Portora Royal School

Portora Royal School
Portora Royal School
Address
	1 Lough Shore Road, BT74 7HA; Enniskillen; Northern Ireland
Information
Type	Grammar school
Motto	Omnes Honorate
Established	1618
Founder	King James the First
Status	Closed
Closed	28 June 2016
Chairman	Bishop John McDowell
Last principal	J.N. Morton
Last vice principal	Trevor Smith
Chaplain	The Very Revd Kenneth Hall
Enrolment	491 (2013/14)
Houses	Ulster, Munster, Connaught or Leinster
Colour(s)	Black and gold
Nickname	Wasps
Affiliations	HMC
Website	www.portoraroyal.co.uk

54°21′04″N 7°39′18″W / 54.351°N 7.655°W / 54.351; -7.655

Portora Royal School located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, was one of the 'free schools' founded by the Royal Charter in 1608, by James I.^[1]^[2]^{[self-published source]}^[3] Originally called Enniskillen Royal School, the school was established some ten years after the Royal Decree, in 1618, 15 miles outside Enniskillen at Ballybalfour, before moving to Enniskillen in 1661. It was not until 1778 that the school moved to its final location on Portora Hill, Enniskillen, where the nucleus of the later school was built.^[4]

On 28 June 2016, Portora Royal School closed. This was to facilitate the launch of Enniskillen Royal Grammar School on 1 September 2016.

Notable headmasters

1935–1945: I. M. B. Stuart, Ireland rugby footballer.^[5]

Old Portorans

Desmond Arthur, early 20th century pilot
Samuel Beckett, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature^[6] and the only winner of the Nobel Prize to have played first-class cricket.
James David Bourchier, journalist and Bulgarian confidant^[7]
Denis Parsons Burkitt, surgeon.
Edward Cooney, Cooneyite founder^[6]
Nigel Dodds, politician – MLA and Member of Parliament, Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party
Ken Fleming, civil engineer and foundations specialist
James Gamble, founder of Procter & Gamble.
Neil Hannon, singer and songwriter
William Hearn, legal academic.
George Hegarty, World War 1 flying ace.
Michael Jackson, Church of Ireland Lord Archbishop of Dublin (and formerly Lord Bishop of Clogher)
Sir Jim Kilfedder, former Unionist MP^[8]
Dickie Lloyd, cricketer and rugby union player.
Rev Henry Francis Lyte, Anglican minister and Hymn writer^[9]
Billy McComb, world famed entertainer and magician
Leo McKinstry, journalist and author
Vivian Mercier, literary critic
Dr E. Charles Nelson – botanist.
Sir Edward Sullivan, 1st Baronet, Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
Sir Charles Tegart, Commissioner of the Indian Police and Palestine fort builder.
Leslie Waddington, art dealer^[10]
Harry West, politician (Ulster Unionist Party leader and Stormont Minister)
Oscar Wilde, playwright^[6]
Sir Andrew Clarke, Governor of the Straits Settlements
Blessed Fr. John Sullivan S.J. - Jesuit priest.^[11]
Gordon Dunne, MLA^[12]^{[better source needed]}

Miscellaneous

Former pupil Oscar Wilde won a scholarship to Trinity College, Dublin, and his name appears on the school's Honours board. There is also an Ulster History Circle Blue Plaque on the school building commemorating him.^[13]

Formation of Enniskillen Royal Grammar School

A proposal by the Department of Education to merge Portora Royal School with the Enniskillen Collegiate Grammar School to form "Enniskillen Royal Grammar School" was approved by the Minister of Education, John O'Dowd, in June 2015 but the matter was taken to the High Court in October 2015 due to a lot of local opposition. The High Court bid to stop the amalgamation of the two Enniskillen grammar schools failed.^[14]

References

^ Andrew Gibson (1 November 2009). Samuel Beckett. Reaktion Books. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-1-86189-713-8.
^ Desmond Keenan (7 February 2013). Ireland 1603-1702, Society and History. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 367–. ISBN 978-1-4797-7921-5.
^ John P. Wilson (16 December 2013). The Routledge Encyclopaedia of UK Education, Training and Employment: From the Earliest Statutes to the Present Day. Routledge. pp. 257–. ISBN 978-1-317-79652-7.
^ "Portora Royal". www.portoraroyal.co.uk.
^ STUART, Ian Malcolm Bowen in Who Was Who (A. & C. Black), online edition by Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 18 February 2014 (subscription site)
^ ^a ^b ^c Robinson, James. 2005. Pentecostal Origins: Early Pentecostalism in Ireland in the Context of the British Isles: Studies in Evangelical History and Thought. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: Paternoster, pp. 34–35.. ISBN 978-1-84227-329-6
^ James Quinn. 2009. Bourchier, James David. In James McGuire, James Quinn (ed.), Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-63331-4
^ Patrick Maume. 2011. Kilfedder, Sir James. In James McGuire, James Quinn (ed.), Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-63331-4
^ Patrick M. Geoghegan. 2009. Lyte, Henry Francis. In James McGuire, James Quinn (ed.), Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-63331-4
^ "Leslie WADDINGTON". Debrett's People of Today. Debrett's. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ Loobey, John. (2017). Blessed John Sullivan: A Man Sent By God. Dublin: Messenger Publications. ISBN 978-1910248-40-9.
^ Gordon Dunne
^ http://www.blueplaqueplaces.co.uk/oscar-wilde-blue-plaque-in-enniskillen-7236
^ "Bid to stop schools' amalgamation fails". 3 February 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

External links

[Gibson2009-1] Andrew Gibson (1 November 2009). Samuel Beckett. Reaktion Books. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-1-86189-713-8.

[Keenan2013-2] Desmond Keenan (7 February 2013). Ireland 1603-1702, Society and History. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 367–. ISBN 978-1-4797-7921-5.

[Wilson2013-3] John P. Wilson (16 December 2013). The Routledge Encyclopaedia of UK Education, Training and Employment: From the Earliest Statutes to the Present Day. Routledge. pp. 257–. ISBN 978-1-317-79652-7.

[4] "Portora Royal". www.portoraroyal.co.uk.

[5] STUART, Ian Malcolm Bowen in Who Was Who (A. & C. Black), online edition by Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 18 February 2014 (subscription site)

[Robinson2005p.34-6] Robinson, James. 2005. Pentecostal Origins: Early Pentecostalism in Ireland in the Context of the British Isles: Studies in Evangelical History and Thought. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: Paternoster, pp. 34–35.. ISBN 978-1-84227-329-6

[Quinn2009-7] James Quinn. 2009. Bourchier, James David. In James McGuire, James Quinn (ed.), Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-63331-4

[Maume2011-8] Patrick Maume. 2011. Kilfedder, Sir James. In James McGuire, James Quinn (ed.), Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-63331-4

[Geoghegan2009-9] Patrick M. Geoghegan. 2009. Lyte, Henry Francis. In James McGuire, James Quinn (ed.), Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-63331-4

[Debrett-10] "Leslie WADDINGTON". Debrett's People of Today. Debrett's. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[Loobey2017p.16-11] Loobey, John. (2017). Blessed John Sullivan: A Man Sent By God. Dublin: Messenger Publications. ISBN 978-1910248-40-9.

[12] Gordon Dunne

[13] ttp://www.blueplaqueplaces.co.uk/oscar-wilde-blue-plaque-in-enniskillen-7236

[14] "Bid to stop schools' amalgamation fails". 3 February 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

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