Gonzaga College S.J. is a private Catholic boys secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland, under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus. Founded in 1950, the curriculum is traditional, with a broad general programme of subjects including the classics at junior cycle and the opportunity in senior cycle, to study eight subjects for the Leaving Certificate. Gonzaga is one of a number of Jesuit schools in Ireland. The school is named after the early Jesuit St Aloysius Gonzaga and takes its emblem from the coat of arms of the Gonzaga family. Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ranelagh (Irish Raghnallach) is a residential area and township on the southside of Dublin city, Ireland. ... Dublin 6 (D6) is a Dublin postal district on the Southside of the city. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Ranelagh (Irish Raghnallach) is a residential area and township on the southside of Dublin city, Ireland. ... For other uses, see Dublin (disambiguation). ... Seal of the Society of Jesus. ... The Leaving Certificate (Irish: Ardteistiméireacht), commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert (Irish: Ardteist) is the final course in the Irish secondary school system and culminates with the Leaving Certificate Examination. ... Irish Jesuit Schools include: Belvedere College, Dublin founded in 1832 Clongowes Wood College, Co. ... Aloysius Gonzaga (9 March 1568–21 June 1591) was the oldest son of the Marquis Ferdinand of Castiglione, a prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and Marta Tana Santena, daughter of a baron from Piemonte, of the Della Rovere family. ... The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708. ...

History

The school buildings were bought from the Bewley family in 1949. Gonzaga tried to be a modern school from its inception. At first students did not take the Leaving Certificate exam but instead did the UCD matriculation in fifth year while sixth year was a pre-university philosophy year. Later, the British O-Levels were introduced for fourth years and the Leaving Certificate was introduced for sixth years. The prep school was closed in the 1990s. In the early 1970s it was proposed that the School would become a Comprehensive under the trusteeship of the Jesuits along the same lines as that achieved in Limerick, however the proposal was suddenly dropped when the government decided to abandon the denomintational Comprehensive model. Bewleys Limited is an old Irish tea house chain, established in 1840. ... The Leaving Certificate (Irish: Ardteistiméireacht), commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert (Irish: Ardteist) is the final course in the Irish secondary school system and culminates with the Leaving Certificate Examination. ... University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin - more commonly University College Dublin - is the Republic of Irelands largest university, with over 1,300 faculty and 22,000 students. ... The Leaving Certificate (Irish: Ardteistiméireacht), commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert (Irish: Ardteist) is the final course in the Irish secondary school system and culminates with the Leaving Certificate Examination. ... A preparatory school, or prep school, in current English usage, is a independent school designed to prepare a student for fee-paying, secondary independent school. ...

Campus

The school is located 3km from Dublin city centre on a large piece of land including a front lawn with cricket crease, rugby pitches and tennis courts. The school buildings include a library, chapel, bell tower, priests' residence and science block. The architecture of the school fuses modern copper roofed buildings with existing period houses. Some sections of the school grounds were sold to developers for residential housing in the 1980s and 1990s.

Academic Performance

Gonzaga has a reputation for academic excellence.^[1] The use of examinations to select pupils has been discontinued following government intervention^[2] (the state part funds the school by paying some teachers' salaries). In 2005, Gonzaga sent 68% of its Leaving Cert pupils to University College Dublin and 21% to Trinity College Dublin. Almost annually, it comes first in a league table of Dublin schools ranked by percentage of Leaving Cert students progressing to third level education.^[3] University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin - more commonly University College Dublin (UCD) - is Irelands largest university, with over 20,000 students. ... The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin or more commonly Trinity College, Dublin (TCD) was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin, Irelands oldest university. ...

Sensitive to criticism of the school for being elitist in its selection techniques (the admission form still requires applicants' parents to list their job titles and employers' names), the school introduced an 'Assisted Places' scheme.^[4]

Visual arts, theatre and music are still emphasised in the curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to study Latin and Greek.^[5] The school chess team has been particularly successful, winning national and international awards^[6] Notably their achievements include dozens of Leinster and All-Ireland titles as well as winning the prestigious Millfield International Chess Tournament, held in Somerset, UK, in 1999.^[7]

Sports

The main school sport is Rugby union followed by cricket and tennis. Gaelic games are not played although a team has been entered for the last three years in a gaelic blitz. The team competed with several other rugby playing schools. The blitz was won by Gonzaga in 2007 in Castleknock College. The school is occasionally represented by a soccer team, annual friendly games are played against St. Conleth's College. The Junior Cup Rugby teams of 1989, 2003 and 2006 reached the final of the Leinster Schools Junior Cup. The Senior Cup team have often reached the quarter finals of the cup, but have never made it past this stage. They have won the Senior League(first round knock outs of senior cup) the last few years, the league precedes the cup. Although the top 7 rugby-playing schools do not enter it, it is very highly contested. The colleges golf team have paved the way for some of the countries finest young golfers.The team is one of Dublins elite top five golf schools having won the Leinster titles in 1999 and 2006. For other uses, see Rugby (disambiguation). ... Gaelic games are the native sports of Ireland: principally Hurling, Gaelic Football and Camogie. ... The Leinster Junior Schools Cup is an under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the IRFU. Competition is confined to students under the age of 15. ... The Leinster Schools trophy Leinster Senior Cup or Leinster Schools Senior Cup to give it its full name is the under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the IRFU. First held in 1887, the cup celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2007. ...

Ethos

The school has a liberal, intellectual, Jesuit ethos.[1] The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ...

Buildings

Recently, Gonzaga has begun a construction project to add classrooms, a theater, and a new canteen/lunch hall.^{[citation needed]}

Notable Alumni

• Paul Carney - Irish High Court judge[2]
• Anthony Clare - Psychiatrist and broadcaster[3]
• Finghin Collins - Concert Pianist[4]
• Ciarán Cuffe - Green Party TD[5]
• David Davin Power - Political Correspondent for RTÉ News
• Conor Deasy - Lead singer with The Thrills[6]
• Paul Durcan - Poet[7]
• Tony Ensor - Former Irish rugby international[8]
• Kevin Feeney - Irish High Court judge[9]
• Ross Geoghegan - Professor of Mathematics, State University of New York [10]
• Charles Edward Lysaght - writer [11]
• George K. Miley - Professor of Astronomy, Leiden University [12]
• Red Morris, 4th Baron Killanin[13]
• Barry McCrea - writer
• Michael McDowell - former Tánaiste and former Minister for Justice[14]
• Jim O'Callaghan - Fianna Fáil politician[15]
• Eamon Ryan - Green Party TD and current Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources[16]
• Brendan Walsh - Professor of National Economics, University College Dublin [17]
• Peter Sutherland - former EU Commissioner[18]

• Timothy Webb - Professor of English, University of Bristol[19]
• The Bomber - Rugby Team Mascot and Hero[20]

Mr Justice Paul Carney is one of the most senior judges of the Irish High Court and the presiding judge of the Central Criminal Court. ... The High Court (Irish: An Ard-Chúirt) of the Republic of Ireland is a court which deals at first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases, and also acts as a court of appeal for civil cases in the Circuit Court. ... Dr Anthony Ward Clare (b. ... Finghin Collins is one of Irelands most successful musicians. ... Ciarán Cuffe (born 1963) is an Irish Green Party politician. ... Conor Deasy is the lead vocalist of the Irish indie pop band The Thrills. ... The Thrills are an Irish indie/rock band, formed in 2001 in Dublin. ... Paul Durcan is a contemporary Irish poet, born in Dublin on October 16, 1944, famous for his self-deprecating wit, and wry analysis of the condition of the Irish male in society. ... Tony Ensor, was born on August 17, 1949 in Dublin, (Ireland). ... Kevin Feeney is a High Court Judge in Ireland. ... The High Court (Irish: An Ard-Chúirt) of the Republic of Ireland is a court which deals at first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases, and also acts as a court of appeal for civil cases in the Circuit Court. ... George Redmond Fitzpatrick Morris, 4th Baron Killanin (born 26 January 1947) is a film producer. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... For other persons named Michael McDowell, see Michael McDowell (disambiguation). ... The Tánaiste (IPA: ; plural Tánaistí ), or, more formally, An Tánaiste[1], is the deputy prime minister of the Republic of Ireland. ... The Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform is the chief minister in charge of law and order in the Republic of Ireland. ... Eamon Ryan is an Irish Green Party politician. ... Peter Denis Sutherland (born April 25, 1946) is an Irish businessman and former politician, associated with the Fine Gael party. ... The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive of the European Union. ...

References

• Parent Power: Zealous ethos drives Gonzaga to the top The Sunday Times
• archived history page from old version of the college website
• A Short History of Gonzaga College, 1950-2000 by Christopher J. Finlay]

Footnotes

External links

• Gonzaga College SJ Web site
• Gonzaga Union