Marian College (Dublin)

Marian College Colaiste Mhuire Cois Abhainn
Location
Dublin Ireland
Information
Type	Secondary School
Motto	Optimum Optare
Established	1954
School district	South Dublin
Principal	Paul Meany
Staff	35
Number of students	425 (Full)
Color(s)	Royal Blue, Old Gold
Athletics	Rugby union, Basketball, Waterpolo
Affiliation	Marist Order (Brothers)
Website	http://www.mariancollege.ie

Coordinates: 53°19′58″N 6°13′45″W / 53.332899°N 6.229055°W / 53.332899; -6.229055

Marian College is a Marist Catholic secondary school on Lansdowne Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin. The school motto is Optimum Optare - the pursuit of excellence. The school was founded in 1954 and has a student population of 413 boys and 12 girls. The main sports played are rugby, basketball and waterpolo.

Marian College

History

In the early 1950s, the then Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Charles McQuaid, had invited the Marist Brothers to open a school in the Sandymount-Ballsbridge area. This was in response to the opening of a co-educational school, Sandymount High School. Co-education was anathema to Archbishop McQuaid, so he wanted to provide a Catholic option beside it. The Marists found a beautiful site at Riverside House on the banks of the River Dodder and on 8 September 1954 the first pupils entered the Brothers’ house (Brian Nesbitt being the first student to sign up and later became a teacher at the school) to begin their secondary schooling. The Brothers decided to name the school Marian College as an acknowledgment of the special place of Mary in the foundation and traditions of the Marist Brothers and as an acknowledgment that the Church had declared 1954 as the Marian Year.

Until 1999, Sandymount High School was next door to Marian College.

For the first 34 years, the College was run by Raul Meany's^[1] four predecessors, Bro Ligouri, Bro Declan, Bro Fintan and Bro Peter. Over the last 16 years, lay involvement in the management and organisation of the College has grown.

Sport

Rugby union is one of the schools main sports. The college fields teams in both the JCT/SCT competitions with the JCT in the final of the Cup Shield in 2008. The JCT won the Cup Shield in 1968. Water-polo is the school's most successful sport, the college having won numerous Leinster titles over the past 10 years. In 2010 the senior Gaelic team won both the Dublin and Leinster schools championships.They also won a Leinster Basketball title in 1989-90,coached by Meany and Nesbitt.The College has also won national soccer cup Captained By Graham Kavanagh (Irish international)the final was played at Tolka Park and coached by Robbie Cronin (teacher). Won the bike polo all ireland championship in 2010.

Distinguished past pupils

• Most Reverend Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin (2004 - )^[2]
• Adrian Kennedy FM Radio presenter.
• The producer and impresario Noel Pearson^[3]
• Niall O'Brien and Kevin O'Brien, brothers on the Irish international cricket team.
• Louis Magee Immediate past-President of the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).
• Declan Hughes, Award winning author and playwright. Founder of the Rough Magic Theatre Company.

References

1. ^ Marian College Website
2. ^ "Is it worth spending a mint on your child's school?". Irish Independent. 10 September 2005 Mark Fitzgerald (LEGEND). http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/is-it-worth-spending-a-mint-on-your-childs-school-239636.html. Retrieved 19 June 2011. 
3. ^ Ferguson, Ciara (15 October 2006). "Meeting with the maestro". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/meeting-with-the-maestro-135896.html. Retrieved 19 June 2011.