allowed graduates to teach in secondary schools, and since 2001 when the NCEA was replaced by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council
Higher Education and Training Awards Council
The Higher Education and Training Awards Council , the legal successor to the National Council for Educational Awards , grants higher education awards in Ireland in the extra-university system...

 (HETAC) has validated the colleges degree courses.

In 2002 the college ceased to function as a seminary. The college also joined the Irish governments CAO
Central Applications Office
The Central Applications Office is the organisation responsible for overseeing most undergraduate applications in the Republic of Ireland....

 system for the allocation of college places for leaving certificate students, also Irish students became eligible for free fees and grants. In 2004 new structured undergraduate education degrees commenced in association with Tipperary Institute
Tipperary Institute
LIT Tipperary is a college of higher education, development agency and research centre in County Tipperary, Ireland and is one of the five constituent schools of Limerick Institute of Technology . Tipperary Institute was founded by the Irish Government in 1998 and opened two campuses in Thurles...

.

Past students and people associated with the College

Over 1500 priests were ordained from thurles, a large number of former students of the college became priests and bishops in other countries as was the focus of the seminary for many years, such as Dr. James Byrne(Toowoomba, Australia), Dr. Lawrence Scanlan
Lawrence Scanlan
Lawrence Scanlan was an Irish Roman Catholic missionary and the first Bishop of Salt Lake City, Utah .-Early life:...

 (bishop of Salt Lake City) and Dr. John Cantwell
John Joseph Cantwell
John Joseph Cantwell was the first archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.Archbishop Cantwell was born in Limerick, Ireland. He was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco on June 18, 1899 and was initially assigned as curate of Berkeley's St. Joseph The Worker...

 (first archbishop of Los Angeles), Dr.Thomas Flanagan(Bishop of San Antonio).

Others associated with Irish parishes include Archbishop of Cashel & Emly Dr Thomas Morris DD, Bishops Dr. Michael Russell former Professor of Moral Theology, (and former college president Dr. William Lee) of Waterford. Bishop Thomas Quinlan of Borrisoleigh spent over four years in the College before joining the Columban Missionary Society
Missionary Society of St. Columban
The Missionary Society of St. Columban , also known as "The Columbans", is a missionary, Catholic religious order, founded in Ireland in 1916 and approved by the Vatican in 1918. Initially it was known as the Maynooth Mission to China...

.

Presidents of the College have included Dr. Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy (bishop)
Patrick Leahy was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cashel.-Life:Leahy, son of Patrick Leahy, civil engineer and county surveyor of Cork, was born near Thurles, County Tipperary, on 31 May 1806, and was educated at Maynooth....

, Dr.William Lee (1987–1993) Mgr. Christy O'Dwyer MA (1993–2004), Canon Arthur Ryan. The present college president Fr. Tom Fogarty
Tom Fogarty
Fr. Tom Fogarty is a retired Irish hurling manager, former player and Roman Catholic priest. He played hurling with his local club Moyne-Templetuohy and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team in the 1960s and 1970s...

 BA, MA, was appointed in 2004, he is also a former manager of both the Tipperary and Offaly hurling teams.

Present

Today St. Patrick's College, Thurles offers degrees validated by HETAC, in Theology, Business Studies, Irish and Religious Studies and education, Irish Studies and Education, as well as some certificates in pastoral care. The undergraduate education degrees are recognised by the teaching council of Ireland enabling graduates to teach in Secondary Schools in Ireland.

Over recent years refurbishments have taken place to Lecture Halls, tutorial rooms, library, old research library, Computing facilities, playing pitch and the Refectory as well as to the colleges retreat and conference facilities.

As well as the academic course the college runs a number of courses in pastoral care, youth work and Irish language training courses for adults.

The college graduation ceremony takes place each November with academic staff, representatives of HETAC, figures from other educational institutions and local public figures, as well as students family and friends in attendance.

University of Limerick Alliance

Starting from September 2011, teaching degree programmes at St. Patrick's College will be accredited by the University of Limerick
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...

, and graduates from 2012 on wards will be awarded degrees from the University.
The degrees awarded will be BEd with Irish and Religious Studies and BEd with Business Studies and Religious Studies. Graduates will be registered with the Teaching Council of Ireland and will be qualified to teach to Leaving Certificate standard. Partipicants will also be covered by the Government Free Fees Initiative.
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