St. Patrick's Classical School in Navan, County Meath is a prominent Catholic Church-run school for boys in the Republic of Ireland. It has produced a number of prominent politicians, journalists, broadcasters and two winners of the famous Perrier (comedy) Awards at the Edinburgh Festival. Navan (An Uaimh in Irish, meaning The Cave) is the administrative town of County Meath, Ireland. ... Meath (An Mhí in Irish) is a county in the Republic of Ireland, often informally called The Royal County. ... The Roman Catholic Church believes its founding was based on Jesus appointment of Saint Peter as the primary church leader, later Bishop of Rome. ... The Edinburgh Festival is a collection of various festivals in August of each year in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

Simon Cumbers
former St. Pats student, who was killed by Al Queda while working as a camerman with the BBC in 2004.

St. Patrick's Classical School was founded in 1930 when the Diocese of Meath's seminary, St. Finian's, which had previously been the main provider of denominational education for boys locally, moved from the north Meath town of Navan to the new Diocesan capital, Mullingar in Co. Westmeath. The school's patron is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Meath. The school was previously located in a small architecturally distinctive building on Academy Street in the centre of the town, but it 1970 it moved to a new campus at the at the outskirts of the town. Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Meath since 1778 until the late 19th century had its seat in Navan, County Meath, Ireland. ... A seminary is a specialized university-like institution for the purpose of instructing students in religion, often in order to prepare them to become members of the clergy. ... Mullingar (An Muileann gCearr in Irish, meaning the crooked mill) is the administrative centre of County Westmeath, Ireland and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath, as well as having a town council. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

As its name indicated, it placed heavy emphasis on the teaching of the classics, latin and greek, rather on vocational subjects. Until the granting of free education by the Irish Minister for Education, Brian Lenihan, (his predecessor who proposed free education, Donagh O'Malley died before he could implement the plan) the school operated as a fee-paying school. Its education is now free. Though predominantly Roman Catholic, the school attracts many pupils from other religions and none. It particularly attracts members of the local Islamic community. Brian Lenihan (November 17, 1930 - November 1, 1995) was a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician. ... Donagh OMalley ( 1921- 1968) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. ... Islam â–¶(?) (Arabic: الإسلام al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second largest religion. ...

Perrier Award winner Dylan Moran
a former St. Pats student.

The school has produced many prominent figures in Irish politics, business, the international media and comedy. Among its most prominent ex-pupils were James Tully, the Labour Party Deputy Leader and Irish government minister in the 1970s and early 1980s, Jim Fitzsimons, a longtime Fianna Fáil Member of the European Parliament, Jim Duffy, an author and journalist, Simon Cumbers, a prominent broadcast journalist (killed by al-Qaeda in 2004), David Beggy, a Gaelic football star turned successful Rugby player, Tommy Tiernan and Dylan Moran, both winners of the famous international Perrier Award for Comedy at the Edinburgh Festival who had award-winning comedy shows on British television, and London West-End star Willy Byrne. Download high resolution version (635x700, 55 KB)Dylan Moran. ... Download high resolution version (635x700, 55 KB)Dylan Moran. ... James Tully (born 18 September 1915) was a prominent Irish trade unionist, politician and Deputy Leader of the Irish Labour Party who served as a minister in a series of Irish Fine Gael-Labour coalition governments. ... Logo of the Irish Labour Party The Irish Labour Party (Irish: Páirti an Lucht Oibre) is the third largest political party in the Republic of Ireland. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; English translation: Soldiers of Destiny) is the largest political party in Ireland. ... A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP) is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ... Jim Duffy (born 12 April 1966) is an Irish historian, political commentator and author. ... Simon Cumbers Simon Cumbers (January 23, 1968 - June 6, 2004) was an Irish-born freelance journalist working for the BBC who was murdered by Al Qaeda while filming an Al Qaeda safehouse in Saudi Arabia. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gaelic football (Irish: peil ghaelach) is a form of football played mainly in Ireland. ... Argentina-France Rugby Union match Rugby football refers to sports descendent from a common form of football developed at Rugby school. ... Tommy Tiernan is an Irish Comedian, Actor and Writer. ... Dylan Moran (born November 3, 1971 in Navan, County Meath, Ireland) is an Irish comedian, actor and writer. ... The Perrier Comedy Award is a prestigious award for comedy, awarded to the best comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. ...

The successes of Tiernan, Moran and Byrne were credited to the passion for stage and theatre of one of the school teachers, Richie Ball, whose success in the 1980s in inspiring teenagers to opt for careers in the arts, earned considerable media attention. Another teacher, Kevin Mallon after leaving the school became a prominent Gaelic Games radio sports commentator, while another teacher, Colm O'Rourke, became famous throughout Ireland as a prominent member of the longtime successful Meath Gaelic Football team, before becoming one of the top panelists on gaelic games coverage on Ireland's national broadcaster, RTÉ. The Gaelic Athletic Association (The GAA) (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael) is an organisation which is mostly focussed on promoting Irish sports, such as hurling and camogie, Gaelic football and handball, and rounders. ... Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; Irish for Radio and Television of Ireland) is the national publicly-funded broadcaster of Ireland. ...

Though the Catholic Bishop of Meath remains the school patron, the school had long been under lay control and has not had a member of the clergy as its president since 1970. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

With the decline in numbers of people entering the priesthood in Ireland, the school no longer has any priest on its teaching staff.

See also

• Education in Ireland