Summerhill College
Encyclopedia
Summerhill College is a Roman Catholic voluntary secondary school
for boys in Sligo
, County Sligo, Ireland
.
Dr Gillooly in Summerhill, Athlone, County Roscommon
. It moved to temporary accommodation in Sligo in 1899 and to a new school building (the present site) in 1901. Although the official name of the school is the College of the Immaculate Conception
, it has always been known locally as Summerhill or Summerhill College.
The College is what is sometimes known as a Diocesan College, historically an entry school for those wishing to train as priests for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin
. The college took in both boarders
and day boys
until the dormitories were closed in the 1980s due to economic circumstances.
and Leaving Certificate
cycles to its pupils. It also provides other options such as Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP) , Transition Year
, Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme
(LCVP) and Leaving Certificate Applied
(LCA).
. During the school year, soccer coaching is run in the school, with the assistance of Sligo Rovers F.C.
. It also offers many other sports to its students, including rugby union
, basketball
, athletics, swimming
and surfing
.
said later that same year that the project will not be progressed further this year. However, work finally began on the demolition of the 1970s building and construction of a new school in the summer of 2011.
Voluntary secondary school
A voluntary secondary school in Ireland is a type of secondary education school that is privately owned and managed, often by church authorities, especially in the case of the Roman Catholic religion...
for boys in Sligo
Sligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
, County Sligo, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
History
The school was founded in 1892 by the then Bishop of ElphinDiocese of Elphin
The Diocese of Elphin was established following the Synod of Rathbreasail in the year 1111. In that year the see for east Connacht was moved from Roscommon. Elphin was the traditional site of a monastic house established by St Patrick c.450, although there are no remains of that date.Following the...
Dr Gillooly in Summerhill, Athlone, County Roscommon
County Roscommon
County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...
. It moved to temporary accommodation in Sligo in 1899 and to a new school building (the present site) in 1901. Although the official name of the school is the College of the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
, it has always been known locally as Summerhill or Summerhill College.
The College is what is sometimes known as a Diocesan College, historically an entry school for those wishing to train as priests for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin
Diocese of Elphin
The Diocese of Elphin was established following the Synod of Rathbreasail in the year 1111. In that year the see for east Connacht was moved from Roscommon. Elphin was the traditional site of a monastic house established by St Patrick c.450, although there are no remains of that date.Following the...
. The college took in both boarders
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
and day boys
Day pupil
Day pupils are students who attend boarding school but who are not boarders and who travel between home and school every day...
until the dormitories were closed in the 1980s due to economic circumstances.
Curriculum
The school offers the traditional JuniorJunior Certificate
The Junior Certificate is an educational qualification awarded in Ireland by the Department of Education to students who have successfully completed the junior cycle of secondary education, and achieved a minimum standard in their Junior Cert. examinations...
and Leaving Certificate
Leaving Certificate
The Leaving Certificate Examinations , commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert is the final examination in the Irish secondary school system. It takes a minimum of two years preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior...
cycles to its pupils. It also provides other options such as Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP) , Transition Year
Transition Year
Transition Year is an optional one-year school programme that can be taken in the year after the Junior Certificate in Ireland and is intended to make the senior cycle a three year programme encompassing both Transition Year and Leaving Certificate...
, Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme
The Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme is a two-year Education Programme of the Irish Department of Education and Science. It was introduced in 1989. According to the Department, the programme is designed to give a strong vocational dimension to the Leaving Certificate...
(LCVP) and Leaving Certificate Applied
Leaving Certificate Applied
The Leaving Certificate Applied is a self-contained two-year programme of the Irish Department of Education and Science. It was introduced in 1995...
(LCA).
Extra-curricular activities, clubs and sport
Summerhill College has a proud sporting tradition in soccer and Gaelic footballGaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
. During the school year, soccer coaching is run in the school, with the assistance of Sligo Rovers F.C.
Sligo Rovers F.C.
Sligo Rovers Football Club is a professional Irish football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 and have been in the League of Ireland since 1934. The club is a co-operative venture, owned by the people of Sligo. Sligo Rovers have played at...
. It also offers many other sports to its students, including rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, athletics, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
.
Selected alumni
- Kian EganKian EganKian John Francis Kelly Egan was a member of the Irish boyband, Westlife and coach on The Voice of Ireland.-Music career:*Main article: Westlife...
, Mark FeehilyMark FeehilyMarkus Michael Patrick Feehily is one of the lead singers of the Irish boyband Westlife.-Early life:Feehily was born in Sligo, Ireland, to Marie Verdon and Oliver Feehily. He has two younger brothers, Barry and Colin .-Career:Feehily rose to fame as one of the two lead singers of the boyband...
and Shane FilanShane FilanShane Steven Filan was one of the lead singers in the Irish pop band Westlife. Filan is one of the five original Westlife members, along with other current members Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Nicky Byrne and former member Brian McFadden....
, three of the four members of boy bandBoy bandA boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
WestlifeWestlifeWestlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one... - Father Edward J. FlanaganEdward J. FlanaganFather Edward Joseph Flanagan was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He was the founder of what is arguably the most famous orphanage—Boys Town...
, founder of Boys Town orphanageOrphanageAn orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
s in USAUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(the current gymGymThe word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
in the school is named after him) - Tommie GormanTommie GormanTommie Gorman is an Irish journalist. He has worked for RTÉ News and Current Affairs since 1980. He is currently the Northern Ireland editor for RTÉ....
, Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
correspondent with Irish State Broadcaster RTÉRaidió Teilifís ÉireannRaidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making... - Tabby CallaghanTabby CallaghanTrevor John "Tabby" Callaghan is an Irish musician. He finished third in the first series of The X Factor in 2004.- Early career :...
, singer, finalist on The X FactorThe X Factor (UK)The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date... - John McCormack, world-famous tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
- Volunteer Joe MacManus, Provisional IRAProvisional Irish Republican ArmyThe Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
member, killed in 1992 - Ray MacSharryRay MacSharryRaymond MacSharry is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician, who served in a range of cabinet positions, most notably as Tánaiste, Minister for Finance and European Commissioner.-Early life:...
, former Fianna FáilFianna FáilFianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
TDTeachta DálaA Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
, TánaisteTánaisteThe Tánaiste is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. The current Tánaiste is Eamon Gilmore, TD who was appointed on 9 March 2011.- Origins and etymology :...
and European CommissionEuropean CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
er - Dermot MannionDermot MannionDermot Mannion is the current Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines and former Chief Executive Officer of Aer Lingus.Mannion was born in 1958 in Sligo, Ireland, one of eight children . He attended school at St. John's Boys School and Summerhill College, in Sligo...
, former CEO of Aer LingusAer LingusAer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair... - Albert ReynoldsAlbert ReynoldsAlbert Reynolds , served as Taoiseach of Ireland, serving one term in office from 1992 until 1994. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize...
, former Fianna Fáil TD and TaoiseachTaoiseachThe Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is... - Mark Scanlon, professional cyclist, former World Junior Cycling Champion
New school building programme
In January 2006 it was announced that Summerhill was to get €20 m funding for a new school building. Work was due to begin in 2008, but the Department of EducationDepartment of Education and Science (Ireland)
The Department of Education and Skills is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Education and Skills who is assisted by two Ministers of State.-Departmental team:...
said later that same year that the project will not be progressed further this year. However, work finally began on the demolition of the 1970s building and construction of a new school in the summer of 2011.