105-497: Castleknock College ( Irish : Coláiste Caisleán Cnucha ) is a voluntary Vincentian secondary school for boys, situated in the residential suburb of Castleknock , eight km (5.0 mi) west of Dublin city centre, Ireland. Founded in 1835 by Philip Dowley , it is one of the oldest boys schools in Ireland. Although priority is given to those of the main Catholic tradition, as
210-580: A Christian school, it is attended by students of other denominations and faiths. The school's colours are navy and sky blue. The school crest is a book, symbolising education, a cross, symbolising Catholicism, the Irish shamrock , symbolising the success of the Vincentians in Ireland and the papal tiara , symbolising loyalty to the Holy See . In 1830, a year after the passing of Catholic Emancipation , priests from
315-540: A unique dialect of Irish developed before falling out of use in the early 20th century. With a writing system , Ogham , dating back to at least the 4th century AD, which was gradually replaced by Latin script since the 5th century AD, Irish has one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe . On the island, the language has three major dialects: Connacht , Munster and Ulster Irish . All three have distinctions in their speech and orthography . There
420-697: A bargaining chip during government formation in Northern Ireland, prompting protests from organisations and groups such as An Dream Dearg . Irish became an official language of the EU on 1 January 2007, meaning that MEPs with Irish fluency can now speak the language in the European Parliament and at committees, although in the case of the latter they have to give prior notice to a simultaneous interpreter in order to ensure that what they say can be interpreted into other languages. While an official language of
525-512: A better future for Ireland and all her citizens." The Strategy was produced on 21 December 2010 and will stay in action until 2030; it aims to target language vitality and revitalization of the Irish language. The 30-page document published by the Government of Ireland details the objectives it plans to work towards in an attempt to preserve and promote both the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. It
630-472: A cultural and social force. Irish speakers often insisted on using the language in law courts (even when they knew English), and Irish was also common in commercial transactions. The language was heavily implicated in the "devotional revolution" which marked the standardisation of Catholic religious practice and was also widely used in a political context. Down to the time of the Great Famine and even afterwards,
735-541: A degree course in the NUI federal system to pass the subject of Irish in the Leaving Certificate or GCE / GCSE examinations. Exemptions are made from this requirement for students who were born or completed primary education outside of Ireland, and students diagnosed with dyslexia . NUI Galway is required to appoint people who are competent in the Irish language, as long as they are also competent in all other aspects of
840-560: A former Ireland rugby player, as director of rugby in the year 2013. 26 past men have represented Ireland at full international level, the most recent being Leinster Rugby 's Devin Toner (class of 2004) who has been capped on seventy occasions. Toner is one of two past men to have won the Heineken Cup (2009, 2011, 2012) with Denis Hurley of Munster Rugby lifting the trophy in 2008. Past men James Leo Farrell and Michael Dunne were part of
945-460: A fully recognised EU language for the first time in the state's history. Before Irish became an official language it was afforded the status of treaty language and only the highest-level documents of the EU were made available in Irish. The Irish language was carried abroad in the modern period by a vast diaspora , chiefly to Great Britain and North America, but also to Australia , New Zealand and Argentina . The first large movements began in
1050-464: A low teacher/pupil ratio, and has a range of computing and science laboratories. The school's Alton Library, a reference and lending facility, is the largest second-level school library in Ireland. Sporting facilities at the school include nine rugby pitches, one soccer pitch, a cricket crease with pavilion, table tennis room, state of the art tennis courts, a fully equipped weights room and an athletics track. Sport has been played at Castleknock since
1155-476: A number of occasions in the books and Irish Times columns; the name of the fictional school the lead character attended was also Castlerock College. The 2016 Irish comedy-drama film Handsome Devil directed by John Butler was predominantly filmed at Castleknock and featured as the fictional all-boys boarding school 'Woodhill College'. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at
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#17328523645741260-574: A paper suggested that within a generation, non-Gaeltacht habitual users of Irish might typically be members of an urban, middle class, and highly educated minority. Parliamentary legislation is supposed to be available in both Irish and English but is frequently only available in English. This is notwithstanding that Article 25.4 of the Constitution of Ireland requires that an "official translation" of any law in one official language be provided immediately in
1365-554: A pass in Leaving Certificate Irish or English, and receive lessons in Irish during their two years of training. Official documents of the Irish government must be published in both Irish and English or Irish alone (in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003, enforced by An Coimisinéir Teanga , the Irish language ombudsman). The National University of Ireland requires all students wishing to embark on
1470-611: A religious context. An Irish translation of the Old Testament by Leinsterman Muircheartach Ó Cíonga , commissioned by Bishop Bedell , was published after 1685 along with a translation of the New Testament. Otherwise, Anglicisation was seen as synonymous with 'civilising' the native Irish. Currently, modern day Irish speakers in the church are pushing for language revival. It has been estimated that there were around 800,000 monoglot Irish speakers in 1800, which dropped to 320,000 by
1575-488: A result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within
1680-550: A very tight game. However it emerged afterwards that Clongowes fielded an illegible player and the Schools committee ordered a replay. Clongowes also won the replay 20-19 with Terenure hitting the posts with a last minute penalty attempt. SCT & JCT Double 26 times – 1910, 1912, 1927, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1948, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1995, 2004, 2006, 2013, 2014, 2018 Corrig School moved premises to Monkstown Park in 1950 and
1785-537: A wider meaning, including the Gaelic of Scotland and the Isle of Man , as well as of Ireland. When required by the context, these are distinguished as Gaeilge na hAlban , Gaeilge Mhanann and Gaeilge na hÉireann respectively. In English (including Hiberno-English ), the language is usually referred to as Irish , as well as Gaelic and Irish Gaelic . The term Irish Gaelic may be seen when English speakers discuss
1890-584: Is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland . It was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as
1995-454: Is a record of the main events in the college, and a valuable historical source. It records the students in each year group and the members of every team and society in the college. In has photographs and articles written by staff and students about events in the college. The Chronicle also holds the distinction of being the publisher of the last-known photograph of the RMS Titanic . As of 2011 it
2100-448: Is also An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , a standardised written form devised by a parliamentary commission in the 1950s. The traditional Irish alphabet , a variant of the Latin alphabet with 18 letters , has been succeeded by the standard Latin alphabet (albeit with 7–8 letters used primarily in loanwords ). Irish has constitutional status as the national and first official language of
2205-605: Is car parking for students and others. The college is close to Castleknock village and is located beside Farmleigh Estate and the Phoenix Park. The college consists mainly of three buildings: McNamara house, Cregan house and the Dowley house. The McNamara and Cregan buildings are connected via the foyer known as 'St Vincent's Hall'. McNamara house contain several other wings and Vincentian community facilities as well as other classrooms and subject specific rooms. McNamara House also contains
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#17328523645742310-454: Is divided into 4 tiers in two sections, and each cup competition bears a name. These 'tiers', in ascending order, include: Section A Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Development Cup (effectively division 4), Section A Leinster Schools Rugby McMullen Cup (effectively division 3), Section B Leinster Schools Vinnie Murray Cup (effectively division 2), Section B Leinster Schools Senior Challenge Cup (effectively division 1). The second tier competition,
2415-511: Is divided into four separate phases with the intention of improving 9 main areas of action including: The general goal for this strategy was to increase the number of daily speakers from 83,000 to 250,000 by the end of its run. By 2022, the number of such speakers had fallen to 71,968. Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as "Celtic" in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland had devolved government. During those years
2520-567: Is only in Gaeltacht areas that Irish continues to be spoken as a community vernacular to some extent. According to data compiled by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht , Sport and Media , only 1/4 of households in Gaeltacht areas are fluent in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology , described
2625-412: Is still spoken daily to some extent as a first language . These regions are known individually and collectively as the Gaeltacht (plural Gaeltachtaí ). While the fluent Irish speakers of these areas, whose numbers have been estimated at 20–30,000, are a minority of the total number of fluent Irish speakers, they represent a higher concentration of Irish speakers than other parts of the country and it
2730-656: Is the premier rugby union competition for secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), and was first held in 1887. Attendances are high for a schoolboy competition, with up to 25000 present at the final. This match traditionally took place on Saint Patrick's Day at Lansdowne Road . In 2008, the final was played at the Royal Dublin Society Grounds (RDS) after Donnybrook proved to be too small for
2835-659: The Fíor-Ghaeltacht (true Gaeltacht ), a term originally officially applied to areas where over 50% of the population spoke Irish. There are Gaeltacht regions in the following counties: Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland. Irish language summer colleges in the Gaeltacht are attended by tens of thousands of teenagers annually. Students live with Gaeltacht families, attend classes, participate in sports, go to céilithe and are obliged to speak Irish. All aspects of Irish culture and tradition are encouraged. The Act
2940-420: The 2016 Toronto International Film Festival . It centres on an ostracised teenager (Fionn O'Shea) at an elite rugby-obsessed all boys boarding school in Ireland whose new roommate (Nicholas Galitzine) is the school's new rugby star-player. The two form an unlikely friendship until it is tested by those around them. Handsome Devil has received critical acclaim, winning the award for Best Irish Feature of 2017 from
3045-724: The British and Irish Lions touring squad to New Zealand and Australia. Farrell had also played for the Lions on the 1927 tour to Argentina. Students can choose from sprints, relays, long-distance, cross-country, hurdles, high jump , long jump, triple jump, javelin, shot-put, hammer, discus, pole vault and walking. In the summer term, the college competes in the Leinster and All-Ireland finals held in Tullamore. The college has minor, junior, intermediate and senior athletics teams which compete for, and have won,
3150-624: The Dublin Film Critics' Circle ; four nominations at the 2018 Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards, including Best Feature Film; and the Best Single Drama Award at the annual Celtic Media Festival in 2018. Evelyn , the 2002 drama film loosely based on the true story of Desmond Doyle and his fight in the Irish courts (December 1955) to be reunited with his children was predominantly filmed at Castleknock and featured as
3255-504: The Lord Chief Justice of England , Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen with the aim of reconnecting all past pupils of the college. The college hosts many networking events for past pupils throughout the year that include the annual business lunch, the gold medal debate, the union debate and Union Day. Many notable figures have been guest speakers at the annual Business lunch such as the Irish rugby head coach Joe Schmidt and
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3360-619: The Republic of Ireland , and is also an official language of Northern Ireland and among the official languages of the European Union . The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island. Irish has no regulatory body but An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , the standard written form, is guided by a parliamentary service and new vocabulary by a voluntary committee with university input. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ("The Official [Written] Standard ")
3465-763: The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar . In 2016 the Past Pupils' Union launched the Union Scholarship Fund to assist boys who otherwise could not afford to attain an education at Castleknock College due to socioeconomic barriers. Former pupils of Castleknock College are known as Pastmen. The school's alumni and faculty include two Taoisigh , one President of Ireland , one Ceann Comhairle , several cabinet ministers, two Supreme Court Justices , five Attorneys General , one Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales , three archbishops, one founding member of Fianna Fáil ,
3570-702: The Vincentian Community (Congregation of the Mission; CM) in Maynooth College obtained permission to open a day school under the patronage of the Archbishop of Dublin . On 28 August 1833 a day school at 24 Usher's Quay, in central Dublin, was opened. On 28 August 1835, St. Vincent's Ecclesiastical Seminary was opened in Castleknock , as a boarding school catering for just 47 boys. The first student to enrol in 1835
3675-611: The 17th century, largely as a result of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , which saw many Irish sent to the West Indies . Irish emigration to the United States was well established by the 18th century, and was reinforced in the 1840s by thousands fleeing from the Famine . This flight also affected Britain. Up until that time most emigrants spoke Irish as their first language, though English
3780-769: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement , the language gradually received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and then, in 2003, by the British government's ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022. The Irish language has often been used as
3885-474: The 2007 final, (Lansdowne Road was closed for redevelopment) and has been the home since. Since the move to the RDS and live television coverage, the attendance has decreased and is now typically 10,000 to 14,000. Blackrock College are the most successful school in the cup's history, having won 71 times, more than all other teams combined. Three schools have won the cup at their first attempt; Blackrock College in
3990-403: The 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh , including ecclesiastical terms : examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus , and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica ). By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish , which
4095-563: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme
4200-540: The COVID-19 pandemic and as a result the title was deemed shared for the first time by Clongowes Wood College and Newbridge College. It was also only the forth time that no Dublin based school qualified for the final, 1932 (Pres Bray V Newbridge), 1941 (Newbridge V Roscrea), 2011 (Clongowes V Roscrea). The 2021 cup campaign did not take place due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023 first round tie between Terenure College and Clongowes Wood College, Clongowes won 17-15 in
4305-767: The Coca-Cola Company). In September 2013, Beauchamps Solicitors became the title sponsor for the Leinster Schools Senior Cup. For the duration of this partnership with Beauchamps, the Senior Cup was known as the "Beauchamps Leinster Schools Senior Cup". The competition receives coverage in Ireland's broadsheets, in particular the Irish Independent and The Irish Times . Both publish previews of each year's competition and provide match reports for each game played. The competition's final on St Patrick's Day
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4410-517: The Deaf, a leprosy village befriending members of the community and coaching Ambo United Football Club. Students are required to raise sufficient funds to meet their travel and subsistence expenses, and events are organised within and without the college to raise funds. This development programme has enabled the construction of expanded education facilities and the provision of medical and food supplies. Extra–curricular activities offered include membership of
4515-463: The European Union , only co-decision regulations were available until 2022, due to a five-year derogation, requested by the Irish Government when negotiating the language's new official status. The Irish government had committed itself to train the necessary number of translators and interpreters and to bear the related costs. This derogation ultimately came to an end on 1 January 2022, making Irish
4620-582: The Irish World Schools Debating Team, with five students representing Ireland since the competition's beginning in 1988. In both 2007 (Alan Henry & Liam O'Connell) and 2008 (Adam Noonan & Killian Breen) the college won the Leinster Schools Senior Debating Championships. The Past Pupils' Union coordinates the annual College Union Debate where students and Pastmen debate against each other. Past speakers at
4725-536: The Irish language policy followed by Irish governments as a "complete and absolute disaster". The Irish Times , referring to his analysis published in the Irish language newspaper Foinse , quoted him as follows: "It is an absolute indictment of successive Irish Governments that at the foundation of the Irish State there were 250,000 fluent Irish speakers living in Irish-speaking or semi Irish-speaking areas, but
4830-575: The Lansdowne Road pitch following poor weather prior to the Ireland v France Five Nations fixture on 19 March. In September 1967, the then Minister for Education Donogh O'Malley introduced free secondary school education. Only very few rugby playing secondary schools opted to join the "Free Education" scheme. To date, only one of these non-fee paying schools has managed to win the Senior Cup. In 1983 and 1985, De La Salle Churchtown beat Castleknock College and Blackrock College. Four captains have gained
4935-575: The Leinster School's Vinnie Murray Cup, is contested by secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the IRFU. It is named in memory of Vincent Murray, a teacher in Clongowes Wood college who trained the rugby team and died in December 1999. Catholic University School were both 2022 and 2023 champions and St. Fintan's High School won the cup in 2024. With five wins, C.B.C. Monkstown has won
5040-663: The Queen to Castleknock was made known to the authorities of the school some days beforehand by the Rudolph Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh . This royal visit confirmed a place for the school at the summit of Irish education and Irish society. Before the foundation of Clonliffe College in 1861, seminarians for the Dublin Archdiocese would study in Castleknock before completing their studies in Maynooth College . The school aims for
5145-597: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,
5250-470: The Senior and Junior Cup "double". These are Blackrock, who have achieved this feat 26 times (1910, 1912, 1927, 1933, 1935–36, 1942–43, 1945, 1948, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1962, 1964, 1981–82, 1986–87, 1995, 2004, 2006, 2013–14, 2018), St Michaels twice (2012 & 2019), Newbridge (2020), Belvedere (2005), Terenure (1958) and Castleknock College (1920). Even more rare is to lose both the Senior and Junior Cup Finals in
5355-484: The Union Debate include former Attorney General Paul Gallagher , Eunan O'Halpin , Mick Quinn and Irish Times correspondent Patsy McGarry . The college also holds gold medal debates for every academic year giving the students the opportunity to win the medal on prize day if they win the debate. The gold medal debates are used in sixth year to select an eligible Valedictorian for the year, who give his address at both
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#17328523645745460-683: The VLM – Vincentian Lay Missionaries. The first group in 2008 traveled to Mekelle in Northern Ethiopia and since 2009 the students have traveled to Ambo, Ethiopia. Successful applicants are trained and engage in a range of voluntary work for those struck by extreme poverty in Ambo, including teaching in the local Vincentian school, working in the Vincentian Food Programme, the Vincentian School for
5565-583: The Vincentians, was the first president of the college. The school site had previously been occupied by a Protestant school for boys run by William Gwynne. The school buildings together with 40 acres of land were sold to the Vincentian Fathers in 1835. Queen Victoria and her royal party visited the school on 22 April 1900. The event is historic, as being the first occasion that an English sovereign visited an Irish Catholic college. The intended visit of
5670-506: The West Leinster Championship. Castleknock College competes in a variety of other sports including soccer, cricket, tennis, table-tennis , badminton , golf, swimming, show-jumping and volleyball . The school has a concert orchestra, a soul band, a junior concert band, a barbershop ensemble and an award-winning choir. The college chaplain and members of the Vincentian Community are available for guidance and counselling. The school has always encouraged pupils to become involved in caring for
5775-577: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He
5880-458: The college's primary sport. In 1918 the college won the Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling Championship . Shortly afterwards the college concentrated more on rugby and the playing of Gaelic games became less prominent. Rugby posts were first erected in the college in November 1909. The school has won the Leinster Schools Senior Cup on eight occasions since first entering (and winning) the competition in 1913. Castleknock teams have been runners-up in
5985-638: The competition broadcaster ahead of the 2019 competition where they will broadcast eight games live. In 2008, Leinster Rugby instituted an award for overall performance of a school at every level of schools rugby. The award, " Powerade Leinster Rugby School of the Year", has been given at an annual Leinster awards ceremony. The inaugural winners were C.B.C. Monkstown . They were followed in by Terenure College (2009), St Gerard's School (2010), Clongowes Wood College (2011), St. Michael's College (2012), (2019) and Blackrock College (2013), (2018). Gonzaga College (2017) Schools Senior Cup Rugby in Leinster
6090-445: The competition on fifteen occasions, contesting more finals than any other school apart from Belvedere College and Blackrock College . The Leinster Schools Junior Cup has also been won on eight occasions, the last time in 1966. Castleknock is considered to be one of the Major Leinster Rugby Schools, the others being Blackrock , Clongowes , Belvedere , Terenure , St Michael's and St Mary's . The college appointed Adrian Flavin ,
6195-463: The competition's maiden year in 1887, Castleknock College who won the first of their eight Leinster titles at the first time of asking when they defeated Blackrock in the 1913 final and Clongowes Wood College who first won the cup in 1926. St. Fintan's High School and Temple Carrig School are the most recent 'new' schools to the competition, making their debuts in the 2016/17 and 2019/20 seasons respectively. To date, only six schools have achieved
6300-430: The cup in 1994, and Gordon D'Arcy have extensive Leinster Senior Cup records. The most international players produced have come from Blackrock College , with players such as Hugo MacNeill , Brendan Mullin , Brian O'Driscoll , Victor Costello , Shane Byrne , Bob Casey , Leo Cullen , Luke Fitzgerald , Ian Madigan , Jordi Murphy , Garry Ringrose and Joey Carbery . The 2020 season could not be completed due to
6405-482: The distinction of lifting the cup twice, Larry McMahon (Blackrock College, 1929 and 1930), Garret Gill (Blackrock College, 1962 and 1963), Jonny Mion ( Blackrock College ) in 1989 and 1990, Barry Gibney (Blackrock College) in 1995 and 1996. The cup, and the schools who play for it, have a history of producing rugby players who have gone on to play for the Ireland national rugby union team . Players such as Denis Hickie , who captained his St. Mary's College team to win
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#17328523645746510-402: The early Christian period. The second hill is topped with the remains of Castleknock Castle which dates from the early thirteenth century, when it was founded by the Norman knight Hugh Tyrrell, who was later created Baron of Castleknock. He chose this location near the end of the esker which stretches from Galway to Dublin. Built on two mounds of the esker, it commanded the route into Dublin from
6615-664: The education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to the 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of
6720-408: The end of normal time. Having played 70 minutes, the two sides now faced an additional 15 minutes extra time. Six minutes into extra time Blackrock got a try and conversion. Two further penalties in the second half of extra time sealed victory for Blackrock. The 1977 Leinster Senior Schools Cup Final was played on Sunday 20 March 1977 and not the normal St Patrick's Day. This decision was made to protect
6825-414: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as
6930-430: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of
7035-491: The first time in 2017. Blackrock College have only been defeated in successive finals on two occasions. In the 1920s they were runners up three times in a row, defeated by St Andrews in 1921 & 1922 followed by Belvedere in 1923. The second occasion was in 1979 & 1980 when they were defeated in successive finals by Terenure College. The 91st Leinster Senior Schools Cup Final in 1977 was between Blackrock College and St Mary's College, and finished level at 12 points each at
7140-424: The foundation of the college. Throughout the mid-nineteenth century a game peculiar to Castleknock, known as stilts , was played by the entire student body on a gravel patch in grounds. Owing to the often over-zealous efforts of the participants this game was discouraged by the college fathers in favour of soccer , which was the game of choice among students of Castleknock until 1909 when it was replaced by rugby as
7245-532: The founder of the Green Party of Ireland , one Lord Mayor of Dublin , one Victoria Cross holder, 26 Irish International rugby players and numerous notable figures in the world of arts, academia and business. Academia, science and medicine Arts and media Business Law Military Politics and diplomacy Religious Sports In fiction Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
7350-405: The graduation mass and again at prize day. Former winners of the senior gold medal debates include the Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave , the Supreme Court Justice Anthony J. Hederman , Conor Gearty and Oisín Quinn . The college debaters participate in many competitions including the L&H debates in UCD. The Castleknock Chronicle has been published every year since 1886 by the College Union; it
7455-452: The impoverished through a variety of means such as visiting local centres for people with special needs. The SVP conferences also raise funds and collect food for the sister conferences in the Dublin 15 area. Inaugurated in 2008 and expected to continue indefinitely, the Young Vincentian Mission sends a small group of fifth year students to work and live with the Vincentian community in Ethiopia, for two to three weeks each summer, overseen by
7560-698: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has
7665-410: The language was in use by all classes, Irish being an urban as well as a rural language. This linguistic dynamism was reflected in the efforts of certain public intellectuals to counter the decline of the language. At the end of the 19th century, they launched the Gaelic revival in an attempt to encourage the learning and use of Irish, although few adult learners mastered the language. The vehicle of
7770-425: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,
7875-548: The less-well-off members of society. Masses are held daily in the Boys' Chapel by members of the Vincentian community. An annual family Mass for each year is celebrated at which boys of that year and their families participate together with the community and teachers. Masses are held at regular times in the chapel (e.g. Lent, Advent, exam time). Year and class Masses, benediction, scripture/prayer group meetings are held regularly throughout
7980-403: The library, concert hall, day boys' refectory and the boarders refectory. From 2005 the college infrastructure was renewed, at a cost in the region of €16 million. A 'link building' was built, and existing buildings expanded and refurbished; Irish President Mary McAleese officially opened the newly restored buildings on 29 September 2008. A state-of-the-art multi purpose sports and tennis ground
8085-563: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed
8190-771: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to
8295-463: The new immigrants to get jobs in areas other than farming. An estimated one quarter to one third of US immigrants during the Great Famine were Irish speakers. Irish was not marginal to Ireland's modernisation in the 19th century, as is often assumed. In the first half of the century there were still around three million people for whom Irish was the primary language, and their numbers alone made them
8400-639: The number now is between 20,000 and 30,000." In the 1920s, when the Irish Free State was founded, Irish was still a vernacular in some western coastal areas. In the 1930s, areas where more than 25% of the population spoke Irish were classified as Gaeltacht . Today, the strongest Gaeltacht areas, numerically and socially, are those of South Connemara , the west of the Dingle Peninsula , and northwest Donegal, where many residents still use Irish as their primary language. These areas are often referred to as
8505-413: The orphanage. The film stars Sophie Vavasseur in the title role, Pierce Brosnan as her father and Aidan Quinn , Julianna Margulies , Stephen Rea and Alan Bates as supporters to Doyle's case. The film had a limited release in the United States, starting on 13 December 2002 and was later followed by the United Kingdom release on 21 March 2003. The Castleknock Union was founded in the year 1896 by
8610-498: The other official language, if not already passed in both official languages. In November 2016, RTÉ reported that over 2.3 million people worldwide were learning Irish through the Duolingo app. Irish president Michael D. Higgins officially honoured several volunteer translators for developing the Irish edition, and said the push for Irish language rights remains an "unfinished project". There are rural areas of Ireland where Irish
8715-498: The painting society, the chess club, Irish literature – Ceardlann Litríocht na Gaeilge, the Cumann Gaeilge, the maths society, the prefect mentoring system, debating, band, music, language societies (French, Spanish, German and Chinese), book club, film club, student enterprise, SVP – Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, speech and drama, charity work, the history society and Picasso's Left Ear (student intellectual publication). In 2007
8820-539: The political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament , the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language. The context of this hostility was the use of the language by nationalists. In broadcasting, there was an exclusion on the reporting of minority cultural issues, and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the previous devolved government. After
8925-487: The relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). Gaelic is a collective term for the Goidelic languages, and when the context is clear it may be used without qualification to refer to each language individually. When the context is specific but unclear, the term may be qualified, as Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Manx Gaelic. Historically the name "Erse" ( / ɜːr s / URS )
9030-432: The requirement for entrance to the public service was changed to proficiency in just one official language. Nevertheless, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools in the Republic of Ireland that receive public money (see Education in the Republic of Ireland ). Teachers in primary schools must also pass a compulsory examination called Scrúdú Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge . As of 2005, Garda Síochána recruits need
9135-625: The revival was the Gaelic League ( Conradh na Gaeilge ), and particular emphasis was placed on the folk tradition, which in Irish is particularly rich. Efforts were also made to develop journalism and a modern literature. Although it has been noted that the Catholic Church played a role in the decline of the Irish language before the Gaelic Revival, the Protestant Church of Ireland also made only minor efforts to encourage use of Irish in
9240-413: The same year. This outcome has been experienced by seven schools on 12 occasions. Terenure College leads with 4 (1957, 1964, 1969 & 1987), followed by Belvedere College with 3 (1930, 1944 & 1962), next St Michaels College (2010), St Mary's College (1943), Newbridge College (1939), Cistercian College Roscrea (1910) and Blackrock College (2017) with 1 each. It happened to Blackrock College for
9345-584: The under-16 chess team won the Leinster Championship and finished runners-up in the All-Ireland Championship. Debating is a tradition dating back to the school's foundation. It was originally taught in the school curriculum during the Victorian era and was originally known as 'public oration'. There are separate clubs for junior and senior pupils. The school's debating society has contributed to
9450-705: The vacancy to which they are appointed. This requirement is laid down by the University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3). In 2016, the university faced controversy when it announced the planned appointment of a president who did not speak Irish. Misneach staged protests against this decision. The following year the university announced that Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh , a fluent Irish speaker, would be its 13th president. He assumed office in January 2018; in June 2024, he announced he would be stepping down as president at
9555-605: The west. Castleknock was the final rallying point for the forces of the last High King of Ireland, Rory O'Connor. He failed to drive the Cambro-Normans from the area around Dublin in 1171. The college is set on 70 acres of landscaped parkland estate with nine rugby pitches, a cricket crease and pavilion, a soccer pitch, an athletics and running track, six state of the art tennis courts, an all-weather rugby practice pitch and agricultural land in which cows graze and wildlife such as pheasants, rabbits and squirrels are in abundance. There
9660-594: The work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating , is said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on. From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country. The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors: The change was characterised by diglossia (two languages being used by the same community in different social and economic situations) and transitional bilingualism (monoglot Irish-speaking grandparents with bilingual children and monoglot English-speaking grandchildren). By
9765-586: The year. Opportunity to attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation is available during the school week and also after benediction of the Blessed Sacrament on Thursday nights. The College Chapel houses a large pipe organ which dates back to the early 1850s. The chapel organ was installed as a gift to the college community by Charles-Gerrard, Brother of the Lord. It is used in college masses and services. Castleknock College
9870-417: Was John Lynch of Clones, County Monaghan . He would later enter the Vincentian order and eventually become Archbishop of Toronto. A contemporary of John Lynch was Patrick Moran , who would also be ordained as a Vincentian priest and become Bishop of Cape Town before being appointed as the first Catholic Bishop of Dunedin (New Zealand) in 1869. Philip Dowley a former Dean of Maynooth and Provincial for
9975-523: Was also sometimes used in Scots and then in English to refer to Irish; as well as Scottish Gaelic. Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD, a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish . These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. Primitive Irish underwent a change into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from
10080-549: Was being digitised . There are two hills in the grounds: the Windmill Hill and the hill of the castle. The former is reputed to be the burial mound of Cumhal, father of Fionn mac Cumhaill , a legendary Irish warrior. According to legend, mac Cumhaill was interred here following his death at the Battle of Cnucha. An archaeological dig of this hill carried out in June 2007 revealed the remains of four human skeletons probably dating from
10185-643: Was enacted 1 July 2019 and is an 18-page document that adheres to the guidelines of the Official Languages Act 2003 . The purpose of the Scheme is to provide services through the mediums of Irish and/or English. According to the Department of the Taoiseach, it is meant to "develop a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland's interests abroad, to implement the Government's Programme and to build
10290-566: Was established by the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians), the religious order founded by St. Vincent de Paul ; the college follows the ethos and traditions of the Vincentian order. The most popular student society within the college is the St. Vincent de Paul Society ; charity work undertaken by the school community is organised through the St Vincent de Paul Society. Members are involved in helping
10395-539: Was establishing itself as the primary language. Irish speakers had first arrived in Australia in the late 18th century as convicts and soldiers, and many Irish-speaking settlers followed, particularly in the 1860s. New Zealand also received some of this influx. Argentina was the only non-English-speaking country to receive large numbers of Irish emigrants, and there were few Irish speakers among them. Leinster Schools Senior Cup The Leinster Schools Senior Challenge Cup
10500-465: Was passed 14 July 2003 with the main purpose of improving the number and quality of public services delivered in Irish by the government and other public bodies. Compliance with the Act is monitored by the An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commissioner) which was established in 2004 and any complaints or concerns pertaining to the Act are brought to them. There are 35 sections included in
10605-513: Was previously broadcast on TG4 , however, this was discontinued in the early 2000s. From 2005 onwards, however, Setanta Sports began coverage of school's rugby. This included the finals of all provincial finals and coverage of the Leinster Schools Junior Cup. The Leinster Senior Cup was most prominent, however, with coverage from every game played at Donnybrook and every round of the competition. FreeSports replaced Eir Sport as
10710-491: Was recently built, allowing for students and others to enjoy various activities. The school featured indirectly but prominently in Gerard Siggins' series of novels Rugby Rebel as the shared basis of Castlerock College (a portmanteau of Castleknock College and Blackrock College ), the boarding school which the protagonist Eoin attends. The popular fictional series starring Ross O'Carroll Kelly has mentioned Castleknock on
10815-408: Was renamed C.B.C. Monkstown . Mountjoy School was amalgamated with other schools in 1972 to become Mount Temple Comprehensive School . SCT Final not played due to Covid 19. Cup shared. Rathmines school closed in 1899. The competition was known for several years as the "Coca-Cola Leinster Schools Senior Cup" and in later years the "Powerade Leinster Schools Senior Cup" (Powerade is also owned by
10920-678: Was spoken throughout Ireland, Isle of Man and parts of Scotland . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish , dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in
11025-491: Was unable to accomplish some everyday tasks, as portrayed in his documentary No Béarla . There is, however, a growing body of Irish speakers in urban areas, particularly in Dublin. Many have been educated in schools in which Irish is the language of instruction. Such schools are known as Gaelscoileanna at primary level. These Irish-medium schools report some better outcomes for students than English-medium schools. In 2009,
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