Catholic University of Ireland
| Catholic University of Ireland | |
|---|---|
| Ollscoil Chaitliceach na hÉireann | |
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| Latin: Catholica Universitas Hiberniae | |
| Active | 1854–1909 |
| Type | Public |
| Religious affiliation | Jesuits(1883-1909) |
| President | Fr William Delany SJ(1883-1888) |
| Rector | John Henry Newman (1854-1861) Bartholomew Woodlock(1861-1879) Henry Neville(1879-1883) |
| Location | Dublin, Maynooth, Ireland |
The Catholic University of Ireland (Irish: Ollscoil Chaitliceach na hÉireann) was a Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland and was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its associated colleges which were nondenominational. Cardinal Cullen had previously forbidden Catholics from attending these "godless colleges".[1]
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[edit] Establishment
On May 18, 1854 the Catholic University of Ireland was formally established with five faculties of law, letters, medicine, philosophy and theology with John Henry Newman (later Cardinal) as the Rector. Lectures commenced on November 3, 1854, with the registration of seventeen students, the first being Daniel O'Connell, grandson of the notable Catholic politician Daniel O'Connell.
In 1861 Rector of the Catholic University Dr Bartholomew Woodlock (rector from 1860-1879) tried to secure land in Clonliffe west to build a new Catholic University, near Holy Cross College Clonliffe, plans were draw up by the Architect J.J. McCarthy for the proposed new University, St. Patrick's University and a foundation stone laid at a ceremony.[2] Cardinal Cullen was against the idea of educating Lay and clerical students on the same campus. However this plan was shelved due to the expansion of the Railway line,[3] and a church and monastery was built on the site.
Some feeder secondary schools were established for the CUI. The nearby Catholic University School was joined by St. Flannan's College in Co. Clare and Catholic University High School in Waterford.
[edit] Recognition
The Catholic University was neither a recognised university so far as the civil authorities were concerned, nor did it offer recognised degrees. Newman had little success in establishing the new university, though over £250,000 had been raised from the laity to fund it. Holding the foundation money as trustees, the hierarchy then sent most of it to help defend Rome in 1859 in the Second Italian War of Independence. The money sponsored an Irish Brigade led by Myles O'Reilly.
Newman left the university in 1857 and it subsequently went into a serious decline; in 1879 only three students had registered. The situation changed in 1880 when the recognised Royal University of Ireland came into effect and students of the Catholic University were entitled to sit the Royal University examinations and receive its degrees.[4]
After the 1880 reforms the Catholic University consisted of a number of constituent colleges, including St Patrick's College, Maynooth and Cecilia St. Medical School (see below), with much of the original university then merging into another of its colleges, University College Dublin. Following the 1879 Act all Catholic Colleges including Carlow College, Holy Cross College and Blackrock College(The French College) came under the Catholic University.[5] Subsequently other seminaries such as St. Kieran's College, Kilkenny, the Carmelitte College, Terenure became affiliated to the Catholic University and hence the new Royal University.
University College was passed to the control of the Jesuits in 1883, when it incorporated the faculties of the Catholic University except medicine.
[edit] National University of Ireland, 1909
In 1909 the Catholic University essentially came to an end with the creation of the National University of Ireland, with University College Dublin as a constituent.
[edit] Catholic University Medical School
The Catholic University Medical School had commenced lectures for medical students in 1855, in Cecilia Street, the recognition of its graduates by chartered institutions(RCSI[6]) ensured its success, unlike the associated Catholic University. This ensured that the medical school became the most successful constituent college of the Catholic University and by 1900 the medical school had become the largest medical school in Ireland.
The 1908 reforms reconstituted the Catholic University Medical School as the Faculty of Medicine of University College Dublin.
[edit] References
- ^ Johnston, Roy 1993. Causeway, the Belfast 'Cultural Traditions' quarterly, Vol 1 no 1, September 1993 "The Practical Arts in Irish Culture". Retrieved on September 1, 2006.
- ^ A proposal for a Roman Catholic University of Ireland in Clonliffe www.archseek.com
- ^ UCD Timeline
- ^ University Education (Ireland) Act 1879
- ^ Page 96, Ireland Since the Famine by F.S.L. Lyons, Fontana Press, (1971)
- ^ National University of Ireland - History of the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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