St Eunan's College

IrishSchoolInfoBox
name = St. Eunan's College
irish_name = Colaiste Naomh Adhamhnáin


100px
motto = In hoc signo vinces
Latin for 'in this sign you will conquer
established = 1906
location = Letterkenny, County Donegal,
Republic of Ireland
students = 850
keyprole = Principal
Deputy Principal
keypname = Fr. Michael Carney,
Rena O' Herlihy
free_label = Staff
Religious order
free = 100

homepage = http://www.sainteunans.com

Saint Eunan's College (Irish: "Coláiste Adhamhnáin") is an all-male voluntary secondary school. Located in Glencar, Letterkenny ("Leitir Ceanainn"), County Donegal ("Dún na nGall") in the Republic of Ireland, the building is a three-storey castle with four round towers at each corner of the building. The school is named after the Abbot of Iona St. Eunan, a native of Donegal and patron saint of the Diocese of Raphoe. The college celebrated its centenary in 2006. [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/history.htm Information and References] , St. Eunan's College website. (accessed 2008-07-06)]

History

Saint Eunan's College was founded as a boarding school in 1906 by the then Bishop of Raphoe, Dr Patrick O' Donnell. Originally intended as a minor seminary, it was designed to prepare students for the Roman Catholic priesthood. Diocesan colleges became an increasingly popular feature at the time and were designed to give the best possible Catholic education to boys of every class.

The student population expanded in the 1920s and it was necessary to build a new extension to the College in the early 1930s. The current recreation hall was built in 1958 and the science block in 1968. The 'new building' was opened in 1979 to cater for the 500 students enrolled at the time. Due to the growth of other second level schools in the area the number of boarders dropped extensively and in 1992, the boarding wing was finally shut down. St. Eunan's College continues to this day as a Catholic School under the trusteeship of the Bishop of Raphoe.

The school currently serves approximately 850 students from Letterkenny and its surrounding area, and is one of the few remaining all-male schools in the western part of Ireland. The president, since 1996, is Rev. Michael Carney and the vice principal, since 2001, is Rena O'Herlihy.

In 2007 the school came to the attention of the national media. Retailers were urged not to sell eggs and flour to students following a spate of attacks on passing cars. [ [http://www.independent.ie/national-news/garda-crackdown-on-bad-eggs-in-rural-town-61690.html Irish Independent - Garda crackdown on 'bad eggs' in rural town] ]

Presidents

Building

In recent years there has been an attempt to build a new extension. [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/extension.htm New Building/Extension] , St. Eunan's College Website] Two plans were drawn up, but an approach has not yet been confirmed. In meeting with planning regulations, the school has installed a series of ramps and two chair-lifts for the benefit of those attending or visiting the school who may need them.

Academic

In common with the vast majority of secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland, St Eunan's currently provides the qualifications of the Junior Certificate and the Leaving Certificate. It also provides the facilities for Transition Year which includes two work experience allotments and a choice between Computer or Sport GCSEs. The college is one of only 18 schools in the county that offers the LCA programme. [ [http://lca.slss.ie/school/proglist?place_id=38 Schools in Donegal providing the LCA] , Leaving Certificate Applied website]

At Junior Certificate level, the school offers art, woodwork and technical drawing. The college currently offers two foreign languages, French and German, at Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate levels as well as Transition Year, but Irish is also compulsory, subject to some exemptions, as in all other secondary schools in Ireland.

Transition Year modules (taken on a Friday afternoon) include first-aid, cooking, car maintenance, electronics and, brand new for 2007, yoga and juggling. Towards the end of the year, more diverse modules are offered such as tennis, karate, and drama (at An Grianán Theatre).

Junior and Leaving Certificate students usually undertake pre-test exams every February or March or April whilst the real exams follow swiftly in June.

port

Physical education and team activities are important to the school, with several national titles, particularly in Soccer [ [http://www.rte.ie/sport/2004/0504/schools.html "St. Eunan's claim schools double"] , RTÉ Sport. (accessed 2008-07-06] and Gaelic Football. Colm McFadden and Mickey Huston currently teach in the school as does Gary "The Whale" McDaid. Mickey is a former club manager and was also a team selector for the Donegal GAA team but quit after a row with the manager. He was enjoying the game when his authority was undermined and substitutions were made without his consultation. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/northern_ireland/1359703.stm BBC Sport - Houston's big problem] ]

Three out of four All-Ireland Soccer titles were won by the college in 2005, a feat that no other school in the country has ever achieved. [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/soccer.htm Soccer] , St. Eunan's College Website] Little else has been achieved since with regards to soccer as the focus has been primarily on the successful GAA teams that have represented the College over the last number of years.

McLarnon Cup

The senior Gaelic team has in the past eight years won the McLarnon Cup twice, the latest occasion being 2007. On Sunday March 25, 2007, the College, beat Rathmore by 1-09 to 2-03 at Casement Park in Belfast, having travelled there six days earlier only for the match to be postponed. The senior team then went on to beat Rice College of Westport in the All-Ireland B Colleges semi-final but were beaten themselves by St.Mary's of Edenderry in the All-Ireland Final at Breffni Park, County Cavan on Saturday April 21, 2007. The match went to extra time after a penalty save by St. Eunan's goalkeeper John Carr, but the College eventually lost by 2-12 to 0-14. The team reached the semi-final of the MacRory Cup in 2008, only to be defeated by St. Michael's College of Enniskillen 1-17 to 0-7 on February 22, 2008.

St. Eunan's College, with future inter-county footballers Rory Kavanagh and Colm McFadden part of the team, (indeed McFadden himself was to become a future teacher at the school) also won the McLarnon Cup in 2000 for the first time since 1979, [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/gaamaclarnon.htm MacLarnon Cup] , St. Eunan's College Website] as well as the Ulster Herald Cup in 2004. [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/gaaherald.htm Herald Cup] , St. Eunan's College Website] The Herald Cup win was the school's first in 25 years.

Three students have achieved Ulster All-Stars while playing for the college, "Mark McGowan", [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/gaamcgowan.htm Mark McGowan] , St. Eunan's College Website] "Hugh Brendan Kerr" and "Sean McEwen". [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/gaastars.htm All Stars] , St. Eunan's College Website] Rory Kavanagh, Colm McFadden, Neil Gallagher and Michael Boyle, who all previously played with college teams, are now members of the senior Donegal Gaelic team. [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/gaa.htm Gaelic Football] , St. Eunan's College Website]

Other Sports

The college is now also the number one athletics and basketball school in the county, with many county titles in various age groups.Fact|date=February 2007 Golf [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/golf.htm Golf Pages] , St. Eunan's College Website] and swimming [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/swim.htm Swimming] , St. Eunan's College Website] are also popular. Even hurling teams, a sport which is not seen as very popular in Donegal, have reached the semi-finals of some competitions. [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/hurling.htm Hurling] , St. Eunan's College Website] There is also a schoool rugby team.

Extra-curricular activities

The college offers chess to its students every Wednesday after school hours.Fact|date=February 2007 The chess team has competed at national level.Fact|date=February 2007

The college's musical tradition can be seen every year in the annual St. Eunan's College Rock Concert - held every May since 2002 in the local An Grianán Theatre. [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/musical.htm Musical/Concerts] , St. Eunan's College Website]

The college library is open to students during lunch hours on certain days of the week.

The college has long sent debating teams to competitions across Ireland while maths and science students have taken part in national competitions.Fact|date=February 2007 A number of students have also taken part in the Young Scientist Award. [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/Quizes.htm Debates - Quiz] , St. Eunan's College Website]

chool Trips

The college has taken part in a number of foreign exchange programmes involving schools in France and Austria. [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/exchanges.htm Student Exchange] , St. Eunan's College Website] Many European students have also availed of the college, from as far away as Spain, France and Austria. Every year a selection of teachers and students head for the European ski-slopes during the holidays. [ [http://www.sainteunans.com/skitrips.htm Ski Trips] , St. Eunan's College Website] The 2008 trip to the US was eventful, as the plane home experienced engine difficulties and had to return to Boston. [ [http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0111/breaking1.html Aer Lingus flight to Shannon aborted, Irish Times, January 11, 2008] ]

Gallery

Classrooms and StaffroomOther Areas On School Grounds

Notable guests

* On Thursday March 29, 2007, the Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern briefly visited the school. This followed on from a visit by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny in late 2006.
* On Sunday April 8, 2007, professional golfer Paul McGinley visited the school to formally launch the St. Eunan's College Centenary Golf Classic. His father, Michael McGinley of Sigma Wireless Ltd, is a past student of the College and, having represented the College in the McRory Cup final team of 1956, sponsored the prizes for the golf classic. [ [http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/college-backed-by-mcginleys-44076.html Irish Independent - College backed by McGinleys] ] [DN supplement with local newspaper, dated Friday April 13 2007, SPORTS page 7]

elected Alumni

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.sainteunans.com/ St. Eunan's College - official website]
* [http://www.raphoediocese.com/education.htm Raphoe Diocese Education page]
* [http://www.destinationletterkenny.com/Historic.htm Historic Buildings and Sites in Letterkenny]
* [http://www.ulstercollegesgaa.com/ McLarnon Cup]