St Patrick’s College to celebrate 150 years

St Patrick's College in Cavan, venerated as a beacon of educational excellence, shaping generations of leaders, thinkers, and trailblazers, will mark its 150th anniversary later this month.

The milestone for this iconic building, which served as the original secondary school for boys, is now the base for the Kilmore Diocesan Pastoral Centre, takes place next Tuesday, March 12.

Later that same week, it's fitting that a series of celebrations will be staged over St Patrick's weekend. Bishop of Kilmore, Martin Hayes, will be principal celebrant at a special Mass in the Cathedral of Saints Patrick & Felim, Cavan Town, on Saturday, March 16, at 11am. A number of commemorative events will also take place including a short talk by Monsignor Liam Kelly in the original college followed by refreshments in the new college canteen. Past pupils and teachers are especially welcome to attend.

It was Cardinal Paul Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin, who laid the foundation stone of school on March 12, 1874. At the time, the new school replaced St Augustine's Seminary on Farnham Street.

On that historic day, 183 students - all boarders - moved into the new building even through construction was not yet complete. The new college, designed by architect William Hague Jr using stone taken from Ross Quarry near Oldcastle, could accommodate about 100 students and was finished at a cost of £11,176.

The original Hague building, the present-day Kilmore Diocesan Pastoral Centre, has remained virtually unchanged structurally since.

In 1886, the college then ceased as a seminary and opened to day-students for the first time.

Current college principal, Christopher Rowley, is particularly conscious that the current generation of staff, students and others are mere “custodians” in the grander scheme.

He recognises that the school's classrooms, halls and playing pitches, past and present, have served as sanctuaries for intellectual curiosity and growth. From pioneering politicians to groundbreaking scientists, visionary artists to compassionate humanitarians, the school has been a crucible for talent, ambition, and resilience.

More than 500 invitations have been sent out, and word of the anniversary had been received far and wide.

“There is an open invitation to past pupils,” says Mr Rowley, the third lay principal to take up the post. During his tenure, Mr Rowley has helped oversee the transition into the new state-of-the-art €9M government-funded school completed in 2012, and officially opened in May 2013.

The change coincided with enrolment at the college steadily rising from 550 to 770 pupils, while the 2024/25 year will see student numbers exceed 800 for the first time.

Mr Rowley says that, as the community gathers to commemorate this illustrious anniversary, reflections on the building's “enduring legacy” abound.

He adds that the 150-year journey of the esteemed institution is testament to the “transformative power” of education and the enduring influence of a dedicated community committed to nurturing the potential in every student.

Séan Coll, Director of the Kilmore Diocesan Pastoral Centre, is a proud past pupil of the school from 1977-82.

He reflects upon the history of the building, the impact it has had on people, and what role and contribution it will play into the future.

“When the school was first built in the 1870s the diocese was coming out of what was a period of pastoral reform and you look at today, the church in Kilmore and universally is also moving into a new phase of pastoral development. The centre will continue in that role, of still being a centre of education, of formation, of support of well-being.”