Clongowes Stories

16th June 2017

As is now the custom every June, Clongowes Foundation welcomes all Old Clongownians, who have left the College forty years or more, to enjoy Fr. Peter Kenney Day. This year (Wednesday 14th June) was no exception as over OCs, ranging from 1945 to 1972, turned out to enjoy a day of reunion and celebration. The…read more

7th June 2017

Nationalist politician and soldier William (‘Willie’) Hoey Redmond (13th April 1861 – 7th June 1917), nationalist politician and soldier, was born in Liverpool, but grew up in County Wexford. He attended Clongowes in 1873-6. He was the younger brother and close confidant of John Redmond, although much more outgoing in personality. He spent time as a merchant…read more

4th June 2017

Richard Thomas Wins Top Prize At The 2017 Trench Award Richard Thomas (OC’13) claimed the overall prize at The 2017 Trench Award with a mesmerising performance on violin during the inaugural Birr Festival of Music & Voice at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre last Sunday night (28th May). Now in its fourth year, the Trench Award…read more

3rd June 2017

What to do when you don’t know what to do “ It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”   (Charles Darwin, The Origin of the Species”) On Thursday May 18th an audience comprising pupils, teachers and parents gathered in the Music Performance…read more

1st June 2017

Last Monday the gentlemen of Syntax spent the day in Glendalough on their Annual Retreat, where they reflected on what has been a jam-packed Year of Transition for them. The next day, after their cubicles were cleared and bags packed they and their families assembled in the Boys’ Chapel for their Graduation Ceremony… As the…read more

30th May 2017

Congratulations to the boys of the Clongowes Minor I tennis team who overcame their opponents from St. Gerard’s in Castleknock Lawn Tennis Club last week (Monday 22nd May) to win the Minor Division II Cup for the first time since 1999! It was a close fought match that hung in the balance pending the outcome…read more

26th May 2017

Last Tuesday (May 22nd) the boys of Transition Year hosted their Social Outreach visitors (and a few lucky members of staff) to a short concert in the James Joyce Library. The music was provided by members of the Clongowes College Choir and featured solo and choral performances of music by composers such as Rutter, Schubert,…read more

26th May 2017

Dear Parents and Guardians, I would like to invite you to join us for the celebration of Union Day in Clongowes on Sunday 28th May. All parents and guests are invited to the Prize Giving, which will take place at 4pm in the Sports Hall. This will include speeches by the Headmaster and outgoing School Captain. Union…read more

24th May 2017

As the prospective pupils of Rhetoric 2024 arrived down the sun drenched avenue for their first taste of life in Clongowes Wood College on Saturday last (May 20th) one could sense the anticipation among the boys and indeed, the excitement among prospective parents, both accustomed and unaccustomed, to the school. For a number of those…read more

22nd May 2017

Mass of Thanksgiving for the Beatification of Fr John Sullivan SJ On Saturday of last week (May 13th) the whole of the Society of Jesus shared in the joy of the Irish Province as we celebrated the Beatification of the Venerable John Sullivan in Gardiner Street Church – a truly joyful and moving occasion. (here)….read more