St Macartan's College

St. Macartan's College is the major Roman Catholic boys' Diocesan College in Monaghan, Ireland. It is named after Saint Macartan, follower of St. Patrick and founder and bishop of the Diocese of Clogher. The school educates Catholic boys in County Monaghan and surrounding areas. The school is located within the parish of Monaghan, the seat for the Bishop of Clogher and one of the largest parishes in the diocese. The school Feast Day is 24 March.

About St. Macartan's College

Situated in North Monaghan, on the edge of Monaghan town, St. Macartan's College is a post-primary school for boys.

The school caters for boys from 11 to 18 years old. A wide and varied curriculum is offered. In the Junior Cycle (11-15 years old) the students study Civic, Social and Political Education, English, French, Geography, History, Irish, Mathematics, Physical Education, Religious Education, and Social, Personal and Health Education. The students also choose two subjects from the following five: Art, Craft and Design; Business Studies; German; Materials Technology, and Technical Graphics. The students sit the Junior Certificate Examination at the end of their third year. The Junior Certificate, or Junior Cert as it is widely known, is used as a gauge of students talents and ability, which will be taken into account as they progress to the senior cycle.

After the Junior Cert, the students enter the transition year programme followed by the Leaving Certificate (3-Year) or go directly into the Leaving Certificate Applied programme (2-Year). The Leaving Cert applied programme (LCA) caters for only around twenty students and does not provide the same qualifications as the Leaving Certificate. Transition Year, for a lot of students, and parents, is viewed somewhat sceptically, as, being compulsary in St.Macartans, it adds a year onto the duration spent in secondary school, while seemingly not furthering the student acedemically. Instead the year is seen as a method of maturing students in order to make them more responsible within and beyond the classroom. While the goal of Transition Year is clear, the reality can be sometimes very different. Truancy is more prevalent, as is poor behaviour due to students not taking the year seriously and being forced to do it against their wishes. No other school in the vicinity of Monaghan makes Transition Year compulsary, and while studies show that Leaving Certificate results may increase as a result of the extra year, the option of repeating the Leaving Certificate, if results were not satisfactory, is hindered by the age of the student. No such problem exists where a choice is offered within the school. The issue of Transition year is subject to ongoing debate.

In the final two years the main emphasis is on preparation for the Leaving Certificate. Each student studies Irish, English, Mathematics, Religious Education and Physical Education. They also choose four optional subjects from French, German, Construction Studies, Business Studies, Art, Economics, Physics, Biology, Accounting, Chemistry, History, Technical Drawing and Geography.

At the end of their studies the students sit the Leaving Certificate Examination.

Location

The College is located on the outskirts of the town of Monaghan. The address is

St. Macartan's College
Monaghan
County Monaghan
Éire

tel. [phone]tel. [phone]fax. [phone]

t. Macartan's College Crest

The crest of St. Macartan's College, as seen in the front hall of the school, was designed by the artist Richard J. King, for the centenary celebrations of 1940. It is modeled on the front panels of the circular boss at the Clogher Cross,the 14th-century treasure, now on loan from the Diocese of Clogher to the Monaghan County Museum. The panels contain the interlaced letters DEUS(God), and, underneath, the motto of the College, Fortis et Fidelis

The words “ Fortis et Fidelis” suggest a Pauline quotation from 1 Cor 16:13. They evoke the legend of St. Mac Cairthinn, the tréanfhear of Patrick, the bodyguard and champion of the Saint who used to carry him across fords and rivers on his missionary journeys. The words occur in one of the last letters of Father Cornelius Tierney, a former student and priest-teacher in St. Macartan's, and later a Columban missionary who died a prisoner of Communist guerillas in China in 1931.

t. Macartan's Mission Statement

St. Macartan's College seeks to provide an environment where the moral values of mutual respect, tolerance, care and justice are encouraged and nurtured. Whereas Christian faith has been projected outwards as a key focus in the school, the subject takes its place among many other issues and key factors of modern society. People of a different religious persuasion,Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh,among other religions are all welcomed to the school, and as a by-product of modern societal structure, a new attitude has brought the school forward.

It is the school's wish that students share fully in the life of the school and leave St. Macartan's College as caring and capable young adults who will contribute positively to their communities.

History of St. Macartan's College

The foundation stone for St. Macartan's College was laid on 8th July, 1840. Eight years later "The Sem" opened its doors to its first students, and for over a century and a half the school has adapted itself to meet the educational needs of boys in the North Monaghan and surrounding areas. In recent years it has made the change from being predominantly a boarding school to a day school catering to its 770 students.

Academics

St.Macartan's endeavours to provide a wide range of subjects for both the Junior and Leaving Certificates. Each student, in consultation with his parents and teachers, decides on the subjects which best suit his interests and abilities. Some subjects are however still compulsory, including Religion, English, Irish and Math at all levels of education.

ports

St. Macartan's offers a wide variety of sports and competes in the MacRory Cup, the Rannafast Cup, Corn na Og, the Dalton Cup and has active programs in golf, soccer, handball, basketball and general athletics. One of the main highlights of the school was reaching the MacRory Cup final in 2004. Many students attended the match and it was televised as well. This feat was repeated in 2007 when they lost by a single point.

tudent Council

St. Macartan's has an active student council where members are elected to represent the views of the student body and to communicate these to the management and teachers of the college. The student council, formed recently when it became obligatory under law for such an organisation to exist in every secondary school. Before this, no such council existed. [www.omc.gov.ie/viewtxt.asp?fn=%2Fdocuments%2FChildYouthParticipation%2FStudentCouncils.htm]

References

ee also

# Diocese of Clogher
# [http://www.clogherdiocese.ie/ Website for the Diocese of Clogher]
# Joseph Duffy
# [http://www.stmacs.com/ St. Macartan's College]
# [http://www.monaghantourism.com Town of Monaghan tourism]
# [http://www.monaghan.ie/ Monaghan County Council]