The Bish
Encyclopedia
St. Joseph's Patrician College often known as 'The Bish' is a secondary school in Galway
city, Ireland. It was founded by the Patrician Brothers
, a religious order, and has approximately 800 students. on roll. It has found success in recent years in its wide range of sporting activities including Soccer, Rugby
, Basketball
, Rowing
, GAA
, and table tennis
.
"For many years we have had excellent schools for the lower orders at the Mercy Convent, Newtownsmith, and the Monastery School at Lombard St. The higher class of boys are catered for at St. Ignatius' College, the girls at the Dominican Convent. Now, at last, we happily have a school for the middle class at St. Joseph's Seminary, Nuns' Island."
When the school was established the word seminary had no ecclesiastical connotations and there was in fact a "Seminary For Young Ladies" further down Nuns' Island, by the 1930s the word had come to mean a college for the training of candidates for the priesthood, and at the express desire of Bishop Michael Brown the Brothers changed the name to "St. Joseph's College", and in the 1970s Bro. Valerian Whelan inserted the word Patrician in the title.
In 1899 a National School was opened to cater for the Junior Classes at the Seminary and it too came to be known as "The Bish". In 1930 the Brothers acquired the bonded store belonging to Persse's Distillery, renovated it and transferred the seventy Intermediate pupils across the road. The National School took over the rooms vacated on the original site and continued in operation until 1954 when it and "the Old Monastery School" were replaced by St. Patrick's.
St Joseph's College Rowing Club was established in 1932, making its first competitive appearance against St. Patrick's Boat Club later that year in the Schoolboy Fours. It did not acquire its own boathouse until 1955, when the Menlo Emmet's donated their Woodquay premises to the school under the agreement it should never be used for anything but the development of rowing. The club was a success from the beginning, and was seen as a dominant player in the Junior National Championships which had been established in 1964.
National Championships
Internationally, oarsmen from St. Joseph's College R.C. have also excelled, as a club competing at The British School Regatta, Ghent International Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta. Many have represented Ireland on the international stage at all levels of competition from the Home Countries Quadrangular (Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales), to the Coupe de la Jeunesse (European Junior Championship) and the World Junior Championship. Alumni of the school have achieved even higher laurels following on from their experience gained on the Corrib, competing at the World U-23 Championships, World Senior Championships and the Olympic Games.
Soccer
Basketball
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
city, Ireland. It was founded by the Patrician Brothers
Patrician Brothers
The Patrician Brothers, or Brothers of Saint Patrick, are a Roman Catholic congregation for the religious and literary education of youth and the instruction of the faithful in Christian piety.-History:This Brotherhood was founded by the Right Rev. Dr...
, a religious order, and has approximately 800 students. on roll. It has found success in recent years in its wide range of sporting activities including Soccer, Rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, 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...
, Rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, GAA
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
, and table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
.
History
St Joseph's College was established in 1862 due to the absence of a Catholic Intermediate School for boys in the city. Bishop John McEvilly asked Brother Paul to open such a school and St. Joseph's Seminary was established at Nuns' Island in 1862. Due to the bishop's close association with the school, the seminary was generally referred to as "the bishop's school" and to this day is known as "The Bish." Publicising his new enterprise Bishop McEvilly wrote a pastoral in which he stated:"For many years we have had excellent schools for the lower orders at the Mercy Convent, Newtownsmith, and the Monastery School at Lombard St. The higher class of boys are catered for at St. Ignatius' College, the girls at the Dominican Convent. Now, at last, we happily have a school for the middle class at St. Joseph's Seminary, Nuns' Island."
When the school was established the word seminary had no ecclesiastical connotations and there was in fact a "Seminary For Young Ladies" further down Nuns' Island, by the 1930s the word had come to mean a college for the training of candidates for the priesthood, and at the express desire of Bishop Michael Brown the Brothers changed the name to "St. Joseph's College", and in the 1970s Bro. Valerian Whelan inserted the word Patrician in the title.
In 1899 a National School was opened to cater for the Junior Classes at the Seminary and it too came to be known as "The Bish". In 1930 the Brothers acquired the bonded store belonging to Persse's Distillery, renovated it and transferred the seventy Intermediate pupils across the road. The National School took over the rooms vacated on the original site and continued in operation until 1954 when it and "the Old Monastery School" were replaced by St. Patrick's.
Sport
RowingSt Joseph's College Rowing Club was established in 1932, making its first competitive appearance against St. Patrick's Boat Club later that year in the Schoolboy Fours. It did not acquire its own boathouse until 1955, when the Menlo Emmet's donated their Woodquay premises to the school under the agreement it should never be used for anything but the development of rowing. The club was a success from the beginning, and was seen as a dominant player in the Junior National Championships which had been established in 1964.
National Championships
| 1969 - J18 8+ | 1985 J18 8+ | 2003 - J18 8+, 4+ |
| 1970 - J18 8+, 4+ | 1987 J18 8+ | 2004 - J18 8+, 4+ |
| 1971 - J18 8+, 4+ | 1992 J18 8+, 4+ | 2005 - J18 8+, 4+, 2- |
| 1982 - J18 8+ | 1995 - J18 8+ | 2009 - J18 8+, 4+ |
| 1983 - J18 8+ | 1996 - J18 2- | 2011 - J18 8+ |
| 1984 - J18 8+ | 2001 - J18 4+ |
Internationally, oarsmen from St. Joseph's College R.C. have also excelled, as a club competing at The British School Regatta, Ghent International Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta. Many have represented Ireland on the international stage at all levels of competition from the Home Countries Quadrangular (Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales), to the Coupe de la Jeunesse (European Junior Championship) and the World Junior Championship. Alumni of the school have achieved even higher laurels following on from their experience gained on the Corrib, competing at the World U-23 Championships, World Senior Championships and the Olympic Games.
Soccer
Basketball
Politics
- Michael ColivetMichael ColivetMichael Colivet was an Irish Sinn Féin politician and a founding member of the Irish Republic. He was Commander of the Irish Volunteers in Limerick during the 1916 Easter Rising, elected MP for Limerick City, and TD of the First Dáil....
(29 March 1882 – 4 May 1955) was a Sinn FéinSinn FéinSinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
politician. He was elected MP for Limerick City, a founding member of the Irish Republic, and elected to the First DailFirst DáilThe First Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. In 1919 candidates who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom and instead assembled as a unicameral, revolutionary parliament called "Dáil Éireann"...
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politician, Teachta DálaTeachta 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...
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where he oversaw the introduction of the penalty point system.
Sport
- Alan MartinAlan MartinAlan Martin could refer to:*Alan Martin , Former Australian rules footballer*Alan Martin , English footballer*Alan Martin , Scottish goalkeeper...
, oarsman, Irish rowing team Beijing Olympics, 2008 - Neville MaxwellNeville MaxwellNeville Maxwell is a British journalist.Born in London, Maxwell was educated at McGill University and Cambridge University. He joined The Times as a foreign correspondent in 1955 and spent three years in the Washington bureau. In 1959 he was posted to New Delhi as South Asia correspondent...
, oarsman, Irish rowing team Atlanta Olympics, 1996 - Ger FarragherGer FarragherGer Farragher is an Irish sportsman. He plays in the forward line on the Galway senior hurling team. He plays his club hurling with Castlegar....
, Galway county hurler. - Colin HawkinsColin HawkinsColin Hawkins , is an Irish professional footballer. Hawkins is a central defender with Dundalk, and has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth and U21 levels.-Coventry City:...
, Dundalk F. C. footballer - David CollinsDavid Collins (hurler)David Collins is an Irish sportsman. He plays hurling with his local club Liam Mellows and with the Galway senior inter-county team. He plays in the midfield position on both teams.-Early life:...
Galway county hurler, former All Ireland Young Hurler of The Year, former Galway Senior Hurling Captain.