St. Michael's College Enniskillen

St. Michael's College is a Roman Catholic boys grammar school located in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. It is named after Saint 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. The school Feast Day is 29 September.

In 2006 the Northern Ireland education board noted the school for producing the best GCSE grades in Northern Ireland.

Location

The College is situated on Drumclay Hill, about half a mile from Enniskillen town centre. It is sufficiently removed from the town to ensure an undisturbed atmosphere in which to pursue the activities of the school day.

The College is built on an elevated site and enjoys a view of the Mill Lake, Cuilceach Mountain, Topped Mountain and the surrounding countryside.

History of St. Michael's College

St. Michael's Grammar School (generally called St. Michael's) 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 the parish priest of Enniskillen, Monsignor Gannon. ["The Fermanagh Herald", 11 October 1952] 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 ["The Fermanagh Herald", 18 January 1958] . 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 increase 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 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.

t. Michael's College Crest

The aims of the college and its expectations from its pupils are summed up in the symbolism of the college crest.

*Orare: means to pray. This emphasizes that the first duty of each person in to grow in the knowledge and love of God. Establishing a personal relationship with God is the beginning of all knowledge.
*Studere: means to study. This concept is more than applying oneself to books; it is the study of life in order to come to a better understanding of ourselves and our vocation. The motto calls all students, past and present, to constant study.
*Agere: means to act. This word points out that each pupil is expected to contribute by his action to the good of society what he has gained from his prayer and study. The book depicted on the crest contains no writing. It represents the life of each pupil which will be filled in time by his achievements. The cross and shield emphasize that our faith will be our constant protection in life.

t. Michael's College Presidents

Since the college was taken over by the Diocese in 1957, a total of six priests have taken up the president’s role. In 2006, Eugene McCullough was the first lay person appointed to lead the college.

Dr. 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. McElroy later became Parish Priest of Aghalurcher, near Lisnaskea and died in 2004.

In 1977, Fr. Peadar Livingstone, from Castleblayney, County Monaghan briefly held the position of President before assuming parish duties in Broomfield, Co. Monaghan. By the time he took up the post, he was already known for his great local historical work, "The Fermanagh Story" [Clogher Historical Society. [http://clogherhistory.ie/Bookshop] ] ; he completed "The Monaghan Story" [Monaghan County Council: [http://www.monaghan.ie/library/history.asp] ] in 1980. He was succeeded at the end of the year by Fr. Macartan McQuaid, also a native of County Monaghan. Fr. McQuaid assumed the post of President in January 1978 and was the longest serving President of St Michael's College.

Canon 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. Canon McQuaid retired in 1993, and was appointed Parish Priest of Irvinestown. He returned to the college as chaplain in 2007.

In 1994, Rev. Patrick MacEntee, a native of Monaghan, assumed the position of president. Fr. MacEntee joined the staff of the college in 1977 with his appointment as dean. Fr. MacEntee resigned as president in 2000 and is now Parish Priest of Dromore. He was succeed in September 2000 by Fr. Joseph McGuinness, originally from Lisnaskea in County Fermanagh, and the only past pupil of the college to become president; Fr. McGuinness retired as president in August 2006. In September 2007, Fr. McGuinness 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. Eugene McCullogh (born 6 October 1948), educated in County Antrim, is the former President of St. Marys Secondary school, Irvinestown, County Fermanagh.

enior Prefects

The senior prefects have a number of roles in the college;

*To act as a role model for students and promote the ethos of the school
*To be an approachable member of year fourteen to whom students can come to for assistance or support
*To maintain the standards duties and responsibilities of a prefect as detailed below
*To organise school events for your community
*To perform one duty per week
*To attend school events when required
*To attend all meetings with the Senior Leadership Team and other prefects as required
*To ensure all school rules are adhered to at all times by all pupils
*To help lead a team of prefects
*To oversee the mentors of the form group in your team
*To monitor the performance of the prefects in your team and deal with any problems that may arise from this monitoring.
*To report any issues to the Head Boy
*To wander the corridors aimlessly before dinner, most notably found in music department
*To attend a meeting in the Ennis Suite at least every fortnight. Alternative meeting places include the "Atrium" function room which is popular among the students

The Senior Prefects of 2007/2008 were;

*PJ Rodgers (Head Boy)
*Oisin McCann (Deputy Head Boy)
*Aidrian McGurn
*Michael Curran
*Keith McPartland
*Patrick Corrigan
*Brian Cox
*Stephen McKenzie
*Manus Maguire
*Finbarr Maguire
*Cian McGovern

Academics

St. Michaels offers a diverse range of subjects including

*Art
*Biology
*Business Studies
*Clanien Arts
*Chemistry
*Citizenship
*Construction
*Drama
*English
*English Literature
*European Studies
*Geography
*History
*Home Economics
*Politics
*IT
*Languages (Irish, French and German)
*Maths (Additional and Further)
*Music
*Physics
*Religion
*Spiritual and Social Awareness
*Technology and Design

ports

St. Michael's College has a strong sporting tradition. Teams have excelled in many sports most notably Gaelic football [GAA: Ulster Colleges. [http://ulstercolleges.gaa.ie/] ] . The College recently played Omagh CBS in the Bank of Ireland MacRory Cup ("Corn Mhíc Ruaíri"). [BBC news article. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/6169631.stm] ] In 2006, St. Michael's won the Rannafast Cup.

St Michael's qualified for the (2008) MacRory Cup final, with a winning score of 1-17 to 0-7 win over St. Eunan's of Letterkenny, in Friday night's floodlit MacRory Cup semi-final at Healy Park, Omagh.

St Michael's were defeated by St Patrick's of Dungannon in the Final on Monday 17th March

Notable Alumni

*Dr. Ciarán Mac Murchaidh, lecturer at Dublin City University
*Fr. Joseph McGuiness, sixth President of St. Michael's College.
*Fearghal McKinney, television presenter and journalist
*Frank McManus, Independent Nationalist MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone (1970-1974)
*Dr. Nigel McLoughlin, Course Leader in Creative & Critical Writing, University of Gloucestershire & poet
*Frank Ormsby, poet and former editor of "The Honest Ulsterman"
*Sir Patrick Hugh Haren - Deputy Chairman of the Viridian Group

ee also

*Diocese of Clogher
*Patrick Mulligan first College President and Bishop of Clogher

External links

* [http://www.st-michaels.net/ St. Michael's Parish]
* [http://www.enniskillen.com/ Enniskillen town website]
* [http://www.enniskillen.com/enniskillen_edu.html Schools in Enniskillen]