The Queen's University of Ireland was established formally by Royal Charter on September 3, 1850 as the degree awarding university of the Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork, and Galway that were established in 1845 "to afford a university education to members of all religious denominations" in Ireland. In the United Kingdom and Canada a Royal Charter is a charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy Council, which creates or gives special status to an incorporated body. ... A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ... For other educational establishments called Queens, see Queens College and Queens University (disambiguation) Queens University, Belfast (QUB) - or officially The Queens University of Belfast - is a university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... University College Cork - National University of Ireland, Cork - or more commonly University College Cork (UCC) - is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland located in Cork. ... The National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI, Galway) (Irish: Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh) can trace its existence to 1845 as Queens College, Galway and was known until recently as University College, Galway (UCG) and is located in Galway, Ireland. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Establishment

The Queen's Colleges (Ireland) Act 1845 (An Act to enable Her Majesty to endow new Colleges for the Advancement of Learning in Ireland) established the colleges with the intention that they would provide for Roman Catholic demands for university education which were not satisfied in the already existing Trinity College, Dublin which was regarded as Anglican. In order to appease Protestant demands the colleges were not permitted to give instruction in theology. The result of this was the the colleges became derided as the "godless colleges" — Pope Pius IX even went as far as saying they were "detrimental to religion" in an official condemnation — this non-acceptance was articulated in the creation of the Catholic University of Ireland to rival the colleges. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin or more commonly Trinity College, Dublin was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, and is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin, Irelands oldest university. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... Blessed Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), was pope for a record pontificate (not counting the Apostle St. ... The Catholic University of Ireland was created as a Roman Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland and was founded in 1851 in response to the Queens University of Ireland and its associated colleges which were considered godless colleges. On May 18 1854 the Catholic University of Ireland was formally established...

The colleges where incorporated on December 30, 1845; and on October 30, 1849 opened for students. A Board of Queen's Colleges was created to draw up regulations for the colleges, it consisted of the President and Vice-President of each college. Academic degrees were conferred by the chancellor and senate of the university with a status similar to those of other universities of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This article is about academic degrees. ... Chancellor (Latin: cancellarius), an official title used by most of the peoples whose civilization has arisen directly or indirectly out of the Roman empire. ... A senate is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. ... The Union Flag, in its modern form, was first adopted in 1801. ...

The Queen's College at Belfast became predominantly Protestant, unlike the colleges at Cork and Galway. Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

Dissolution

The Queen's University was superceeded by the Royal University of Ireland in 1880, in order to offer recognised degrees to graduates of the Catholic University of Ireland. The Queen's University was formally dissolved on February 3, 1882.

See also

• Queen's College