St Michael's College, Enniskillen

Coordinates: 54°20′56″N 7°37′34″W / 54.349°N 7.626°W / 54.349; -7.626

St Michael's College
Coláiste Naomh Mícheál

Orare Studere Agere
Latin for to pray, to study, to act
Location
Drumclay Hill, Enniskillen
Northern Ireland
Coordinates 54°20′56″N 7°37′34″W / 54.349°N 7.626°W / 54.349; -7.626
Information
School type Grammar School
Established 1903
Chairman Monsignor Joseph McGuinness
Principal Mark Henry
Chaplain Canon Macartan McQuaid
Number of students 716
Colour(s)

Claret and Light Blue

         
Website www.saintmichaels.org.uk

St Michael's College (Irish: Coláiste Naomh Mícheal, Inis Ceithleann) is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school located in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. It is named after St Michael the Archangel. The school educates catholic boys in County Fermanagh and the surrounding areas. The school is located within the parish of Enniskillen, one of the largest parishes in the Diocese of Clogher.

Location

The college is situated on Drumclay Hill, about half a mile from Enniskillen town centre. It is built on an elevated site and enjoys a view of the Mill Lough, Cuilcagh Mountain, Topped Mountain and the surrounding countryside.

History of St Michael's College

St Michael's Grammar School was established to cater for the educational needs of Catholic boys from the northern half of the Diocese of Clogher. From 1903 until 1957, St Michael's was run by the Presentation Brothers at its Belmore Street site, where the Clinton Centre now stands. It was then taken over by the diocese under the then Bishop of Clogher, the Most Rev. Eugene O'Callaghan and rebuilt at Drumclay. In 1952, the site was purchased by Monsignor Gannon.[1] During the summer of 1956, Father Patrick Mulligan was appointed to run the college. Work on the grammar school started in 1958; during that time, classes were held at the original location on East Bridge Street.[2]

In September 1963, the buildings were completed and all classes were moved from East Bridge Street to Drumclay. The college has undergone extensive development and expansion since that time. The original site was expanded in the late 1950s to accommodate an increase in the number of students from 200 to 300. The next expansion occurred in 1966, with the addition of four new classrooms, including a modern language department, laboratory, a bookstore and a teachers' recreation room. In more recent years, a new technology block has been added, and many of the science labs have been renovated. Since its foundation, the college has continued to grow and expand. It now has 700 students, a teaching staff of 50 and a support staff of 35.

The West Wing of St Michaels Grammar School

St Michael's College presidents

Since the college was taken over by the Diocese in 1957, a total of six priests have taken up the role of college president. In 2006, Eugene McCullough was the first lay person appointed to lead the college. Father Patrick Mulligan, a native of County Fermanagh, was the first president of the college and served in the post for nine years. He oversaw the planning and building of the college at Drumclay as well as its first two expansions. Less than three years after his retirement from the post, he was appointed Bishop of Clogher. He resigned that position in 1979 due to ill health and died in 1991. The second principal was Dr John McElroy, also a native of County Fermanagh, who remained in the post until 1977. One of his students was future president, Fr Joseph McGuinness. Father McElroy later became parish priest of Aghalurcher, near Lisnaskea; he died in 2004.

Years Name
1957-1966[3] Patrick Mulligan
1966–1977 Canon (John) McElroy
1977 Peadar Livingstone
1978–1994 Macartan McQuaid
1994–2000 Patrick MacEntee
2000–2006 Joseph McGuinness
2006 -2016 Eugene McCullough
2016 - Mark Henry
A small corridor in the school leading to the year 14 studyhall

In 1977, Father Peadar Livingstone briefly held the position of president, before assuming parish duties in Broomfield, County Monaghan, near his native Castleblayney. By the time he took up the post, he was already known for his local historical work, The Fermanagh Story;[4] he completed The Monaghan Story[5] in 1980. He was succeeded at the end of the year by Macartan McQuaid, also a native of County Monaghan. Father McQuaid officially assumed the post of president in January 1978 and was the longest serving president of St Michael's College. McQuaid oversaw major extension work at the college. During his tenure, the number of students attending the school gradually grew from 500 to over 700. McQuaid retired in 1993, and was appointed parish priest of Irvinestown. He returned as chaplain in 2007.

In 1994 Patrick MacEntee, a native of the town of Monaghan, assumed the position of president. MacEntee joined the staff of the college in 1977 with his appointment as dean. He resigned as president in 2000 and is now parish priest of Dromore. He was succeed in September 2000 by Father Joseph McGuinness, originally from Lisnaskea in County Fermanagh, and the only past pupil of the college to become president. McGuinness retired as president in August 2006. In September 2007, he was appointed to the position of parish priest of Enniskillen.

The school's first lay principal, Eugene J. McCullough, took up his post on 1 September 2006. Mr Mccullough, educated in County Antrim, is the former president of St Mary's College, Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. Mr McCullough retired in 2016 after ten years as Principal.[6]

Sports

St Michael's teams have excelled in many sports most notably Gaelic football.[7] In 2006, St Michael's won the Rannafast Cup.

MacRory Cup

The school's teams have won the MacRory Cup 6 times, making St. Michael's the 6th most successful college in the competition's history. After wins in 1973 and 1992, the school entered its most successful spell in 1999, reaching the final in four consecutive years, winning in 1999, 2001 and 2002. Following a 10-year drought, the school lifted the trophy in 2012, beating St Patrick's College, Maghera in the final by 0-09 to 1-04.

St Michael's were runners-up in the competition on seven (7) occasions, most recently the 2008 final. The team qualified for the final with a win of 1-17 to 0-7 over St Eunan's, Letterkenny, before being defeated by St Patrick's, Dungannon, in the final on Monday, 17 March (St Patrick's Day) 2008.

Notable former pupils

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Fermanagh Herald, 11 October 1952
  2. ↑ The Fermanagh Herald, 18 January 1958
  3. ↑ The Fermanagh Story, Fr. Peadar Livingstone, Fourth Impression, L.W.N Hall, Booksellers, Enniskillen, 1990.
  4. ↑ Clogher Historical Society
  5. ↑ Monaghan County Council
  6. ↑ The Irish News. St Michael's Enniskillen seeking new principal 10 June 2016. Accessed 14 July 2016
  7. ↑ GAA: Ulster Colleges
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