St. Conleth's College – “Small enough to care, large enough to challenge.”

School of Rock!

A Debating School? A Rugby School? A Hockey School? How about… a Conlethian Fame Academy? Judging by the singing, dancing and acting on show at our Transition Year rehearsals for ‘Conleth’s Rock’, our carefully adjusted and copyright-distanced version of the Jack Black original, that is a fair estimate! Yes, on this Tuesday, May 19th @ […]

To Heaven…in Connacht!

Whatever Cromwell’s motivation for his infamous ‘offer’, there has been one positive outcome: Connacht is full of the most welcoming people, full of smiles and voices… and quirky little hand gestures of greeting, flashed as the locals whiz past you on the boreen in their 91-MO Nissan Bluebirds. Even private school kids from the depths […]

Invasion Française!

Mercredi, le onze mars, St Conleths was visited by “trente cinq” French students from le lycée Notre Dame of Saint Nazaire, just an hour east of Nantes. We did lots of activities with them et nous nous sommes bien amusés. Pour commencer, we did some “speed-dating” to get to know each other. We had a […]

Conleth’s Goes County!

And we bring home the bling! Messrs. Smith, Weldon and Stack are three of our most approachable teachers: famous for their accessibility to students and caring approach to whole child education… but don’t you dare go up for a high ball with any of them at your back! The trio brought their GAA pedigree, heartland […]

ROAR!

On a glorious, historic day, St. Conleth’s was in full voice, backing Gav Maguire and the SCT as they won the Leinster McMullen Shield, 24-21, over Enniscorthy in a brilliant match before stands filled with our students, staff, parents and alumni. At our recent Past Pupils Union Dinner, stories of glory days of old were […]

Champions d’Irlande!

Yes, our very own ‘Alliance Française’ of Ms. Crowley and Mr. Porzadny, professeur émérite, led the St. Conleth’s French Debating team to victory in the Alliance Française Joutes Oratoires National Final! Anna Carroll, Jane Sweeney, Hannah Murphy and Ann O’Keeffe wowed the crowd arguing on the motion that ‘que le meilleur gagne’… but things certainly […]

They Grow Up So Fast!

Just ask Daniel Karas’s fencing opponents! This past weekend, the East of Ireland Open 2026, a major senior fencing competition, took place in Ireland, featuring some of the strongest fencers in the country. And, at just 14-years-old, Daniel was the youngest participant — but that didn’t stop him from achieving a great result. He won […]

First Year Flourish!

Just before our SCT cruised into their League Final, Mr. Morris’s First Year Rugby team capped a very successful first season with a thumping win, 48-22, over the auld enemy, Sanford Park. Their irrepressible energy levels aids their play on the pitch but not their photo-posing!

Not Just Corrie Questions!

This is not your granny’s table quiz… with just Coronation Street Questions and the tough one about Torvill and Dean! This was serious business! The Joint Junior and Senior Parents Associations recently ran another hugely successful Table Quiz. The questions were tough and the coffers were overflowing, raising just over €10,000 for the school. The […]

Dads & Lads & Moms & …

A new tradition has begun at St.Conleth’s: Parent and Child coffee mornings. The Kirwan Brothers (of course), Daniel and Luke, came up with the idea, first, and under the banner ‘Dads and Lads’, they invited all male students and their fathers to come in for an hour, have a hot beverage and just… chat. Apparently, […]

Cailíní iontach!

Our Irish Debating Team of Anna Carroll, Ann O’Keeffe and Rebecca McCullough stormed into the National Semifinals, where they come up, just short, to a team with interesting coaching techniques! Well done to the girls and Irish Debating Coach, Ms. Fay: we are very proud. Maith thú!

PPU…phew!

After waiting for all the local papers’ police reports to be published, we felt it safe to go to print… yes, the good burghers of Greater Ballsbridge and Donnybrook hold their collective breaths every year on the last Friday of February because that is when the carnival comes to town: the Past Pupils Union Annual […]

…for Winners!

Yes, there are, now, many colleges and universities of note on this island, and some even come with the bishops’ blessing, but some of us still have a soft spot for the dreaming spires and arcane administration of The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin… Well, we were recently […]

Daniel Does It, Again!

New Year… but same old (but young!) Daniel Karas, our Second Year Fencing wunderkind, taking the top step on the podium, again: this time, winning a gold medal for the Best Junior at a recent competition. And, my, what a lovely jacket!

Fore! Ryan Wins National Tourney!

Actually, such is this player’s finesse with the club, he rarely needs to shout the old wayward golf-shot warning! Yes, another Conlethian is winning trophies on the sporting club scene. Fifth Year Ryan Hollingsworth has lit up our classrooms with his ready smile and good humour since his arrival here last September, and he has […]

No Rehearsal Space? No Problem.

Our 2nd-6th Formers did their best impression of Mary and Joseph this afternoon as they wandered from Junior School Room to Junior School Room. There was no room at the inn. No place to rehearse for next weeks Carol Service. Finally an innkeeper appeared in the form of Mr. Nolan- “you can use the corridor […]

The Debate Goes On!

We have the Leinster Debating crown…again… and we plan on holding it! (By the way… as with rugby, in debating, Leinster is bigger than Ireland!). And what has made St. Conleth’s such a perennial challenger for the Leinster, national and international titles? Well, it is our returning alumni coaches! Oisín ‘Opie‘ Power (Class of 2022) […]

Style and Substance

Yes, our lone staff reporter has been seconded to other duties, so we are a bit slow in getting you the news… here are the belated highlights of our Class of 2025’s Debs night. We expected nattily dressed guys, and girls in gorgeous gowns, and we were certainly knocked out with the style, but we also […]

Siún Hickey: Prima Ballerina!

Second Year Siún Hickey is starring in the INYB’s ‘The Nutcracker’ this Dec 5, 6, 7 at O’Reilly Theatre Belvedere College. Our resident world class prima ballerina, who has previously trained with the Bolshoi Academy, would be thrilled if you were able to make it! Get your tickets, here!

Ewan Gaster (2nd Form) Flaps Wings in Madama Butterfly

If you were to take a trip to the Bord Gais last week, a familiar face would greet you from the stage- our very own Ewan Gaster (2nd form) played ‘Child Sorrow’ in Madama Butterfly, which has recieved rave reviews in both the Irish Times and Independent. We are all immensly pround- well done Ewan!

Early Doors: Christmas Exams!

Yes, they actually start in November, but best to get things like exams well wrapped up before Christmas! Our Exam Secretary, Mr. Smith, has issued the following Christmas Exam Timetable (subject to adjustment). Enjoy! P.S.: Just a reminder that our original exam dates were shifted due to the students being home on Monday 24/11 as […]

A Portrait of the Artist as a TY

Transition Year is, in a sense, ‘a year out’. For some, at times, that seems to be interpreted as ‘a year out… of full consciousness’ as they somnambulate through the school day, traipsing from class to class and activity to activity, wearing a pleasant but dopey smile on their faces. Well, it is an important […]

Junior School Active Flag Pursuit Begins with Skipathon

Last week our Junior School students were gathered for a mystery assembly….abolition of homework? No. Extended summer holidays? Not a chance. The news that caused a sharp spike in excitement levels was…a Skipathon. Mr. Magee has boldly set out to aquire an Active Flag for our Junior School. The two year journey involves a plethora […]

A Distinctive Set of Results!

The Junior Cycle results are in… and the St. Conleth’s Junior Cycle Class of 2025 did exceptionally, no- distinctively, well! Yes, the current TYs are fully immersed into their ‘year of transition’ but they did take out the time to contemplate and celebrate their excellent Junior Cycle Results. The Performance Hall was awash with Distinctions, […]

Of Points and Plans!

There is nothing wrong with a bit of friendly competition, especially when the end result is a shared victory. On Leaving Certificate Results Day, in a sense, everyone is a winner as everyone gets that piece of paper (or digital missive) which serves as a key in unlocking their future. Obviously, there is always a […]

Alumni News: Far and Near!

We have a lot of news to catch up on… like Alumni Weddings over the summer… Andrew Cosgrave (2008) basically had his whole graduating class in attendance at his wedding at a stately castle in the hinterland… I wonder who has been behind the Class of 2008’s admirable unity? And 2019’s Andrew Latvis welcomed sis […]

Junior School’s ‘Celebration of Learning’ does Exactly What it Says on the Tin

Overheard at 09.05 this morning, just as our first ‘Celebration of Learning’ was coming to an end: “I really enjoyed the festival of learning…”. Whilst we may not have had a festival, main stage act, or assorted food trucks, we did have a fantastic ‘Celebration of Learning’ this morning in the Junior School. The buzz […]

Leinster Coaching Treat for Junior Conlethians

For four weeks in September and October our Juniors have been treated to coaching sessions with Leinster Community Rugby Officer, Ariel ‘Azza’ Robles. Azza has been putting boys and girls through their paces in the bright Autumn sun- we are loving it!

Best in Class Bag Baggatonia (Goody) Bags!

Junior School students Holly Henihan (6th Form, left) and Olivia Goncharenko (4th Form, right) were 1st place prize winners in their age categories at this years Baggatonia Festival. The ladies, pictured here with their winning art pieces, were rewarded with medals and gift vouchers. Well done to the girls and their art teacher, the one […]

Please, DO take his Kodachrome away!

Due to our former staff photographer being shangaied into a new position, alumni thought they were safe from the dreaded ‘Alumni Selfie-Cam’… but they were wrong… as Oisin Power (2022), Paul Cahill (2001), Robert Somerville (2012) and Ross Wainer (2007) found out! Yes, we did try to take away his Kodachrome, but before he surrendered […]

Ms. Kelly is Keeping Secrets…

First week back at school, Senior Infants, keep things nice and simple, nice and calm- right? Not for Ms. Kelly who marched her Senior Infants down to the ‘Secret Garden‘ for a morning explore and peaceful snack time. Students enjoyed the last of the summer sunshine and mild weather surrounded by nature, bugs and a […]

“Mommmm! The Boys are Making…”

Candace would be shouting about these two, too! All of us boomer St. Conleth’s teachers have fond memories of alumni brothers, Kyrill (2012) and Artyom Zorin (2013): they were the Wozniak and Jobs of their time when they graced the halls of 28 Clyde Road, winning the Technology Section of the Young Scientist competition and […]

Early Doors!

Most of the teachers at St. Conleth’s long ago jettisoned the ‘Don’t smile till Christmas!’ advice handed down by our austere teaching elders and it seems like our First Years have responded in kind. Mind you, it was not a particularly taxing First Day, with the last day of the Activity Camp, a tour of […]

Welcome Back!

Yes, the Junior School, once again, takes the lead, with a full day of school for everyone except the Junior Infants, who get one more weekend of summer holidays. And our Senior School welcomes our incoming First Years to No. 28 Clyde Road for their first school lunch, as part of their Induction and Activity […]

The Last Waltz

Before we enthusiastically shift into ‘back-to-school’ mode, we best wrap up some important business from last term. Every year, in early summer, we gather as a school for our last assembly, where all our ‘undergraduate’ awards are given out and the House Champion is announced. We displayed for you our award-winners in an earlier article […]

Back to the Future!

We have been reporting First Year Daniel Karas’s amazing fencing exploits all year, and now the mainstream media has caught on. The Sunday Independent featured Daniel’s story recently and it is a harrowing but inspiring read. It adds considerable background and depth to a boy who has already won us over with his talent and […]

Alumni Cam!

Our serendipitous encounter with Anthony Steyn reminded us that we had other recent alumni news to share… Regarding Anthony’s own graduation year of 2022, comes news of a Beijing reunion. Oisín Power welcomed classmates Seamus Joyce, Ryan MacDonnell, Ignacio Sadofschi and Coleman Hegarty (2023) to China where Oisín is currently studying and teaching debating and […]

Is That You… Anthony?

Anthony Steyn (Class of 2022) was that rare ‘combo’ student at St. Conleth’s: very talented in Maths and the STEM side of things… but also able to tell and take a joke! All of us teachers enjoyed having his wit, warmth and bright-eyed enthusiasm in class. But when we happened to run into him on […]

It’s OK to Win!

When Homer Simpson and Barney Gumble’s competition for a seat on space mission came to its inevitable conclusion, a NASA official awkwardly tried to lessen the blow for you-know-whom: ‘Gentlemen, you’ve both worked very hard. And in a way, you’re both winners… But in another, more accurate way, Barney is the winner.’ Well, we at St. […]

House Heaney Helps!

It is not just Mr. Baneham’s name, wardrobe and manners which make him seem like a character out of Dickens: it is also his Victorian morals… but in a good way! With Mr. Baneham it is all about charity: he’s charitable in his supportive comments to colleagues; charitable in his encouragement of the students (you […]

Slán Go Deo

The beautifully decorated School Hall provided the perfect setting for the fitting finale to the Graduating Class of 2025’s time at St. Conleth’s. Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Latvis presided over a poignant celebration which mixed prayers, music, words of wit and wisdom and a considerable amount of style. Some of the graduates have been at the […]

Halcyon Herbo!

May has actually agreed this year that it is the start of summer, and many of us have carpied the diem and moved class to our educational annex: Herbert Park! Here we see Sixth Year Gaeilge, Fifth Year Classics and Second Year Wellbeing, all al fresco! What else goes on at the Herbo? Second Years […]

Sportsday 2025: Club Mix!

We relaunch our Senior Sportsday Highlights Video!

TYs: The End of the Yellow Brick Road!

Transition Year is a long and winding road, and eventually it does lead back home but it is the various stops along the way that make it such a special and formative year. Our TYs took their first steps in September, most memorably off a pier in Carlingford, and after many victories, mishaps and adventures, […]

Daniel, on that Point!

First Year Daniel Karas performed very well in our recent First Year Debate Competition, but he really makes his points felt in fencing! At the Spring Blades Adult Épée Competition he took 2nd place among 23 participants… at just 13 years old! And for the second year in a row, Daniel has been named the […]

Please Clear Your Desks…

TTá an ghrian ag scoilteach na gloch… so it must be exam time! Our spanking new exam secretary, Mr. Smith, has unveiled the exam schedule (pdf) and the all-important rules: please read them!

TYs Plead le Cinquième!

Ms. Crowley’s TY French class welcomed the Fifth Formers to Secondary school and taught them a few French games… in French! The youngsters were delighted to get the attention ‘en français’ and the TYs were well able to manage the kids’ ‘overenthusiasm’ as the roles were reversed, for once! (Bienvenue dans notre monde!). A final […]

Total Football

Things did not look good for the Staff Team in the moments leading up to kick-off. Yes, we had retained the legendary ‘Goblet of Fire’ for seventeen years. Yes, we always play a stylish sort of football, which leaves the students and the various Irish national teams which frequent the Irishtown facility gnashing their teeth […]

Sun and Fun at Sportsday 2025!

The exodus from one side of Dublin 4 to the other began immediately after Form Class, and though we lost a few stragglers in the meandering pathways of the Herbo, most of the students eventually arrived at he splendid sporting facilities of Irishtown Stadium, ready to enthusiastically take part in one of our most eagerly anticipated […]

Junior Sports Jumble!

Junior School Sports Head Honcho Louis Magee reports: The Tennis squad are into the Semifinals of their league: a fantastic achievement beating Willow Park 2-1 on Friday. And the golf team played in a Leinster competition last Thursday and finished with a very strong score, and are awaiting the final tally. And Junior Sports Day? […]

From STEM to Sissonne!

First Yr. Siún Hickey’ danced in the prestigious Irish National Youth Ballet’s 30th anniversary show last weekend, having been selected selected from hundreds of youths from different ballet schools all over Ireland. And Siún will go to Florence for a two week intensive course with the even more famous Bolshoi Ballet! Ms. Crowley (always on […]

STEM Stars!

The Science Department’s argument for the necessity of our grand, new STEM extension just received another boost: another piece of glittering glass has joined their already burgeoning collection of awards and trophies! Yes, The St. Conleth’s Sci Guys and Gals are at it again! On Thursday, 8th May, eleven students ventured to the Glasnevin Campus […]

From Ember to Flame!

After a year of faith-and-fun-filled activities, our Ember Team of Fifth Years travelled to DCU for a special Graduation Ceremony where they made a very well-received presentation on their extensive list of fundraising, awareness sparking and comaraderie-building projects. Well one to all those involved and to Mr. Lonergan, who initiated this great programme at St. […]

Titans of Tennis!

There have been tennis matches galore at St. Conleth’s and Mr. Lonergan has been sending all and sundry out to mind them… Highlights? First Year girls surprising everyone, including themselves, sweeping a recent match: Shanael Rebin, Juliette Brady, Elsie O’Connell, Chloe Mullarney, Beatrice Campus and Nishka Aderwall all won! And (less surprising) Senior Boys are […]

Please… No More Ice Cream!

Before their Gaisce Hike sorted out their leg muscles and stamina, TY Co-Ordinator Mr. Trenier organized a hard-hitting talk about drug and alcohol addiction for them and Fifth Year. A timely lesson! And that Gaisce Hike? Well, compared to previous years, when the weather was torrential and tormential, TYs’ ‘resilience’ was not quite so much […]

Keep TrYinG!

TYs are getting ready for the two, huge end-of-term events, the Gaisce Hike and the TY Musical, but they are still finding time for a variety of activities and events, e.g.: Cecilia, our Green Czarina, led an eager group on a mission with the Tidy Towns gang to clean up cycle and pedestrian paths in […]

Road Warrioress!

Mr. Lonergan, recently returned from Waterford and Međugorje (and is he in Rome, right now?), has logged some impressive miles in service of St. Conleth’s lately, but he cannot quite match those traveled by our official Road Warrioress, Ms. McGuinness! She just returned from Killary, where the Second Years enjoyed an exhaustive but thrilling adventure […]

Rhetorical Rookies Rock the Rostrum!

The Second and Third Years are about to battle for the O’Connor Cup, so we best clear our desk of photos from the First Year McCarthy Cup, an impressive in-house competition debating debut for many, but clearly won by Mariana Alves Branco. St. Conleth’s is, without doubt, the best debating school in the country (see […]

Faith and Fun!

It’s a long road to Waterford but with proper rest, nutritious snacks and the right training, Fifth Years had a great time surfing the waves (and their souls) as Road Warrior Lonergan was at it again. leading them off to Glencomeragh for a Holy Family Mission Retreat. Faith, philosophy, fun, friendship… and a bit of […]

Classic Gold Hits!

Yes, that’s right, Boomers, time to listen to (and watch) more Classics Gold Hits! Our Third Years took First Prize in the Junior Cycle category and two Fifth Year groups tied for Third in the Leaving Certificate category at the Young Classicists Symposium at UCD for their classics-themed videos. And the phalanx of 70+ supporters […]

Conlethian Clan Cultural Connection!

TY Naoise McCann was with his classmates on an art outing to the National Gallery… and he ran into one of his photographer father’s famous portraits of the artist Brian O’ Doherty. Fionn McCann (Class of 1991) is also a proud Conlethian! Fionn is a renowned portrait photographer. And Naoise’s TY friends (escorted by Ms. […]

Spring Sports Wrap

ur Our SCT’s and JCT’s end-of-season runs were brilliant but our Spring season featured many other sporting heroes. We have red about them regularly but here is a wrap-up of last term’s action: Tennis: Mr. Lonergan runs approximately two dozen tennis teams and we fellow teachers never complain that we have to cover Geography 2A […]

Mocks Timetable

Head of Exams Mr. Smith has emailed the Mocks Timetable to all Third and Sixth Years, but here it is, again. Enjoy!

A Familiar Face at this Year’s Pantomime!

All 150+ students from Junior Infants to 6th Form hopped on the bus with great excitement on Friday 12th to see Cinderella at the National Stadium. The biggest cheer of the day was not for the Prince finding his true love, nor for the 6 teachers who danced to Pink Pony Club on stage…it was […]

Upcoming Carol Service for Junior School

Only one week to go until we will be enjoying our Carols in St. Mary’s on Haddington Road (1.30-2.30pm)- all are welcome! Our JSPA will be hosting a festive get together directly afterwards in the Parish Hall.

Easter Art!

As Conlethians celebrate Easter with their families, we thought we would share some of the amazing art the students did in the lead-up to the holy day. First up, Ms. Mellon’s Juniors’ ‘Little Bunnies in Fames’! And Ms. Halpin’s First Years’ Animal Masks!

Ethos in Action!*

(*With new photos!) Since his arrival at St. Conleth’s, Mr. Lonergan has worked tirelessly to reinvigorate our Christian ethos, while simultaneously (no contradiction, there!) engaging and encouraging our students to improve their own spiritual and physical wellbeing and that of others. The ‘Ember Team’, a group of Fifth Year volunteers interested in putting their faith […]

Roisin’s Rugby Rise!

Club (Seapoint) leader… Leinster stalwart… now, Irish star! St. Conleth’s Sixth Year Roisin has risen to an even another level of rugby success! Here she is scoring a try in the Irish Women’s U-18 victory over Italy. Roisin also played her part in the team’s win over England as the Irish ladies started 2-0 in the […]

The Debate Goes On!

We have the Leinster (Irish) Debating crown…again… and we plan on holding it! And what has made St. Conleth’s such a perennial challenger for the Leinster, national and international titles? The last echoes of our sensational (and sensationalist) Senior Debates are finally dying away as some new (and some familiar) names will now be etched […]

The Debate is Over…

…and the motion has been carried: “That this House declares St. Conleth’s to be the greatest debating school in the land!” Finley O’Dea (as is his wont) laid a few quid down at Paddy Power as the Conlethian contingent at the Leinster Senior Schools Debating Final was his little wager come up trumps (can we […]

Buy Someone Lunch, Today!

Today is the last day to contribute to The Ember team’s Mary’s Meals fundraiser! Donate here: https://marysmeals.ie/fundraising#/detail/701P500000PxkQOIAZ… …The Ember Team are looking for your support!

Darius the…

…Third! Yes, Darius III (not II !) was the particular ”King of Kings’ of the Persian Empire who lost to Alexander the Great at Issos, Gaugamela etc… and tt was one of the few questions, at The Ides of March (and April) Classics Teachers Table Quiz last week, that our leading ‘Olympian’ team of Isobel […]

Delphi Dip!

It was the First Years turn last week to head west for adventure, this time to Delphi Resort, where the students enjoyed the rough and tumble… and the teachers wallowed in the hot tub! (as well as mind 40+ manic preteens 24/7 for three days!) The First Years learned all about the importance of teamwork […]

An Infinite # of Mathematicians Walk into a Bar…

…and the first asks for one beer, second for two, third for three and so on. The bartender sighs and pours out 1/12 of an empty glass. No. We don’t get it, either. But we are sure that the 160 young mathematicians who gathered in Portlaoise for the Irish Maths Teachers’ Association National Finals did! (Not […]

House Proud!

House Sheppard held a bake sale at break-time on Friday, raising at least €1233 (with donations still being accepted online.) All proceeds will go directly to the Irish Cancer Society to support their vital work in cancer research, care and prevention. Well done to Sheppard, the first of our Houses to take on charity fund-raising, […]

David is Goliath!

The dominant giant of squash, that is! Transition Year David MacNicholas participated in the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club Appleby Squash Championship last weekend. He won the Shield in the Men’s B Squash Championship and he was also the winner of the FLTC Junior Squash Championship and was awarded the Tom Clancy Perpetual Junior Squash Championship […]

Buzz, Buzz…

Cecilia Franken stays busy in both the Junior and Senior Schools: here, she escorts First Form to the Oval in Ballsbridge to see the action in the beehives: a hands-on (carefully) Green experience!

Enabled!

Our Transition Years and Third Years learned about different abilities the hands (and other limbs)-on way as Enable Ireland Adult Services paid us another visit and everyone got active in the school hall: wheelchair basketball and obstacle course, ball-toss, wrestling… were all on the agenda, as well as a presentation in the Performance Hall. Once […]

Rugby Rules!

Well, there is the rugby rule that says when a ball goes over the sideline, it cannot be considered in play and subsequently touched down for a try… but we will not quibble the small stuff! Ardscoil na Trionoide were honourable and fair-minded opponents in the McMullen Shield Final and they fully deserved their 36-16 […]

Gang Gaeilge!

Shhhh… do yo hear that? It’s Arthur Wellesley, The First Duke of Wellington, rolling in his grave! Why? Because, during Seachtain na Gaeilge, even a school which lies at the top of Waterloo, Wellington and Clyde Roads is very proud to come out ‘all Irish’! Not that our Irish Department has ever been shy about celebrating our […]

Another Classics Coup!

They came. They spoke. They conquered! St. Conleth’s rocked the rostrum at the Classics Speech Competition at Trinity College, taking two of only four prizes on offer, with Milo Smith winning First Prize in LC and Amelie Timmins taking Second Prize in JC. Milo came to bury Caesar but ended up praising him, channelling Shakespeare’s […]

3.14159265359…

Yes, tomorrow, is Pi Day! (3/14 in the American calendar) At the Irish Maths Teachers Association Regional Pi Quiz 2025 in Wesley College, our Third Year team narrowly missed out on the tie-breaker round for first place by just one point, having scored a very commendable 15 out of 20 points! Perhaps the team of […]

TYs and Other Reptiles

Our Transition Years are recently back from two weeks of Work Experience and we missed them dearly while they were gone. Especially the double period on the Friday afternoon. And since they have been back, they have been involved in an especially hectic flurry of activity, not that there is ever a dull moment throughout […]

New World Order

The Donald had better watch out! Mr. Baneham has brought St. Conleth’s back to the Model United Nations and Belarus might soon be a real player on the world stage! Yes, after years of isolationism, St. Conleth’s has once again entered the world’s debating chamber, having last been there in the 1990s with the late, […]

Ben Takes Centre-Stage!

Ms. McGuinness and Ms. O’Dualing led the St. Conleth’s School Choir to take part in the Emmanuel Concert at The Helix with Third Year Hannah Murphy performing a showstopper as a soloist. Hannah was chosen over hundreds of competitors in a nation-wide contest and her colleagues in the choir were only too happy to offer […]

Oui Mais… Non!

The St. Conleth’s team stormed to the Finals of the Alliance Française Joutes Oratoires French debating competition. After vanquishing some impressive competition from Muckross College in the Quarterfinals and Holy Faith- Clontarf in the Semifinals, Enda Crowley, Finley O’Dea and Henry Turner impressed all and sundry with their charm, spontaneity and ability… all, of course, […]

Buzzer Beater B-Ball Boyz!

Jack O’Connor hit a stunning buzzer-beater banker to lead our First Year Boys Basketball team to a stunning victory over Kishoge, continuing a strong season for the team. Edward Leahy also scored some key baskets. Here are some pics from two other victories, earlier in the seasons, as well as some of the Second Years […]

London Called: We Answered!

The cultured but cosy confines of the understatedly named The Farmers’ Club was the site of our most recent Past Pupils Union foreign affair. We did London for our 75th (The Cavalry and Guards Club); New York for our 80th (The New York Athletic Club) returned to London a few weeks ago. The affable and […]

Uhhhh…. S Club 7!

Yes, your age might very well affect your ability to answer particular trivia questions…. that, and your cultural taste! Well, everything was on the table at the Junior and Senior Schools’ Parent Associations’ recent, worthy joint venture: a Quiz Night at the Maldron Hotel which raised funds for blackout blinds in the hall, which will […]

Welcome, Parents!

Last Friday morning, the Junior School opened their doors for the second ‘Celebration of Learning’ of the year. Parents from Junior Infants through Sixth Form were treated to a tour through this term’s learning by the most important people in the building (after Chef Mark)- the students! And, quite appropriately considering the Past Pupils Dinner […]

Squires, Arise!

You know you are teaching in a good school when your biggest problem, when on lunch duty patrol, is breaking up illicit chess games in restricted areas of the campus… Well Yubo Wang, Zach Waldron, Joe Kelleher and our other Senior School Knights will soon have some serious competition on the grid as the chess […]

Humans of Higher Maths

Last week, our Sixth Years took time out of their busy schedule to compete in the Irish Maths Teachers’ Association Team Competition. All our teams performed well in the mind-wrecking, compass-bending event, with Yubo Wang and the rest of Team A leading the way, finishing fourth (really, tied for third) and Team B finishing sixth […]

PPU… phew!

The dust has settled…the alumnus from the 80’s who was found sleeping in the stairwell has been sent home…and Clyde Road is back to its quiet, staid respectability… for another St. Conleth’s Past Pupils Union Dinner is in the books! Well done to new PPU President, Charles Crimmins, who wisely kept his address short and […]

Gavinized! SCT in Shield Final!

The stories of glory days of old will be wheeled out tonight amongst the Past Pupils of St. Conleth’s, at their annual viking-fest, but one particular alumnus (Class of 2000) will have a more recent tale to tell. Yes, Gav Maguire and the lads just reminded us all that St. Conleth’s is still… A RUGBY […]

On the Offensive!

First Year Daniel Karas has a lovely, open personality with a smile and a kind word for everyone. But put a foil or an epée in the boy’s hand…. and you had better watch out! Daniel Karas recently competed in the Cadet (U17) Épée category at the Excalibur Cup and won both the trophy and […]

Joachim’s Warm Memories!

Who remembers Joachim? Though only here for a year, 1990-1991, Joachim de Salazar Delfin left a significant impression on St. Conleth’s College… as we did on him. Joachim spent only Sixth Year with us in 1991-1992… and sat the Leaving Cert at 15-years-old. He even did Irish! No, Joachim was no snowflake! Joachim has many […]

Alumni with Attitude!

We told you we had some alumni snaps to share… here’s the Absolute Legend, Pat McGrath, and the Bürgermeister of Ballsbridge, Maurice Wright (2009). And Charles Crimmins (1990, PPU Pres.) with Theo Fitzgibbon (TBD); Emilio Sadofschi (2024), Centra worker and UCD Economics scholar; and a few recent snaps from the archives of The McGraths: Tony […]

JS Round-Up!

And it has been business as usual in the Junior School, too, which means lots of fun and constructive things going on: the JSPA runs a green (and economical) second-hand uniform sale; the Junior Girls head down to the Herbo for some hockey and Junior Infants Enjoy Irish… on the Move!

First Years Bounce Marian!

And sport goes on, too, for non-state-exam years: First Year Boys B-Ball enjoyed another win, this time over traditional power, Marian College, and Second Years played well in their loss.

Business as Usual…

Yes, the Mocks are in full swing, but life goes on as normal for non-exam years: Fifth Years practice their oral Irish; Second Years learn how to devise a PE programme; and First Years put on plays in Classics!

Making the Cut!

S St. Conleth’s sporting roots lie in cricket and the ‘slowest bicycle race’ but we have come on quite a bit since then… including in the GAA: both Gavin Sheridan (2015) and Timea Kovacs (2023) recently started for their respective Dublin Senior Teams, recently. Here are some file photos… including one of Gavin’s starring ‘staff’ […]

Capt. Juliet Leaves on a High!

After that tough, penalty-time Cup loss, it as back to winning ways for St. Conleth’s Hockey! Our Senior Girls won against Our Lady’s Grove 1-0, in a thrilling swansong for our Capt. Juliet Donnelly, a great servant of St. Conleth’s hockey over the years. Well done to her, the whole team and the coaches. Now, […]

In One, Full Voice

The Annual School Mass, once again, brought together the whole St. Conleth’s community, reminding us of our past and spurring us towards the future, with our Christian ethos essential to us finding the way… starting with the short, but always eventful walk through the Ballsbridge side-streets to St. Mary’s Church on Haddington Rd. Juniors and […]

A Late Result!

An update on those great X-Country results… Our Senior Girls actually finished Fourth in the top grade race (Rebecca McCullough ran for Jane Sweeney) and we see them here with the loping legend Lochlann Hannon and Luc Ween as well as our younger boys teams, in finishing order. And one last wave from stalwart Shane […]

Cúpla Focal!

TYs are getting their Irish up! With the help of Múinteoirí O’Dualing, Fay and Dorman (Gradaim), eleven students received Gold and twelve received Silver, earning the Conradh na Gaeilge Fáinne badge, which encourages the speaking of Irish with the motto: “Ár dTeanga Do Rogha” (Our Language Your Choice)! This will help them with preparation for their […]

Stars of Track and Field

Mr. Shay Keenan started the tradition years ago: circulate amongst the classrooms and plead, harangue and bribe as many students as possible to sign up for the latest ‘Track and Field’ event. And now Mr. Smith, Mr. Weldon and Daniel Stack are continuing the not very selective, selection process: Experienced runners: welcome! Generally fit, average […]

A Grand Entrance!

As reported by our Guidance Counsellor, Gordon Weldon: One student from St. Conleth’s was among the 593 students who were awarded prestigious Entrance Exhibition Awards for the 2024/5 academic year from Trinity College Dublin. The awards go to students accepted into the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree programme who achieved the highest points […]

They Didn’t Run Away…

…but they did join the circus! Yes, the TYs were spared the sneaking out of the bedroom window/shimmying down the drainpipe/hopping on a westwards-bound freight train routine just to join the circus because the circus came to them! See, amongst TY Co-Ordinator Mr. Trenier’s many past occupations was serving as The Tall Man in a […]

Ye Auld Enemy…

… and A New Power! Gone are the days when St. Conleth’s hockey teams could sneak up on the overconfident competition and deliver the shocking upset: we are now a recognised hockey ‘power’, ourselves. Ms. Speller, in a few short years, has established St. Conleth’s as a perennial contender for bling in Leinster… and we […]

A Conlethian Triptych!

Good things also come in threes! We have a trio of upcoming events which should tempt both alumni and parents to come out and gather in camaraderie and cordiality with their fellow Conlethians… especially, as the events start after ‘Dry January’…and you’ll be in the need of a little lift! First up is the culmination […]

Mocks Timetable 2025

Mocks Timetable 2025. Subject to change. Good luck!

The Sweet Scent of Victory!

Yes, spring is in the air, as the tundra melts and we enjoy the ever stretching day. But another particular aroma in the atmosphere of St. Conleth’s is the scent of victory! We would not suggest breathing it in too deeply if you happen to run into SCT post-training but all that hard work and […]

A Flock of Sci Goers!

We are all drawn inexorably to the sea… except for, perhaps, the staunch land-lovers of Laois (which is the only county which does not border a county…). Second Years Elsie O’Connell and Shanael Rebin’s science project, Seas-the-Day, assesses whether living by the sea promotes wellbeing and it is so fascinating and well-researched that it qualified […]

Making Movies!

We assume it is the highest of contemporary compliments in the world of matinee idols to be designated ‘the next Paul Mescal’ but, at St. Conleth’s, we also know that Ollie West (Class of 2023) has been setting pants on fire for years! In fact, Mr. Mescal has to pick up a few more talents […]

Christmas Crooners!

The term, and the year, at St. Conleth’s ended on a high note with our traditional Christmas Carols Concert! Every year was represented, including some cross-class collaborations. Here are the highlights, complete with two perspectives of Milo Smith’s new Conlethian anthem!

Yeah, Boyz!

Coaches Ingle, Gahan and Stack led our First Year Boys Basketball team to another title in the St. Andrew’s College Christmas Basketball Tournament. Well done to the lads on bringing home the trophy, after a series of thrilling games which included a classic buzzer beater, recalling Seán Keane’s heart attack jumper in this same tournament, […]

This Means Plenty to Them: Oh, Vienna!

The Music Department has, once again, taken the lead in providing adventurous learning experiences for our students. Led by noted vagabond Ms. McGuinness, who was last seen within regular classroom walls in 2019, a not-so-motley group of Fifth and Sixth Years put paid to Midge Ure’s desperate cry. Vienna means plenty to this crew after […]

STEM Stars!

Recently, we Conlethians are on quite a run regarding ‘Best in Ireland’ awards! Greta Lawless topped the Irish contingent in the Cyclo-Cross World Cup, First Year Daniel Karas routinely wins All-Ireland fencing golds and our U19 Basketball Boys are taking a big step towards national glory, this very afternoon! But perhaps three of our Third […]

Our LC Results: Crunched!

For an assignment this important, namely an analysis of the Leaving Certificate Results of the St. Conleth’s Class of 2024, the CEO thought our usual debonair doggerel could use some support from two real pros: our Guidance Counsellor Gordon Weldon and our Data Czar Richie Morris. After digesting their two reports, we almost feel ready […]

Green Convenors!

We all know how enthusiastic is our Green Schools czar, Cecilia. She has been teaching and leading TYs all year in recycling and other green issues under the guise of CSPE: Sustainability, and we enjoyed the lunchtime ‘battery bazaar’ a couple of weeks ago. Well, more photos have come to light from that celebration of […]

Greta News!

Sixth Year Greta Lawless is known, academically, for her impressive work ethic and excellent results, as well as impeccable manners and an almost impossible level of affability, especially for a teenager who has weathered the Covid years. There is no-one whom you would go to before Greta, if you wanted a kind word or a […]

Bert Beaters!

While the rest of us snuggled down further into the duvet, Junior Head of Sport Louis Magee and his crew were out there in the wind and rain! Last Saturday, our Junior School Rugby teams (3rd to 6th) took place in various blitzes from Greystones to Rathmines. 12 games played: 7 wins, 4 losses and […]

Daniel Does it Again…and Again!

The name ‘Daniel Karas’ is quickly becoming eponymous for excellence in fencing… or should we say ‘épéeonymous’?’ Our First Year fencing phenom bagged more bling at the Irish Épée Youth Series II: two more Gold Medals! And fine hops displayed to mount the podium!

COPped On!

Yes, the virtue-signalling and jet fuel-dripping Green elites have gathered in that noted hotbed of climate action, Azerbaijan, but on the ground it is people like our very own Cecilia Franken who has done the real work of saving the Earth from climate change armageddon. Cecilia has been taking TYs all year, leading them in […]

Hoop Hysteria!

Actually, so successful has this particular generation of Conlethian basketball players been, that ‘as expected’ is probably more of an accurate way to describe our reaction to the U19 Boys powering through the Ireland East B Semifinal against Coolmine CC. Since their glorious but Covid-cancelled run to the Finals in First Year, we have grown […]

Houses United

Skipping those too-studious Third Years (for now), Mr. Morris’s Magical Mayhem moved on to TYs last week, and Mr. Trenier’s charges fired up their competitive spirit for the smorgasbord of tasks and challenges, building their arithmetic, facial muscle control, and morsel-catching skills! See the highlights below!

But,Your Honour, My Client is…

… an (otherwise) upstanding student at that renowned school for the sons of Catholic gentlemen, St. Conleth’s College! Surely he could not be guilty… Our Transition Years are currently on Work Experience and we miss them dearly. Before they left, they were involved in an especially hectic flurry of activity, not that there is ever […]

Stone Aged!

Yes, the Conlethian D4-ers and SoCo-ers might have been forgiven for thinking that Irish culture began at Teddy’s on the Pier and ended at the Liffey, with a narrow extension into Terminal 2, but now they have no excuse: after Ms. Halpin and Ms. Speller bravely led a coach full of Fifth and Sixth Year […]

Seconds, Anyone?

Yes, please… and we’ll have four more servings! Mr. Morris’s Magical Mayhem moved on to Second Years last week, and the slightly-less-young youngsters had even more fun than the First Years, building their vocabulary, arithmetic, facial muscle control and morsel-catching skills! See the highlights below… and, Third Years, stop that mocking laughter: you’re next!

Rocket Boys and Girls!

In terms of selling Chemistry and Physics to the kids, Walter White and Dr. Banner have nothing on our resident lab rat heroes! First Year embraced the spirit of Science Week and, inspired by Messrs. Callaghan, Cavallero and Musk, they designed, built and launched rockets of various shapes, sizes and aerodynamics! It is rumoured that […]

Gaeilge 24!

The Irish Department twisted our collective arm and commandeered TY for a day to celebrate Gaeilge 24! Starting with Bricfeasta as Gaeilge, Mr. ODualing joined in for some Tae agus Plé, followed by a nation-wide Tráth na gCeist. But Gaeilge 24 was not over yet! Still to come was Tóraíocht Taisce and Poc Fada down […]

Christmas Comes Early!

Well, Christmas Exams, that is! Yes, even before Black Friday, you I’ll be sitting your Yuletide reckonings! Here is the schedule. Good luck!

Karas Captures Gold!

Over the midterm break, some of us just worked on the tan, but First Year Daniel Karas not only rested and gathered strength for his studies, but he also actively worked on his fencing medal collection, adding the Irish Youth Epee Series U17 Gold Medal. And, judging from below, Daniel has also mastered the post-match […]

Mr. Morris’s Wonder Emporium

Who’da thunk it? That Mr. Morris, highly efficient and logical man of maths and science, would take his talents and work ethic in a new direction: that of pure invention and fun! Well, we House Masters are certainly happy he did. Mr. Morris compiled, concocted and collected a bag full of funky, funny tasks and […]

Watch Out, Saoirse and Cillian!

Hollywood has been in love with the Irish lately, with Saoirse Ronan and Cillian Murphy regularly in the Oscar hunt and they may soon have some home-grown competition, judging by the writing, directing and acting talent on show in Ms. ODulaing’s Fifth Year Irish. During their last class of the half-term, they had an ‘Oscars’ […]

Halloween Happenings!

Happy Halloween! But before you go tricking or treating, check out these pics from our midterm-ending costumed capers! And, of course, our Juniors provided the most enthusiastic and creative Happy Halloween happenings!

TYred?

TY Co-Ordinator has his charges running full speed into the midterm- they have been so busy that they have neglected to send yours truly much photographic documentation of their adventures. We will soon search out that treasure trove of photos, but we did manage to capture a few recent TY happenings, ourselves. Last Friday, while […]

Scare Tactics!

Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh go léir! Art Teacher Ms. Mellon and the Juniors are up first in the Halloween Holiday Hullabaloo with their handmade disco balls for the Monsters’ Ball. Here are First, Second and Fourth Forms, all hard at their Halloween work, eager to finish first in the scream stakes!

St. Conleth’s, Distilled

We have been writing much about Conlethian ethos and spirit lately, and serendipitously we ran into an alumnus who is one, big, boisterous, walking, talking vessel of that true, old St. Conleth’s essence: Gavan O’Connor Duffy (Class of 2009), or as our Sixth Years know him, now, the Earl of Gloucester. Yes, the Leaving Certificate […]

All Together, Now

‘Assemblies’, by definition, are just gatherings of people but our October Assembly was much more than that. Like our recent Artworks celebration, it showcased the best of us, in terms of talents, achievements and milestones, but it was also, simply but profoundly, a gathering of different people for a common purpose, that of building on […]

Maths Magicians!

Yes, technically, Maths week was last week, but like a repeating decimal or pi… Maths never really stops! This year, we were delighted to welcome back Past Pupil Colm Mulcahy (Class of 1975): Irish mathematician, academic, columnist, book author, public outreach speaker, amateur magician and spinner of engaging Maths stories. Colm is Professor Emeritus at Spelman College, […]

Dublin à Pied!

Ms. Crowley is a legend amongst the staff for not wanting to miss any class-time (just like the rest of us, of course…). So, if she is going to take her students out of the friendly confines of the French Room, you know it will not be for a mere ‘lark in the park’. Last […]

JCT’s Cup Thriller!

Mr. Morris’s Mighty Minions are making quite a name for themselves! In their first round Leinster Cup match against the supposedly bigger and brawnier Benildus, they played tough, they played smart, and they held their nerve when when the game was on the line, emerging 40-36 victors in a thrilling contest that will now enter […]

Could This Be The Next ‘Rudy’?

First of all, let’s get one thing straight: when you go on your holliers, and your parents make you visit the Parisian sites, one of them, the recently smouldering cathedral, is pronounced “no truh dahm.” But what we are talking about here is the greatest university in America: “No Ter Daim”! And, yes, the gold […]

Hockey… Hurrah!

Ms. Speller is back! After attending to some important business, our senior History Teacher and Hockey Coach extraordinaire is back on the scene and both our academic and sporting spheres are seeing the benefit. In History, Ms. Speller has once again put that creeping Counter-Reformation back in its proper place, and, in Hockey, the various […]

A Distinctive Set of Results!

The Junior Cycle results are in… and the St. Conleth’s Junior Cycle Class of 2024 did exceptionally, no- distinctively, well! Yes, the current TYs are fully immersed into their ‘year of transition’ but they did take out the time to contemplate and celebrate their excellent Junior Cycle Results. The Performance Hall was awash with Distinctions, […]

A New Knight of St. Conleth’s!

First Year Daniel Karas is continuing the proud tradition of fencing at St. Conleth’s, claiming first place in the Cadet (U17) épée category at the Lord Killanin Trophy … at just twelve years old! Daniel accepted his medal and trophy proudly wearing the school crest on his fencing uniform. Daniel joins Second Year Michael Davitt […]

House Hunting

Even in a small and cozy school like St. Conleth’s, starting off in First Year can be tough, and though our devoted, caring, saintly Form Teachers do their very best to help the newbies along, sometimes an older student is the best source of advice. Well, ‘Commissioner’ Gordon Weldon’s House System was designed to cater […]

Rugby is Ruff!

Head of Sport Louis Magee welcomed three new teammates to the Junior School Rugby family. Daniel Stack, the Senior School’s inspiring Fitness Coach, joined the coaching ranks, and he brought the same winning mix of charm and professionalism to the pitch-side that he shows everyday in the Fitness Suite, even when the debaters show up. […]

London Calling!

Currently, St. Conleth’s is like that quaint, little bistro that opens up quietly, garners a few rave reviews and soon a table can not be had for love or money! In our very busy September, in addition to all the normal school business, we had an oversubscribed Open Morning/Information Evening, spectacularly successful 85th Anniversary/Artworks show […]

The Embers of Leadership

Fifth Year James Eiffe reports on his participation in the Ember Faith Leadership Programme, a student leadership initiative of the Archdiocese of Dublin. Flames exude warmth but burn out while embers demonstrate some enduring and powerful characteristics that contribute to long-term, sustainable leadership. Julie Winkle Giulioni On the 17th of September 2024, John Byrne, Anna Carroll, Milo Smith, […]

A Jolly Jaunt in Killiney!

Yes, Howth and Bray may be fine locales for perambulations by the TYs and other years, but our rather refined Fifth Years demanded a better address for their constitutional and, since Mr. Lonergan has now been accepted as a local (after years of using a translator), Killiney was the logical choice! Granted, Mr. Coleman, our […]

Booterstown Bronze!

Chess is sort of like rugby… at least, in this sense: if you are the best in Leinster, you the best in Ireland, and, maybe, one of the best in the world! Chess is also like rugby in that the full contact training often leads to injuries, especially when you are practising regularly with Joe […]

Art… Worked!

It was an evening to remember, as the Conlethian creatives, and their many fans, gathered to celebrate our 85th birthday with Artworks, a multi-storey, multi-media tribute to our artistic legacy. The art works of both professional and talented amateur alumni were on display, as well as those of staff and current students, but the greatest […]

Inspirational Information!

Nearly everyone worked late last Monday night, and it has taken us almost a week to recover but it was worth it as the St. Conleth’s Senior School Information Evening and Junior School Open Morning were, once again, smashing successes. Such was excitement on Clyde Road that the US Embassy security staff were on high […]

1st Year 2025 Admissions

The admission round for 1st Year 2025 is now open. To apply for a place please submit an application using the link to the online form below. The admission round will be open until Tuesday 22nd October at 4pm. Any applications received after the closing date will be considered late and applicants will be placed […]

Style and Substance

We expected nattily dressed guys, and girls in gorgeous gowns, and we were certainly knocked out with the style, but we also knew there would be a more important aspect of the Class of 2024 Debs’ reception at St. Conleth’s: a spirit of honest affection and appreciation, tinged with the tiniest bit of regret that we […]

Art Matters!

Over the years, St. Conleth’s reputation for casual cool, our liberal interpretation of the uniform and general quirkiness has led to the rumour that we were, in fact, an ‘art school’. (And maybe a ‘drama school’.) Well, that reputation suits us just fine, as we have always had a vibrant art scene, and we are […]

House Proud!

Who’s in the house? Well, we know, now! St. Conleth’s relaunched its House System to great buzz, fanfare and fun. Wear your badges proudly: Houses of Sheppard, Kelleher, Crean and Robinson! It started in the hall with a bit of speechifying by Commissioner Gordon, Mr. O’Dulaing and the House Heads and then the dramatic ‘sorting’ […]

Beauties, No Beast!

Conlethians took centre-stage at the Rathmines & Rathgar’s Jr.’s Musical Society’s production of ‘Beauty & The Beast’ last Thursday evening in the Mill Theatre in Dundrum! 5th Yrs. Ben Nolan and Margarida Lamy starred and their classmates (and teachers) enjoyed the show, with Jane Sweeney even making a celebratory poster!

A Rugged Start!

It was a mixed start to the season for St. Conleth’s rugby teams. Both the JCT and SCT showed great grit, effort, skill and promise in their league openers versus New Park but the wins eluded us. Mr. Morris’s JCT lost a closely-fought match, due to the nigh untackleable running of one outsized New Park […]

Alumni Who Lunch

In 2020, Past Past Pupils Union Presidents Donal Milmo-Penny and John Carvill organised the first ever St. Conleth’s Business Lunch and it was a smashing success, with close to 100 attendees at the Lansdowne FC. The featured speaker was Past Parent and entrepreneur Brody Sweeney and, by all accounts, his talk was as entertaining as […]

Learning by Listening

It was 1A’s turn to wander off into town and visit the Museum of Modern Literature and their workshop titled ‘Shut Your Eyes and See’, which explores Irish literature, past and present, hoping to inspire the next generation to read and write. Dr. Fallon and Mr. O’Dualing also enjoyed the trip, with the fine weather […]

Now…Go Get Them Dirty!

Good luck to our JCTs and SCTs, both in action today at New Park School. Our SCTs will be wearing spanking new jerseys, courtesy of our sponsor, the Maldron Hotel of Merrion Road, whose General Manager Bruno Gorisch and Sales and Marketing Manager Mark Conmee are seen here with Mr. Smith, Gav Maguire and Rugby […]

You Are Very Welcome!

… to our ‘Open Days’! First Year 2025 The Open Evening for prospective 2025 First Year families will be held on Monday 23rd September 2024 from 7-9pm. Families who have already registered an interest will receive an email on Monday 2nd September to register for priority access to the event. The priority access window will be open for 2 weeks. On Monday 16th September […]

Róisín the Rugger!

There is no gentler or more polite current Conlethian than Sixth Year Róisín Ridge, whose impeccable manners make her a favourite of both staff and students… but you had better not stand in her way on the rugby pitch! Below, you see her in action for Leinster. After training three full days a week for […]

Dynamic O’Dualings on the Double!

The O’Dualing household is usually full of banter and chat in our nation’s first language, but our Principal (Mr. Donal O’Dualing) and our réalta óg of a teacher (Miss Caoilfhionn O’Dualing) don’t mind using their second tongue occasionally, especially if it benefits the students. Recently, this dynamic duo of O’Dulaings (and trusty sidekick Simon) accompanied […]

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Just by chance yesterday, at about noontime, a woman and toddler were walking down Clyde Road and, when they came to No. 28, they happened to run into one of our many resident wits of Sixth Year, who was casually leaning against one of the gateposts and enjoying his second (at least) ice cream cone […]

A Clash of Titans!

To be honest, the lunchtime antics in the yard had been a bit tame this year… no ‘Kirwan Bros. Fight Club’, scarcely a ball to be seen… and just one kid with a yo-yo in the corner. But just casually drop the line ‘First Years think they can beat you in football…’ amidst an idle […]

First Daze

Well, we’re all back, now… and all are happy to be here. It is just that some show it more than others!

Early Doors

Of Points and Plans!

Game, Set and Match!

Junior School Head of Sport Louis Magee has earned his summer break after leading his enthusiastic and talented minions through a great variety of sports, activities and competitions. Just in the last few weeks, we have seen the Juniors compete and win at football, golf and tennis. The Junior School Football Team played St. Gerard’s […]

Our House!

Somewhere, in the plushly decorated but carbon neutral throne room of The Elders, Mary Robinson is smiling. Why? Because The Elders‘ plans to share dominion over the earth with George Soros are coming to fruition? Well, yes… but also because House Robinson have just been crowned the first ever St. Conleth’s House Champions! Gordon ‘Commissioner’ […]

It is OK to Win!

Fifty Years of St. Conleth’s Women!

Ann Sheppard, as she always does, pulled it off! The end of May is a mad time at every school, but especially at St. Conleth’s, where we have many more awards, shows, matches, parties and ceremonies than your run-of-the-mill school, and there were whispers that the ladies could wait till Autumn… when we would surely […]

And the Winner is…

We cannot seem to cut our ties with the Class of 2024! To be honest, they are just such good company! Two last bits from Graduation to interest you: the complete gallery of Sixth Year Award Winners and the video of the visit to the Hill of Tara, incredibly produced by Mr. Weldon on the […]

Our Talented Youth!

Our TYs are already enjoying their well-earned summer break, but one last bit of news: Milo Smith (International Relations), Daire O’Daly, John Byrne (Physics), Saoirse (Biology & Genetics) and Michael Aherne-Gray (Sports Science) recently graduated from the Centre for Talented Youth’s Early University Entrance Course. At a beautiful ceremony at DCU, Dr. Colm O’Reilly commended the […]

Fifty Years of Co-Education Celebration: Tonight!

We all have our favourite sayings of Kevin Kelleher, ‘Mr. St. Conleth’s’ for so many years. Some of those witticisms have been left behind by the tide of political correctness but most have retained the charm and warmth with which they were first said. “Make way for a naval officer!” still echoes through the halls […]

The Hand of Gord!

Mr. Gordon Weldon never tires in his efforts to encourage St. Conleth’s to embrace the new ‘house system’ and the students responded this year with zeal and enthusiasm. The recently completed House Soccer Tournament was a particularly successful venture and, as you can see from below, the participants quickly formed new allegiances and loyalties. Well […]

Sixth Years, Skip this Article!

Are they gone? Yes, the Sixth Years are home and studying so we will now let you see the evidence of the recent carnage: a treble of emphatic victories for the Staff Team in soccer, basketball and hockey. To be fair, the youngsters did put up a good fight, and at some point in each […]

L’année de Transition, C’est Moi!

If anyone should be allowed some royal hubris, it is Gav Maguire. For five years he has ruled Transition Year… with a velvet glove, only matching the more authoritarian Louis XIV in girth, the love of pastry and the possession of two fine calf muscles. For Gav is a kind master, one who built unbreakable […]

TYs are GO!

Months in the making… multiple diva explosions and walk-outs …. numerous wardrobe malfunctions… the Kirwan twins on the loose: it has been a hectic run-up to the premiere of ‘The Game of Tiaras’, but tonight it will all be worth it! 18:45 in the Performance Hall. See you there, and, in the meantime, enjoy these […]

Glendalough and Chill

We tend to concentrate too much on Sixth Years and Transition Years at this time of year, so we figured we would check in on our media-neglected Fifth Years: they recently enjoyed their ‘Retreat Hike’ with guides Peter and Conor of ‘Mustard Seed Retreats’ in the beautiful, historic environs of Glendalough. A bit of deep […]

A Lyrical Leaving

The beautifully decorated School Hall provided the perfect setting for the fitting finale to the Graduating Class of 2024’s time at St. Conleth’s. Sixth Year Form Teachers Mr. Lonergan and Mr. Coleman presided over a poignant celebration which mixed prayers, music, words of wit and wisdom and a considerable amount of style. Some of the graduates […]

Sportsday: The Motion Picture

A few more highlights from the Senior School Sportsday:

Fun in the Sun at Sportsday!

The exodus from one side of Dublin 4 to the other began soon after Form Class, and though we lost a few stragglers in the meandering back allies and cowpaths of the ‘Ringer’ and Irishtown, most of the students eventually arrived at he splendid sporting facilities of Irishtown Stadium, ready to enthusiastically take part in one […]

Endgame

The weather is fine… exams cannot be far away! Your Senior School Summer Exam Schedule:

The Best of Us…The Last of Us?

Trust the Science! Well, at least, our resident OG Biologist, Mr. Carvill, and his lab rats! Our science students’ rate of success is, well, mushrooming! At the SciFest exhibition and competition they won the Senior Life Sciences Award with Charlie Plant’s project on fungal networks, and the overall runners-up prize with the Second Years’ project […]

Athletics on the Double!

Our Junior Athletics teams were very quick… much quicker than our reporting! Here are some of the 13 medal-winning Conlethian team from the AIJS Championships, a St. Conleth’s hosted event. Well done to the athletes, Junior Head of Sport Louis Magee and the other organisers! And our Senior School Athletes made their mark at the […]

Conleth’s Goes County!

And we bring home the bling! Messrs. (and messers!) Smith and Weldon may hail from counties with rather poor results, lately, but they brought their undeniable GAA pedigree to bear and led Second Year Girls to a scooping of the Scoop Cup!

Young Classicists: The Golden Age!

When we received the list of finalists for the Young Classicist Awards we were thrilled and immensely proud, as it was chock full of Conlethian Young Classicists! And that pride reached hubristic proportions, when our Classics Kids army, 91 hoplites strong, descended upon UCD and carried off the bling, with Fifth Years winning the Senior […]

This how we’ll remember it!

Family, teachers and alumni joined Catherine Prasifka (Class of 2014) at her book launch at Hodges and Figgis. (Yes, that’s big brother John and Michael Coleman of the Class of 2011!) And despite the publishers and the producers hanging on the phone, Catherine still found time to give our Fifth Years a barnstorming creative writing […]

Classroom Based Fun!

In the Spring, a young man’s (and lady’s) fancy lightly turns to thoughts of…. CBAs!! Here, we see the incredibly creative Classroom Based Assesments of Ms. Sree’s First Year Maths Class… taken out of the classroom and into the yard!

Pliny the…

…Younger! Yes, Pliny the Elder, the Commodore of the Imperial Roman Fleet based at Misenum, was the famous eye witness to the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD, but it was Pliny the Younger who actually wrote the letters that preserved that memory, and was the answer to question XXXIV in the Ides of March (and […]

The Debate Goes On!

We have the Leinster (Irish) Debating crown… and we plan on holding it! And what has made St. Conleth’s such a perennial challenger for the Leinster, national and international titles? Our intensely competitive in-house debates, that is! Recently, our next generation of contenders faced off in the McCarthy Cup for First Years with Marty Davitt […]

Gav’s TY Swansong?

‘Graceful’ might be a stretch but Gav Maguire is certainly finishing off his TY Moderatorship in style! Current TYs are about to head off on their Gaisce Hike, and will be very busy with their musical rehearsals when they return, but Gav has already set the stage for next year’s TY class by giving current […]

Art in April!

With JC and LC Art finally in the bag (or, rather, State Examination Commission envelopes), let’s turn the spotlight on the art that Ms. Halpin and her charges get up to, every day of the term. After all, that’s what is all about: creativity and fun! Below you see Fifth Year’s Batik/Embroidery Self-Portraits (Can you […]

Alumni Illuminati!

Lately, we have been overwhelmed with news of Conlethian alumni accomplishments! Tidings of two more just came through the door. Current UCD student, Joshua McCormack (Class of 2021), has been awarded the European Commission Award for Journalism, Relating to European Affairs, at the 2024 National Student Media Awards! Click here to read about his award […]

Bored? Try Board Games!

One of the many good things that Mr. Ronan Carvill has brought to St. Conleth’s is his enthusiasm for board games. We had sporadic starts of a club before, but it was with Mr. Carvill’s wizardly leadership (and frequent cosplay appearances) that this important extracurricular activity really took off. Now, with TY Milo Smith taking […]

Sailors and Gentlemen

Another great day in the long, storied history of St. Conleth’s sailing, but also a tough one. At the Leinster Sailing Schools Final, the Conlethian team made it to the semis, slipping to fourth at the last wave. Competition was fierce. With a delay of two hours at the beginning of the day, the pressure […]

Pitch Perfect!

When Manus Macgearailt (Class of 2020) was studying Music at St. Conleth’s, his own performances were always ‘pitch perfect’… if not always so, his classmates’. When his fellow students would perform, Manus would good-naturedly grin and hum along, for a while… but eventually the unintended variance of one more single, slender note would just be […]

Cúpla Focal!

Curently, Transition Years are deep into preparations for their year-end musical and presentation night, but they still took out time for their love of Irish, preparing for and taking their Fáinne Irish Oral Exam!

Delphi Dip!

And last but not least… it was the First Years turn last week to head west for adventure, this time to Delphi Resort, where the students enjoyed the rough and tumble… and the teachers wallowed in the hot tub! The First Years learned all about the importance of teamwork during their Delphi activities, especially how […]

Tennis…Everyone! (Updated…again!!)

Nestled as we are between the shadow-dappled courts of Herbert Park and the power and prestige of the Fitzwilliam Lawn and Tennis Club, it is rather natural that St. Conleth’s would develop a tennis culture. And, indeed, tennis, like fencing and cricket and the ‘slowest bicycle race’, has been linked with the school since its […]

House Proud!

Mr. Weldon never tires in his efforts to encourage St. Conleth’s to embrace the new ‘house system’ and the students are responding with zeal and enthusiasm. The recently inaugurated House Soccer Tournament is the latest venture and, as you can see from below, the participants have quickly formed new allegiances and loyalties. Well done to […]

Roysh… Love the GAA!

With so many culchies on the staff, it was inevitable that St. Conleth’s would develop a GAA culture. You cannot have a staffroom full of Tipp hurling chat (mostly morose, lately) and the exhortations of an enthusiastic supporter of Nobber Clobber football, without it filtering through to the student population. And of course, Mr. O’Dualing, […]

Francophonic Fun!

Finally… a sensible expenditure of our EU tax contributions! Ms. Crowley, Niall Baneham, Dr. Fallon, Mr. O’Neill, all of our Fifth Year French students (+six especially keen Sixth Years) welcomed a whirlwind visit by a French school from Saint-Nazaire, aided by a grant through an Erasmus Plus Grant (80,000€!) which allows them to organise exchanges, […]

The Debate is Over…

…and the motion has been carried: “That this House declares St. Conleth’s to be the greatest debating school in the land!” We should have laid a few quid down at Paddy Power as the Conlethian contingent at the Leinster Senior Schools Debating Final was always likely to come up trumps (can we still say that?). […]

They Grow Up So Fast!

Let’s face it: Second Year is tough on teachers, parents and, sometimes, on Second Years, themselves. The eager beaver smiles and lamb-gamboling energy of First Year have been altered by the inescapable tide of hormones and now we have some new kind of dangerous creature leering up at us from behind their Chromebooks: teenagers! Well, […]

Last Jolly for our Hockey Heroines!

Our Senior Hockey Team has bowed out in style! Captain Olivia Doyle led the girls to a comprehensive 7-0 victory over Our Lady’s Grove to win the South Dublin Schoolgirls Plate for the second year in a row. Well done to the players and the coaches!

Cecilia on the Double!

Two last treats of Spring from Afterschool and Morning Club Manager Cecilia Franken… also known as St. Conleth’s Czarina of Fun! First up, photos of the good, learning fun that came hopping out of the incubator along with our first batch of Easter Chicks! We think they are the cutest and cuddliest of all of […]

School of Rock!

Yes, as evidenced in the recording below, we perhaps captured too much of that cool and edgy feedback and reverb with which our house bands filled our Performance Space, and we will work on cleaning up the recording, but, nevertheless, our Spring Semester ended on a high note, as our resident roadies/impresarios, Ms. McGuinness and […]

JCT: Leinster Finalists!

The current JCT squad has a great chance of joining a few select years on the top shelf of Gav’s coaching memories: yes, Gav has loved all his teams, and has always put in the maximum effort and care, but, every so often, a squad just comes together in a special way, and the team […]

SnaG: Achoimre!

With the opinion polls forecasting a green wave in the next election, and our local Anglo-Irish street signs looking increasingly fragile, we figured this might one our last chance to trot out our tried, tired and true Seachtain na Gaeilge wrap-up! Shhhh… do yo hear that? It’s Arthur Wellesley, The First Duke of Wellington, rolling […]

Young Classicists, Assemble!

Just in case there is some down time over this break and your Classics-taking child is complaining about being bored… encourage them to take part in this year’s Young Classicists Symposium and Awards! (Details have been emailed to students and parents.) We have won several awards at this competition in recent years, and it is great fun, regardless […]

To Heaven… in Connacht!

Conlethians Raise the Roof!

Ms. McGuinness and Ms. O’Dualing led the St. Conleth’s School Choir to take part in the Emmanuel Concert at The Helix with Transition Year Ben Nolan and Third Year Angelica Mauhay performing showstoppers as soloists. The two were chosen over hundreds of competitors in a nation-wide contest and their colleagues in the choir were only […]

Junior Jumble!

We have been ‘X-ing’ away about our Junior brethren’s many accomplishments and hijinks, but we thought we would bring some of it together in a nice tidy slider! Afterschool and Morning Club Czarina Cecilia Franken (who else?) starts us off with her Chinese New Year Celebrations and relentless (necessarily) Green School ‘encouragement’. Then we have […]

Top of their Class!

We know we punch above our weight in debating, basketball and hockey and the recent run by our Rugby JCT is certainly pleasing the bookies, but where we really annoy the actuaries (some of them our own alumni) is with our academic results. Recently there was tangible evidence of St. Conleth’s academic prowess on show at […]

Fiat Lux!

‘Light’ has been important to us long before we became obsessed with LEDs, backlit Kindles and iPhone ‘torches’. The flickering flame in the cave mouth signalled home and safety and our loved ones have always been the ‘light of our eyes’. Well, ‘light’ featured prominently as our Sixth Form (and friends and families) gathered for […]

JCT Roar into Final!

JCT secured their place in the Leinster League final with a narrow win over a very physical and well-coached Templeogue team. In a cracking game, St. Conleth’s came out on top, 35- 29. Thank you to Wanderers and the IRFU for the use of the back pitch of Lansdowne Road and TY James Gilmore for […]

STEM STARLETS!

Mr. Weldon and select 5th Yrs. recently jolllied off to Buswells Hotel for the Engineers Ireland ‘STEPS Opportunities Leaders’ Forum for young people, with speakers including Minister of State for Education Thomas Byrne attending. A particular goal for the organisation is getting more girls into STEM courses. We have a feeling Kate, Olivia and our […]

PPU… phew!

The good burghers of Greater Ballsbridge and Donnybrook hold their collective breaths every year on the last Friday of February because that is when the carnival comes to town: the Past Pupils Union Annual Dinner is always the liveliest gig in town on that night, and the 2024 version did not disappoint. Well done to […]

Humans of Higher Maths

Our Sixth Years took time out of their busy schedule to compete in the Irish Maths Teachers’ Association Team Competition at Gonzaga. All our teams performed well in the mind-wrecking, compass-bending event, with Team A leading the way: Conleth’s A score: 17/20; Conleth’s B – 10/20; Conleth’s C – 12/20 and Conleth’s D – 7/20. […]

Give Up Not Praying!

What are you ‘giving up’ during Lent? More importantly, what are you ‘taking up’? How about the ability to pray? Mr. Lonergan, with the help of some proactive TYs, is running a ‘prayer workshop’ every Friday during Lent at 13:00 in the Performance Hall. All are welcome!

Science 1-1 Religion

Super School Chaplain Fr. Conor McDonough returned to St. Conleth’s for a Catholic Schools Week talk on ‘Faith vs. Science’. Often invited by good friend Mr. Lonergan, Fr. Conor always manages to hold the students’ attention with his nuanced discussions of faith in the current, slightly warming climate. There were interesting points and stimulating responses: […]

Scyllbidi Toilets!

Culture on the Double! Second and Sixth Years enjoyed a visit to the RHA Gallery where they got to admire (but not use) a Charybdis-powered toilet seat, amidst loads of John Kindness’s Odyssey-inspired creations. And they ran into one of Odysseus’s long lost companions: Ger Cummiskey! Our culture vultures also stopped at the National Gallery […]

*Mock Exams Timetable (adjusted slightly)

The moment you have been waiting for: the JC/LC Mock Timetable! And TYs will be on Work Experience but life (and classes) carry on as normal for the rest of ye!

A Year in Fencing

On the rare occasion that we make it in to No. 28 Clyde Road before the morning bell, we get to enjoy the enthusiastic greeting of the Davitt brothers, Martin and Michael, on the timeless black-and-white tiles of the entrance hall: bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and ready for the day, these boys bring exhibit the old-fashioned charm […]

Last Christmas…

Before we start the new year and the new term… some end-of-term festive highlights, starting with the Senior Christmas Carols Concert. The whole Senior School gathered for the camarederie, the music, Mr. ODulaing’s spoken (and sung) words of wisdom and a fond farewell to Dolores Kelly… but don’t worry, only the expedition leader version!But perhaps […]

Art Aftershocks!

We warned you that there was an avalanche of student art on the way… and it is still rumbling! First up: First Year Food Fantasies! (PLEASE DO NOT EAT!) And Fifth Years’ edgy Batik self-portraits! And, to suit the season, we finish with Second Years’ lino print repeat patterns for Christmas wrapping paper (and a […]

Beach Boys!

The rain paused, the clouds parted and the sun actually shone as Mr. Smith and Mr. Lonergan escorted their Sixth Year Geography students down to Killiney Strand for their annual Field Study. In this country, too many of us retreat indoors post Halloween as the darkness descends and the nimbus clouds cluster… but not the […]

Art Avalanche!

Lately, our All-Ireland champion caretaker Willie has been as busy as Argus Filch… but a lot more charming. Ms. Halpin has handed over a hoard of student-produced art, perfect for ornating our freshly painted walls. Below you see just a few recent examples: lino portrait prints by Second Years of 2022/23 and flower paintings of […]

Maths Magic!

Yes, technically, Maths week was months ago, but like a repeating decimal or pi… Maths never really stops! It has taken us a bit of time to do the final computations in the newsroom but let it be known now that we were delighted to welcome back Past Pupil Colm Mulcahy (Class of 1975): Irish mathematician, […]

JC…LC…Sorted!

Somehow, our Guidance Counsellor ‘Flash’ Gordon Weldon found time to organise Study Skills seminars for our exam years, while simultaneously administering CAT exams to TYs, counselling various students (and several staff members!) on academic, career and wellbeing issues, emceeing the Nobber GFC Holiday Dinner Dance and Raffle, carrying numerous (mostly willing) elderly ladies across Merrion […]

Musicos Take Milan!

Musical theatre, marine marvels and Roman and Renaissance architecture… all was on the itinerary of Ms. McGuinness’s Magical and Musical Fifth/Sixth Year Trip to Italy! Ms. Fay and Mr. O’Neill, maestros in their own right, were also onboard, providing their guidance and expertise. Fair (and posh) Verona was first on the agenda, and the students […]

In Full Voice

Juniors and Seniors combined for one of our most important annual occassions: the School Mass at St. Mary’s of Haddington Rd, when we pray and sing together and remember those we have lost over the last year. Student readers and choristers assisted as Fr. Fachtna presided over a beautiful ceremony. Below, you can see and […]

News in the News!

Sometimes, the news is ‘the news’! The second issue of the St. Conleth’s Junior School Chronicle recently rolled off the fully unionised school printing presses to great fanfare. Once again, Principal/Publisher Brian Nolan and his minions have produced a stylish, polished and literate issue of the local ‘the paper of record’. See a few snippets […]

Debaters, Assemble!

Yes, we punch above our weight at rugby, basketball and hockey… and we are THE fencing school in Ireland…and our knights rule the Leinster chessboards… but when it comes down to picking the one extracurricular activity that defines us, the one arena of engagement where we are (literally) world-beaters, it has to be Debating. The […]

Turkey Time!

Before Santa arrives, we had better pay tribute to the amazing Thanksgiving Dinner which our canteen staff once again laid on for students, staff and extended families. All the sides and fixin’s were on the plate: turkey, ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce, roasties, gravy… even creamed corn! Juniors were served first! Our seniors were a bit […]

A Night at the Opera

Our Musical Maestra Ms. McGuinness, and some sartorially select teachers, escorted the Class of 2024 to to see La Bohème as guests of CEO Mr. Kilcommons in a tradition that was started by Mrs. Patricia Kelleher and stretches back to the very founding of the school. The young ladies and gentlemen did their best to […]

Gavinized!

Before the JCT play (and win) another match we had better pay tribute to the thrills they brought us a couple of weeks ago: the team ran, passed and kicked with abandon in an exciting victory in the Cup over St. Benildus, 30-28. It wasn’t certain till the final whistle in this end-to-end game and, […]

Autumnal Art!

Fresh off her own professional exhibition at the RDS, Junior School Art Teacher Orla Mellon was back in the classroom, encouraging the imagination and developing the skills of her students. This time, it was abstract leaf art! Third, Fifth and Sixth Forms are captured below, combining nature and art!

Rocket Boys (and Girls)!

First Year embraced the spirit of Science Week and, inspired by Messrs. Callaghan, Carvill and Musk, designed, built and launched rockets of various shapes, sizes and aerodynamics! It is rumoured that the US Embassy even sent a helicopter to check things out, such was the pyrotechnics taking place in Herbert Park! The competition was enjoyable […]

Gaeilge 24!

The Irish Department commandeered TY for a day to celebrate Gaeilge 24! Starting with ‘Bricfeasta as Gaeilge’, Mr. ODualing joined in for some Tae agus Plé, followed by a nation-wide Tráth na gCeist, which one of our teams briefly led and finished 9th, in a field of over a míle! But Gaeilge 24was not over […]

Christmas Exam Timetable!

We are having a special Pre-Black Friday Sale at St. Conleth’s : a free Christmas Exam schedule. Enjoy!

Down with the Kids!

And we thought our young, country-strong Guidance Counsellor, ‘Flash’ Gordon Weldon had a rapport with the kids! Well, ‘The Commish’ brought in somebody with an even better connection with our angsty zoomers, than he (if possible): Bailey333, a Cabra-bred singer, performer, songwriter and inspirer, who emphasises the ‘rap’ in ‘rapport’ as he builds up his […]

Champion of Champions!

St. Conleth’s has a long and proud association with the sport of sailing (including an Olympian!) and it looks like we are now once again ruling the waves, with the wind at our backs! Last year, St. Conleth’s won the Irish Schools Team Championship (and the biggest trophy we have ever seen!) but the boys […]

Ghoul School!

There was absolute Halloween Hysteria at St. Conleth’s, again this year! Our women teachers transformed into Sixth Years (and vice versa) and we realised that you can never have too many Gav Maguires. And since this whole mega-holiday started with our native Samhain, our Ghoulish Gaeilge Gals, Ms. Fay and Ms. ODulaing, took on the […]

The Irony of It!

We don’t do ‘Home Economics’ at St. Conleth’s but our students do know how to use an iron, due to Life Skills in TY with Ms. McGuinness. The skill came in handy in Sixth Year Art when the students, after making fabulous batiks, realised their skirts were covered in wax and had to apply some […]

Andy Warhol Looks A Scream!

Our Senior School aesthetes are also stretching their creative horizons… and their legs. Reporting a bit late, but just in time for the Goths’ favourite holiday, here are highlights of Ms. Halpin’s Fifth and Sixth Year Art Classes trip to the Hugh Lane Gallery for the Andy Warhol ‘Three Times Out’ and the Botanic Gardens […]

Elves Already At Work!

Our Junior School Art Teacher Orla Mellon’s pupils are getting ahead of the game for our next, next big holiday, creating their Christmas Card designs for the printers… before even the Great Pumpkin has arrived! Stay tuned for news of the final product and other holiday creations.

Oui Mais… Non!

On Friday 20 October St. Conleth’s French debating team were tasked by the Alliance Française with arguing against the motion: « Le droit de vote devrait être accordé dès l ’âge de 16 ans. » (that is, ‘Argue against giving the vote from the age of 16 years old.’). Led by Captain Russell Bolger, our […]

Maths Week

Principal Brian Nolan extends a big thank you to our Clyde Road neighbours, Engineers Ireland, who invited our Juniors to a fun-filled, fascinating and (at times) confounding morning with guest speaker Mr. Douglas Bucanan. They were wowed by his mathematical knowledge and trickery! We all love Maths Week!

Distinctive Results!

The results are in… and the St. Conleth’s Junior Cycle Class of 2023 did exceptionally well! The Performance Hall was awash with Merits, Higher Merits and Distinctions, with 14 of the last (notoriously difficult to secure!) being split evenly by our two highest-flying students: Jane Sweeney and Anna Carroll. (Mr. Weldon contributed no ‘Distinctions’ to […]

David 6, Goliath 6

Our Mighty Mike of fencing continues to carve his way through the Irish fencing landscape! Last weekend, First Year Michael Davitt competed in the Fencing Ireland “West” Senior Open in Galway (yes, ‘Senior’ as in grown men!) and he scored 6 victories out of 12 pool matches, proceeding directly into the elimination stages, finishing a […]

Give! It Won’t Hurt!

Well, especially if you hit up your parents for the cash monies! St. Conleth’s had two significant fundraisers recently and both were rousing successes. We are so proud of our TYs, who organised and ran with a Bake Sale for Morocco earthquake relief, which raised over €1,125. It was our most successful ‘one breaktime’ fundraiser […]

Adventure Time with Gav!

TYs get up to all sorts of stuff when in the school (specifics on the way!) but it is on their outings that they really benefit from this most ‘special’ of years. And having world-renowned adventurer Gav Maguire as their TY Co-Ordinator, makes these trips all the more exciting, special and donut-accompanied! Last week, it […]

House Buddies!

Style and Substance

The prints are finally back from The Photoshop, so now we can fully share with you the highlights of our Class of 2023 pre-debs reception. The high style was matched only by the good humour and sincere affection for a group of young men and women of whom we are so proud. The Couples Couples? […]

Healthy Minds and Bodies

St. Conleth’s prides itself on educating ‘the whole child’ and the Junior School manages this through a combination of fun and interactive classes, a wide and varied PE programme, competitive sports teams and Mindfulness lessons with the Tower of Soft Power, Louis Magee. Below you see just some of the activities (and healthy non-activities!) the […]

Junior Infants Coffee Morning

The Junior School team are hosting a coffee morning: Friday, October 13th, for prospective Junior Infants, 2024. Please register using the QR code!

On Point!

We read about our rugby heroics below, and soon will have some basketball news, but there is one sport which we have been playing since the ominous autumnal days of 1939: fencing! And the (winning) tradition continues! First Year Michael Davitt won the first event of the Fencing Ireland Youth Competitions Calender, the Lord Killanin […]

Rugby Returns!

Yes, St. Conleth’s is still a ‘rugby school’! Last week, Coach Louis Magee’s undermanned (but, definitely, still manly!) SCT bravely battled to an unlucky two point loss with Sean Weatherley, Diego O’Reilly and Matthew O’Leary leading a full team effort. And Gav Maguire’s JCT came within seconds of a famous victory, settling for a noble […]

Ethos Action!

Our recent assembly and House Launch emphasised the Conlethian ethos… but do we practise what we preach? Our Religion Dept. certainly does! First Years recently enjoyed a reinvigoration of faith with An Tobar Nua. And Second and Third Years rowed in behind them, with open minds and spirits, enjoying retreats run by Net Ministries http://linktr.ee/netireland. […]

Who’s In The House?

Who’s in the house? Well, we know now! St. Conleth’s launched its House System to great buzz, fanfare and fun. Wear your badges proudly: Houses of Sheppard, Kelleher, Crean and Robinson! It started in the hall with a bit of speechifying by the House Heads (a bit too much, in one case!) and then the […]

Statement from The Board

Riverrun…

One of James Joyce’s less indecipherable motifs is the use of the river to explain life’s beguiling but inevitable flow… Well, our First Years are now well around the first bend of their new lives at St. Conleth’s College, and, so far, so great: they have taken to the Conlethian water like ducks! They especially […]

Squires, Arise!

You know you are teaching in a good school when your biggest problem, when on lunch duty patrol, is breaking up illicit chess games in restricted areas of the campus. We once caught a younger Wang and Waldron trading pieces perched on the water tank in the attic…which might relate to our recent water issues […]

Mr. Maguire, I presume?

Dr. Livingstone is long gone, and now there is a kindler, gentler explorer trekking the varied landscapes of Africa: our very own Mr. Gav Maguire! And gone too is the weighty baggage of messianic zeal and cultural imperialism: Mr. Maguire’s expeditions (with the considerable help of True Adventures) are an exquisitely crafted mix of adventure […]

Junior Stars!

In St. Conleth’s Junior School we value teamwork and camaraderie above all, but that does not mean we do not acknowledge or reward individual effort and excellence… especially if it is as part of a power pop performance! So, let’s wrap up our end-of-term Junior School Award Winners. First up, our Irish Board Speech and […]

Stars of Summer!

While the rest of us were catching rays or dodging raindrops this summer, some of our more students were a bit more active and ambitious: in fact, representing their country in sporting competition! Three of our incoming Fifth Years and one TY were flying the Irish flag as they took the field (or track). Our […]

Student Academic Awards 2023

No Buzz Aldrins, here! Everyone likes to win but sometimes, especially in Ireland, we have a difficulty in recognising and applauding excellence. We prefer the hard-luck story, the near-misses, the lovable-lad-who-is-about-to-be-lapped… the Buzz Aldrin over the Neil Armstrong. Faced with greatness, we feel as awkward as that NASA official when he had to pick a […]

A Fond Farewell

The beautifully decorated School Hall provided the perfect setting for the fitting finale to the Graduating Class of 2023’s time at St. Conleth’s. Mr. ODulaing and Ms. Hopkins presided over a poignant celebration which mixed prayers, music, words of wit and wisdom and a considerable amount of style. Some of the graduates have been at the […]

Soccer Stars!

The clouds parted, the sun shone and the kids came out to play! The Junior School had their annual Football Tournament on Friday, where the new Messis and Ronaldos (and Katie McCabes!) were on show. Great weather, great football and some treats at the end! Well done to Head of Junior School Sport Louis Magee, […]

Serving the Net!

Junior School Head of Sport Louis Magee was not going to let the Seniors grab all the tennis headlines! And he is always eager to get his charges to stop ‘surfing the net’ and get outside in the sun and the breeze (and sometimes the rain)and have some good, old-fashioned sporting fun, so it was […]

Tennis Team Triumphant!

St. Conleth’s Boys are Division 3 Junior Tennis Champions! They beat Ard Scoil Ris 3-2 in a tense final. Captained by TY Joe Kelleher, this may be the start of a new golden age, last seen when Joe’s brother Lorcan (2008), Alex Hamilton (06) and the English brothers (06-07) dominated the Herbo nets. Mr. Lonergan […]

The End of the Debate

We were a bit hasty when we declared ‘the end of the debate’ a few days back… we have one more ‘point of information’ regarding our No. 1 extracurricular activity! For Second Years Peter Murphy and Ciarán Doyle have returned from Cambridge University, after having finished so high in a National Irish Mace debate that […]

Sixth Years Win… Soccer Jersey Competition

Back when Saturday Night Live was known more for its comic genius than woke nonsense, the Billy Crystal-created character, Fernando Lamas, would regularly and hilariously opine: “It is better to look good than to feel good”. And, it being America in the 1980s, most of the TV (television) audience missed the irony and did their […]

Sun and Fun at Sportsday 2023!

The exodus from one side of Dublin 4 to the other began immediately after Form Class, and though we lost a few stragglers in the meandering back allies and cowpaths of the ‘Ringer’ and Irishtown, most of the students eventually arrived at he splendid sporting facilities of Irishtown Stadium, ready to enthusiastically take part in one […]

Hockey Hits Heights… Again…and Again!

St. Conleth’s Senior Hockey team won the Dublin South Schoolgirls League, beating Sandford Park, Sion Hill, Our Lady’s Grove…and Sandford again in the Final! Yes, that’s 4-0 on the afternoon! This is the first time St. Conleth’s Hockey have ever won at senior level! The girls (and Ms. Speller) were delighted, especially the Sixth years […]

Exit Stage… Left?

Now the seats are all empty./Let the roadies take the stage./Pack it up and tear it down… Well, someone failed to tell our resident rockstars, Pants on Fire… who just refused to relinquish the stage and the mic and continued to give their fans healthy doses of feedback and reverb as the 2023 edition of […]

Jitterless Juniors Join the Joy!

One on One. 1 vs. 1.: in sport, it does not get any more dramatic than that. And Ms. Speller’s teams excel at these mano a mano (or stick on stick) combats, showing nerves of steel. Maybe it is because of Ms. Speller’s training regimes which would probably be banned by the Navy Seals, including […]

Mr. Maguire, I presume?

Dr. Livingstone is long gone, but there is now a kindler, gentler explorer trekking the varied landscapes of Africa: our very own Mr. Gav Maguire! And gone too is the weighty baggage of messianic zeal and cultural imperialism: Mr. Maguire’s expeditions (with the considerable help of True Adventures) are an exquisitely crafted mix of adventure […]

Seachtain na Gaeilge, An Dara Cuid!

Shhhh… do yo hear that? It’s Arthur Wellesley, The First Duke of Wellington, rolling in his grave! Why? Because, during Seachtain na Gaeilge, even a school which lies at the top of Waterloo and Wellington Roads is very proud to come out ‘all Irish’! Not that our Irish Department has ever been shy about celebrating our native […]

Picture at an Exhibition

Fifth Year Ciara Thornton won Second Prize in the U-18s at the Ranelagh Art Exhibition Schools Art Competition! Her masterpiece is available to view for the next 10 days in the gallery just under the bridge at the Ranelagh LUAS Station. Ms. Halpin, and all of us, are very proud of Ciara!

Avast, Ye!

The St. Conleth’s Sailing Team was in action last weekend at the Leinster Schools Team Racing 2023 Championships at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire. The team did quite well despite a difficult draw and tough weather conditions, as well as missing their usual handy helmsman, Daniel O’Connor, managing to win two of five […]

Gang Gaeilge!

St. Conleth’s múinteoirí Gaeilge are in full Seachtain na Gaeilge mode… with some classic Irish weather in accompaniment! First up: the Poc Fada down at Herbert Park. Ms. Fay, Ms. Dorman and Ms. ODualing were impressed with the hidden hurling talents of their Sixth Years. And the múinteoirí even had time to run a Tráth Na […]

Alby ἄργῠρος!

Silver-tongued Alby rocks the Young Classicist Symposium! When word was heard in the ἀγωγή, the military camps of Sparta, that a massive Persian army was heading for the mountain pass of Thermopylae, no hesitancy was shown and the young men bravely marched towards their glorious destiny. So, too, did the courageous and loyal Classics students […]

Hockey Hysteria!

Cup? Shield? Plate? League? All of the above, please. Well, that is the attitude of Ms. Speller and the hockey girls towards postseason play! We can barely keep up with the pre-quarters, quarters, semis and (hopefully) finals that the various teams have been involved in! Punching above our weight (and numbers) Conelthian hockey teams have […]

A Natural Double

The scientist and the theologian have had their differences over the years, but most of both persuasions would agree on one thing: being out in nature is the place to be for any deep thinking of any kind. Last week, Mr. Lonergan and Mr. Carvill did just that: retreating to the bucolic hinterland to do […]

Art Matters!

Ms. Mellon’s Third Class Art Pupils get creative in preparation for an upcoming important parental recognition day… we don’t want to ruin the surprise! And Ms. Halpin’s First Years learn some embroidery skills… perhaps enabling them to take on some of the domestic work currently being done by a parental unit!

And the Nominees Are…

Alby Crowley and Ollie West! Yes, two Conlethians are in the news for getting nominated for special awards! Our resident Renaissance Man, Sixth Year Ollie West, has been nominated by the Irish Film and Television Academy for ‘Leading Actor’ for his performance in The Sparrow… and just look at the company he is keeping! And […]

Alas! Conlethians Cede the Rostrum

Cicero, the greatest orator of the Late Roman Republic, and perhaps of any age, tested the limits of the power of rhetoric, and he found them a bit closer than he expected: his incendiary verbal condemnation of the supporters of the rebel Catiline wowed his fellow senators, Gallic emissaries and generations of Latin and ‘Speech […]

PPU… phew!

Denizens of Greater Ballsbridge and Donnybrook hold their collective breaths every year on the first Friday of March because that is when the carnival comes to town: the Past Pupils Union Annual Dinner is always the liveliest gig in town on that night, and the 2023 version did not disappoint. The members of our PPU, […]

Enormous Fun During Book Week!

For boys and girls, mothers and fathers… really, everyone and anyone… is there more fun to be had than the simple pleasure of the black and white page of a good book? Or even better, a book with pictures! The Junior School’s Book Week 2023 saw spontaneous D.E.A.R. (drop everything and read) time, our book […]

The PPU are Coming!

Actually, the bad, old days, when the looming Annual Dinner of the Past Pupils Union was viewed by Mr. Kelleher and the other respectable burghers of Ballsbridge like a Viking warship somehow navigating up the Dodder, are far behind us. Now, under the steady guidance of PPU President Peter O’Neill and the omnipotent and omnipresent PPU High Priest […]

Conlethians Take Centre-Stage!

Ms. McGuinness and Mr. O’Neill led the St. Conleth’s School Choir to take part in the Emmanuel Concert at The Helix with Third Year Hannah Murphy performing a showstopper as a soloist. Hannah was chosen over hundreds of competitors in a nation-wide contest and her colleagues in the choir were only too happy to offer […]

Loquacious Lords of Leinster!

Conlethians continue to dominate debating with two of our teams making the Senior Finals (Coleman Hegarty & Turlough Dineen and Lochlan Flynn & Finley O’Dea) and Milo Smith qualifying as an individual for the Junior Quarters! Well done to all our debaters, and The General Secretary of Debating, Rory O’Sullivan!

Pro Arte et Natura!

Our Arts & Environment hero! Fifth Year Ciara Thornton has been chosen by the Ranelagh Arts Competition to have her work framed and presented in their exhibition…. and, as our Green Schools chief, she has joined Cecilia of the Junior School in spearheading our green clean-up!

This is St. Conleth’s

At times, we may joke about some of the quirky characters this great school attracts and fosters (staff as well as students) but we would not have it any other way. There is an essence, an elixir, distilled and adjusted over 84 years which Conlethians both create and develop and it was served up in […]

Semper Fi!

SCT Coach Louis Magee, Captain Michael Donnelly and the few but proud long-time members of the team finally reaped what they long deserved: a victory on the field. They had already won in the sense of building skills and a strong sense of camaraderie, forging friendships that will last a lifetime, but it was a […]

What Are You ‘Giving Up’?

They’ll know we are Christians by our love… and our ashes! Last week, Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Lonergan led a considerable (100+) Conlethian contingent of the willing down to St. Mary’s Church to receive ashes and mark the beginning of Lent, but that, of course, marked only the beginning of the forty days leading up […]

Debaters of St. Conleth’s, Unite!

Conlethian debaters have certainly made their mark as individuals. Scroll downwards (and in older Conlethian annals) for the exploits of Daniel Gilligan, Conor White, Kevin Roche, Liam Brophy and other They-People, Masters of the Debating Universe. But it is as equal parts of a dynamic duo, a titanic tandem, a binary barnstormer… that our orators […]

A-macing Debaters!

At St. Conleth’s, the debate never ends! Fifth Year Lochlan Flynn and Transition Year Finley O’Dea are joining Fifth Year Turlough Dineen and Sixth Years Coleman Hegarty and Leo Nolan in tonight’s round of the Leinster Finals. That’s two teams and an individual from one school: unheard of in the annals of school debating (except […]

Noblesse Oblige

And King Brian ‘The Benign’ Nolan and Holy Conlethian Emperor Tony ‘The Terrible’ (in a good way) Kilcommons did decideth to hold a tournament to testeth the mettle of the young knights (and ladies) of the Junior School. Entry to the the tournament was open to all, and many rounds were fought with a multitude […]

825 Leaving Certificate Points?

7, 8… 9 is Enough! Yes, guitarist Nigel Tufnel infamously managed to turn the volume on his amp ‘up to eleven’ but only our very own Caraíosa O’Farrell (Class of 2022) has managed to turn the Leaving Certificate points haul up to 825.! Yes, that is nine ‘H1s’ , or, for the boomers out there: nine […]

They Know The Ropes!

The St. Conleth’s Sailing Team were back in action on the waves and in the wind, as they put in an impressive performance at the Shanahan Cup competition. The team won 3 out of 5 races, working the ropes and the sails with great skill and effort, but not quite well enough to win the […]

Arise, Squires!

The Senior basketballers have justly grabbed much of our attention this week but how about another of our characteristic sports? Yes, Chess! The Seniors are still dining out on their victory over Gonzaga and now the Juniors have joined the party, welcoming Willow Park for a mini chess tournament. After 25 games, St. Conleth’s came […]

TYs Go To Work!

A last bit of Transition Year news before midterm. First, a couple of shots of one of their last activities before their Work Experience fortnight: some free-wheeling but also Gaeilge-Growing ‘Seó Bóthair’ fun with Ms. ODulaing. And then we have snaps of two TYs who are doing their Work Experience on the home-front: Scott Herbots […]

Above the Rim

In a relatively short time, we have grown accustomed to continued success for our basketball teams, and sometimes that can be a heavy burden to bear. Not that you can tell from the play of these boys! St. Conleth’s Basketball has consistently been winning trophies for years now, a tremendous tribute to coaches Sean Ingle […]

St. Brigid on the Double!

What did you do for the first officially upgraded St. Brigid’s Day? Well, we teachers were thrilled to have an extra day for marking papers and lesson planning but before we left for the long weekend, our Gaeilge and Religion classes, both, made environmentally sensitive St. Brigid crosses, symbolising the dual springs of our culture. […]

Catholic Schools Week ++

Like Seachtain na Gaeilge, our Catholic Schools Week celebrations demanded extra room and time! It all started two weeks ago with our traditional St. Bridget’s Day Assembly, where the inspirational words of the ODulaing/Gallagher duo and musical and prayerful accompaniment from the students. themselves set the right tone. Then we got to work on the […]

Juniors Ready to Ruck and Roll!

More news and sparkling photos from Junior School parent Cahir Davitt: our combined Fifth and Sixth Form Rugby Team beat Willow Park, 5 tries to 4. That’s some reflection on the great job Louis Magee and the other Junior School rugby coaches are doing, but it is also great news for Senior School Rugby: more […]

Of Lawyers and Reptiles

Our Transition Years are currently on two weeks of Work Experience and we miss them dearly. Before they left, they were involved in an especially hectic flurry of activity, not that there is ever a dull moment throughout the year when TY Co-Ordinator Gav Maguire is at the helm. He, and trusty sidekick Mr. Morris, […]

SCT Lose a Close One

The SCT battled bravely but lost on a last minute try, 27-24, to Patrician-Newbridge with Matthew O’Leary and Fionán Power our star players on the day. Coach Louis Magee and Captain Michael Donnelly are leading the boys to a strong finish to the season and they have high hopes for the last two league matches […]

I Could Make That!

Yes, any visit to a museum or gallery of contemporary art, for the relatively uninitiated, inevitably leads to grunts of ‘I could make that’ and ‘That’s not art’ and, to be honest, in a previous life and at a different museum, when trying to appreciate a masterpiece entitled’ Self-Portrait’ but only seeing ourselves in a […]

TYs: All Heart!

Ms. Halpin has sparked the romantic side of TY, and they have responded with handcrafted St. Valentine’s Day love-heart sculptures. And these are not mere scribbles of ‘Gav + Richie’ on the journal back cover but full-scale tripartite art projects: First, the sketched… Then, the raw…emotions and clay… And… The Cooked! (and The Painted). But […]

Hockey Hysteria!

Ms. Speller’s Hockey Minions are on the march! Our valiant First Years lost to traditional powerhouse St. Andrew’s in their first ever 11-a-side game, playing well with Anna Sweeney the player of the game. Our Seniors As lost to Muckross 4-1 despite a tremendous team effort and a goal by Juliet Donnelly while Juliet joined […]

Enabled!

Led by Cecilia, our Czarina of After-School, Morning Club and Fun, our whole Junior School welcomed the school visit team from Enable Ireland. Through information and lots of hands-on fun activities they conveyed clearly the challenges but also the triumphs of living with a disability to our students, who enthusiastically listened, learned and took part. […]

Rhetoric: A Conlethian Constant

Conlethian debaters rocked the rostrum… again! In the Leinster Schools Senior Competition, Coleman Hegarty and Turlough Dineen (as a team) and Leo Nolan (as an individual) qualified for the Quarterfinals debating “Slum Tourism in the Third World” with Saoirse Corry narrowly missing out. This ‘edgy’ topic was right down the alley for our debaters, who […]

Juniors: All Sorts of Sports!

Head of Junior School Sport Louis Magee keeps a variety of sporting adventures on tap for the younger Conlethians. Of course, rugby is still important: Louis reports of wins for 4th and 5/6th Form over Willow last weekend and, previously, 5th Form took part in a mini-blitz where they beat both St. Mary’s and St. […]

Hockey Hangs In!

We knew Ms. Speller would not keep quiet after all our excitement over basketball, rugby and chess: she rightfully reminds us that we have had another major sport at St. Conleth’s these last few years. Coach Speller’s Hockey Hordes have found it tougher this year as they have moved up the leagues but they still […]

Are You Being Served?

Well, yes, if our TYs are in the house! Fiona from Hospitality Skills came in to our TYs last Thursday and taught the students how to set a table, take an order, carry plates, absorb customer feedback and extort larger tips… just to name a few useful and potentially lucrative skills they picked up!

We Still Know How to’Ruck’ and Roll!

Enough of that dunking nonsense! We all know that the oblong ball still rules at St. Conleth’s! (Until Ms. Speller tells us differently…) Here we see our JCT and SCT, looking good with extra Christmas padding, before recent tough but rewarding matches vs. Newpark and Templeogue. It has been a tough year for the SCT […]

Young Scientist Fun!

1st, 2nd and 4th Years all enjoyed their visits to the Young Scientist Exhibition at the RDS, especially these First Years with some hands-on science and, perhaps, a taste of possible career paths? Regarding possible careers, we think this First Year is definitely destined for greater things, but he does make a fine smoothie… and […]

Hannah’s Sweet Song of Success

You heard our School Choir in action earlier this year at our School Mass (replayed below), and Third Year Hannah Murphy featured prominently. Then it is no surprise that Hannah has has been chosen, after very competitive auditions, as a Dublin Diocese Emmanuel Concert soloist. Hannah will represent our school on March 3rd at The […]

POSTERIZED!

Conlethian hoops historians are welcome to correct us, but we do believe that below you see the first ever recorded in-game Conlethian dunk, as James Power led the U16s into the All-Ireland Quarterfinals. Skywalking alumnus Mark Ryan (2014) certainly threw them down with style at practice but do we have Kodachrome evidence of an in-game […]

See You Next… Week?

We enjoyed the lighthearted but pointed comment by our local parish priest when he jested that there would be better seats available for Mass on the Sunday after Christmas if we cared to come back, and though he did blunt the barb with an honest appreciation for even seasonal attendance, he would definitely take heart […]

Episode I: The Mock Exams

Every great work needs its prequel! Just see (or click) below for the full timetable for this year’s Junior and Leaving Certificate Mock Exams, which begin on Monday, the 30th of January, for Sixth Years and on Wednesday, the 1st of February, for Third Years. Students should certainly familiarise themselves with the Exam Guidelines, which […]

Minutes of the Central Debating Committee

The problem with many left wing organisations is that they never really get to even the first stage of the promised land: the much lauded, but never actualised ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’. Oh, we get the dictatorship… but instead of a co-operative committee of open-minded postmen, economists and butchers’ assistants, we just get the butcher […]

Don’t Fence Us In!

The ancient and noble art of Fencing has been linked with St. Conleth’s since its earliest days and we have been remiss in reporting on the latest Conlethian ripostes and parries. Yes, we lost two world class fencers when Claudio Sosa and Jame Moriarty-Smyth moved on last May, but there is more talent on the […]

Maggie’s Classics Coup!

Conlethian alumna Maggie Tighe (Class of 2019) was recently presented with one of the most selective and competitive international academic prizes. Maggie’s research combined her two loves of Classics and Music and it earned her a Global Undergraduate Awards, one of only 25 given… in the whole world! Each year thousands of students from around […]

Nocted Out!

When current Marian College Basketball Coach (and teacher) Eoin ‘Trust Me, I’m a…’ Noctor wandered these halls as a student (Class of 2011), he was considered by some teachers, mostly of the female persuasion, to be ‘a lovable rogue’. Others just deemed him ‘a rogue’. Maybe it was due to his combination of stylish ringlets, […]

Alex Yusko

Class of 2016

Nobber Clobbers D4

Maybe ‘cultural context’, the bête noire of the Sixth Years’ English Paper II, actually does matter, as the country boys on the Staff Soccer Team casually worked on their farmer tans while stylishly pinging the ball around the pitch and into the net, and the callow youths of Ballsbridge and Blackrock frantically but futilely raced […]

The End of the Debate… almost!

Actually, we still have the McCarthy Cup for First Years to be won, but all the rest of the St. Conleth’s Senior School Debates have been run and won, and some new names will now be etched alongside all the past greats on the Kinlen and Gardner Cups and the Bouchier-Hayes and Francis John Barrett […]

STEM+ Story

When Eric Borguet (Captain, 1981) returned to St. Conleth’s, in the company of Principal Emeritus Peter Gallagher, he was impressed with attitude and aptitude of our students and, after a tour with Deputy Principal Angelina Hopkins, the improvements in the school campus since his time at No. 28 Clyde Road. As a Professor of Chemistry […]

Diana Spencer

Class of 1987

Remembering Neil

Neil Quinlan passed away tragically while on a Transition Year hiking trip in April 2013. Neil was only at St. Conleth’s for Transition Year but in that short time he truly became one of our own: his fellow classmates and his teachers still attest to his infectious enthusiasm and friendliness and a laugh with which […]

Some of this is Serious!

For it is not every day of the week that a Conlethian alumna has a book launch! We joined Catherine Prasifka (2014), brother John (2011), Mr. Seamus Gallagher, parents (Sunniva and Bill) and friends (such as Michael Coleman (2011) at Hodges Figgis to celebrate the publication of None of this is Serious, Catherine’s debut novel […]

The Bells Toll for Pierre

Maurice O’Reilly (Class of 1973) organised for the bells of St. Patrick’s Cathedral to be rung in honour and memory of his fellow Past Pupil, Pierre Zakrzewski, Monday afternoon. Pierre will be remembered explicitly both in the belfry and downstairs on the floor of the cathedral. Pierre’s name has been entered in writing in the […]

Pierre

If you can judge a man’s fortune by his friends, Pierre Zakrzewski was indeed a lucky man: such was the number, variety and sincerity of those gathered to bid him their final farewell. But maybe this was more causal than coincidence. Pierre did not just attract interesting, interested and passionate people: his friendship with them […]

Esmonde Corbet

Class of 1970

Masters of the Universe

Never mind The Skull and Bones, The Bullingdon and The Stonecutters: the most exclusive and powerful club in the land is the St. Conleth’s Past Pupil Debating Society! No, it is not officially listed anywhere, and charter members such as Ian Hastings (2006) and Michael O’Dwyer (2010) may well deny their membership, wary of alienating […]

Pierre Zakrzewski: Our Man in…

Kabul. Syria. Kashmir. Leopardstown. Caracas. Baghdad. Sudan. Liberia. Kyiv. St. Conleth’s College is used to having ‘far-flung’ alumni, with impromptu Past Pupil reunions regularly springing up all over the globe, but Pierre Zakrzewski must have set the record for geographical variety during his incredible but all-too-short life and career. But wherever Pierre was calling from, […]

Pierre Zakrzewski: Rest in Peace

It is with great sadness that St. Conleth’s College acknowledges the tragic passing of Past Pupil Pierre Zakrzewski (Class of 1984) in Ukraine. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Shay: The Pied Piper of St. Conleth’s!

One of the more pleasant sights and sounds that we witness daily from the covid-opened staffroom door is the one-and-only Mr. Shay Keenan leading a merry troop of Preparatory School students down to the sports hall… Shay being a central part of St. Conleth’s for nigh on a half a century, and showing no sign […]

Jack Quann

Class of 2003

Rugby Rises Again!

Yes, St. Conleth’s still plays rugby… and we play it darned well! All that bball and hockey talk must take a backseat as Gav Maguire (Class of 1990) and his JCT are back to winning ways! Here, Gav gives us his spirited match report: Our JCT got off to winning ways in the Junior Thirds […]

Luke Drops Another Dime

The big man with the knack for a pass has been around since the dollar Bills, Russell and Walton, led their respective NBA teams to glory by judiciously giving it up to a teammate as often as stuffing it in the hoop. Luke Gilleran (Class of 2021) was just that kind of player for St. […]

Tom Hennigan

Class of 1990

The Fairest of Them All!

We love and miss all our alumni: we really do! In fact, some alumni are like certain vintages of wine: they take time to mature, and what we thought rather brash and bold back in the day, turns out to be mellow and deep when unearthed anew. And, yes, some just turn to vinegar… but […]

An Olympian in the Making

Some people’s 10% is better than others’ 100%. Or in Ronan Roche Griffin’s case, 3% can trump 100%, when applied with spirit and talent. Ronan never let his childhood cancer, which left him with 3% of vision, and in only one eye, get him down. We remember a young Ronan Roche Griffin lighting up his […]

Triumph Through Trauma

We have been personally involved in the production of the last four St. Conleth’s ‘quinquennials’, our every-five-years collection of Conlethian memories, tributes and polemics; and we have enjoyed the reading and editing of these diverse collections, with contributions coming from all over the globe, from all types of personalities (albeit, all quirky Conlethians) and a […]

St. Conleth’s Alumni News

St. Conleth’s College Alumni News ISSUE 10/2021

Classical Kellehers!

The Kellehers, from Lorcan (Class of 2008) through to Joe (2025) have been, and still are, are an essential part of the St. Conleth’s culture and community. In between Lorcan and Joe, there were John (2019) and the shining sisters pictured below: Bridget (2011), Lois (2017), Mary (2015) and Rita (2022). They are seen on […]

Holier Than Now

Yes, by Saturday afternoon, all these little devils will be a good bit holier, having made their First Holy Communion at St. Mary’s Church. To be fair, they deserved the chance to let off a bit of steam, having missed out on so much, including this important sacrament, because of Covid, and even now, with […]

Jack Kirwan

Class of 2014

Monkeys go to Uni!

One more bit of ‘results news’: if ‘Monkey (or Piggy) in the Middle’ were an Olympic sport, these boys would be medal contenders! Over their years at St. Conleth’s, every chance they got, they took: to grab an old rugby ball and find a spot between the school management’s late model executive salons and play […]

Of Points and Plans!

There is nothing wrong with a bit of friendly competition, especially when the end result is a shared victory. On Leaving Certificate Results Day, in a sense, everyone is a winner as everyone gets that piece of paper which serves as a key in unlocking their future. Obviously, there is always a range of results […]

John Carvill

Class of 1982

Ann Sheppard Takes a Break

Ann Sheppard was the first person we met upon arriving at St. Conleth’s for an interview in the summer of 1997 and the impressions made on that day really have not changed over the intervening years: Ann was warm, honest, good-humoured and inspiring; qualities which were still on display at her last ‘official’ act as […]

The Artist Formerly Known as Cassia

Cosha… Bonzai… Cassia... the name may have changed but the undeniable talent and irresistible charm have remained consistent, even while the level of success has skyrocketed. Yes, Cassia O’Reilly, of the Class of 2013, is making waves in the music world to an extent not seen for a Conlethian alumni since Conor O’Brien/Villagers (2001). Cassia […]

Summer Snippets

During that recent relatively welcome blast of global warming, while the rest of us were at the beach, dodging plagues of jellyfish and ‘sea-swimmers’, Development Co-Ordinator Ellen Long and Design Guru Charles Crimmins (1990) were beavering away on various ‘PR’ and alumni relations duties, including this stunning Summer Newsletter. Enjoy and stay tuned for the […]

A Fond Farewell

With the last words scribbled into the Leaving Certificate answer booklets, and the sun shining on Ballsbridge and its environs, it was time to give Chefs Mark and Emerson the signal so they could fire up the BBQ and get the Class of 2021’s sedate but extremely satisfying sayonara started. The setting was the quaint, […]

Ronan Murphy

Class of 1969

A New, True Conlethian Legacy

The front steps of No. 28 Clyde Road have always been a favourite spot for the photographic capture of significant moments in the lives of Conlethians and recently another one entered the Kodachrome honour roll of the school’s history. On a fine spring afternoon, Garrett O’Neill (Class of 1976), Dargan Fitzgerald (1975) and Richard (Dick) Barrett […]

A Different Class! X 2!

The St. Conleth’s College Graduating Classes of 2020 and 2021 will always be linked by their shared experience of the pandemic that wrecked havoc on what should have been one of the best times of their lives. They will also be forever linked by the qualities of loyalty, togetherness and resiliency which they displayed throughout […]

Catherine Caught Them All!

It is never easy following older siblings into a school: teachers invariably make repeated, glowing references to the senior members of the clan and implore the new arrival to ‘measure up’ to the family legacy; often these comparisons are nostalgia-tinged and fuzzy, owing more to the teacher’s futile attempts to stop the march of time […]

Doctors in the House!

Worried about post-Covid Ireland’s health and all those waiting lists that have trebled during the lockdowns? Don’t be! For two Conlethian Past Pupils are now qualified doctors and on the job! Patrick Creechen (Class of 2012) and Sean Allen (Class of 2015) recently graduated from the UCD School of Medicine and Patrick has already seen […]

Friends Reunited

Do you remember when people used to ‘visit’? As in people besides the ones whom you have seen every day for the last 14 months and, frankly, of whom you are getting a bit tired? Neighbours, relatives, friends… and international students like Conal Richrads? Well, things are finally opening up again and hopefully that means […]

Catherine Prasifika

Class of 2014

Peru: The Sequel!

Can it really be twenty years ago that Dr. Garrett Campbell, full-time Physics teacher and part-time adventurer, took a group of eager, naive Conlethians halfway across the world to Peru and the experience of a lifetime? Seems like yesterday to some of us, but the world has changed immeasurably since then, including the concept of […]

Greta Loves Mr. Gahan!

But then again, who doesn’t? Our swashbuckling, surfboarding, golden-maned young English teacher (and alumnus) is a credit both to both his Conlethian colleagues and his former teachers (some doubling up there), and he is approaching deity status amongst the current student population. But we fear his latest adventure will draw international attention and the UN […]

Class of 2020: Full Zoom Ahead!

All this talk about a ‘lost generation’ of young people, whom have been irreparably marred by the Covid catatrophe and destined for a life on the analyst’s couch, seems a bit over-the-top if the resiliency, optimism and sheer quality of our Class of 2020 graduates are anything to judge by. On Friday, they had their […]

Remembrance of Things Past

Mr. Porzadny, guru to the stars (of St. Conleth’s students and staff) also has a day job as a French teacher. And Julien brings the same enthusiasm and joi de vie, which characterises his Mindfulness sessions, to his language lessons. He also, like the rest of us, caught the nostalgia bug during lockdown, so he […]

David Kelly

Class of 1980

Alex Hamilton

Class of 2006

Dervilla Mitchell

Class of 1976

Local Legend

Actually, Mr. Kevin Kelleher, St. Conleth’s esteemed (and dearly missed) former headmaster and principal, is famous on a national and international level: surely, the man himself told you about the day a certain All Black was issued his walking papers? But Mr. Kelleher is also a local legend, and though he may hail originally from […]

One Shining Moment!

January 8th, 2016. Covid can’t take away our memories or our hopes for the future. TY Eric Lawless recalls one of the greatest games in St. Conleth’s rugby history and certainly the greatest touchline celebration! Vinnie Murray Cup: Conleth’s v Castleknock Match Report by Eric Lawless Team sheets: Castleknock: Cathal Lacey (15), Andrew Hobson (14), […]

Aluminating!

Charles Crimmins (Class of 1990) is the man behind Crimmins Visual Communications and all the more impressive parts of this website. Lately, Charles, and our multi-talented Development Co-Ordinator Ellen Long, have been particularly busy bringing light and a deft touch to publicising the various adventures of our far-flung alumni. Click here, or on the Alumni […]

Lukas Houdek

Class of 1995

Use Your Noggin!

Did that gust of wind almost blow you back to Ballybrack? Are you freezing when you step outside in Firhouse? Shivering in Shankill? What you need is a Noggin! Turns out Greta was a bit premature with her doomsaying and it is still mighty cold outside. Yes, It-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named loves the cold… but we do not! […]

Peter the Great’s Library!

In these touch-less times, there are many things of which we miss the ‘feel’: from the simple, friendly handshake to the warm, affectionate hug to the satisfyingly thumping tighthead’s tackle… we have realised that ‘touch’ is, in some ways, our most important sense. And how about the touch, ‘feel’ of a real book? Maybe a […]

Covid Blues?

Yes, we are all singing that sad little song, but one way to change the tune is to understand the virus better, and to investigate the psychological costs of the various restrictions put in place to combat it. Could the cure actually be worse than the illness? First Year Jamie MacNicholas has taken on the […]

Rockett Men!

Like twin Apollos (or Sputniks, if you are more that way inclined) the Rockett brothers have blazed across the artistic firmament of St. Conleth’s. The elder model, Matthew (Class of 2019), was a permanent highlight of our various school concerts, culminating in his virtuoso piano performances of his own avant garde compositions in Sixth Year. […]

2020: A Fine Vintage!*

Updated with more photos and destinations! Aside from seeing graduating students achieving their desired university places, one of the chief joys of teaching is receiving the heartfelt thanks of these departing pupils. Last May, these Thank Yous were especially welcome, as they were inexplicably accompanied by brown envelopes stuffed with cash! In all seriousness, the […]

Citizen Sweeney

During the lockdown, the rest of us may have been lost in South Korean detective series or faithfully following the adventures of Oklahoman zoo-keepers, but Rory Sweeney (Class of 2018) was too busy putting the finishing touches on his second year film, a significant step in his progress towards earning his National Film School BA […]

See You on the Thames!

Lockdown loosens… random alumni encounters begin again! We ran into Daniel Gilligan (Class of 2016) and his lovely girlfriend, Aishling, in the old Herbo and aside from trading snide comments about STEM guys (to the bemusement of Aishling, a Physics major) we also learned that Daniel is about to begin a Master’s in Law at […]

Sports Day… Redux!

The exodus from one side of Dublin 4 to the other began at break-time, and though we lost a few stragglers in the meandering back allies and cowpaths of the ‘Ringer’ and Irishtown, most of the students eventually arrived at he splendid sporting facilities of Irishtown Stadium, ready to enthusiastically take part in one of our […]

There Are 86 Attendees in the Waiting Room…

The first ever St. Conleth’s ‘Zoomed’ Graduation Ceremony was a smash hit! Yes, we will have a more formal affair in the Fall, but this student-produced, standing-room-only variety show was chock full of nostalgic humour and poignancy, from heartfelt advice from management and teachers through honest expressions of appreciation from the graduates to some very […]

Remember When….?

It’s Throwback Thursday on stconleths.ie! Since sport is currently reduced to pilates apps and Wii Sports, we will recall the golden days with a weekly virtual visit to the archives. This week: the legendary 2016 SCT’s earlier but just as inspirational incarnation: the 2013 JCT! Yes, we were younger and lighter (except on top) back […]

Remember When?

American baseball philosopher Yogi Berra once complained that ‘Nostalgia is not what it used to be.’ Well, it certainly isn’t these days, when we all are forced by circumstances to look backwards in time for some sense of solace. Well, Past Pupil and musical maestro Joe Gallagher (Class of 2019) has just premiered his first […]

Bring the Noise!

There was a poignant moment at the recent Past Pupils Dinner when select members of the Class of 2010 got together to recall their shared glory days of St. Conleth’s basketball: when Herron and Purcell and McCormack and McCoy and Carr and Co. shocked the world of Irish Schools Basketball, winning the All-Ireland double in […]

A-macing Debaters!

Rather serendipitous that Michael O’Dwyer (Class of 2010) was our special guest speaker at the PPU Dinner on the Friday Night, he the holder of both a All-Ireland Debating Title as well as a Cambridge University International Debating Mace (a weighty weapon, that!), and the next day brings news that the current crop of Conlethian […]

PPU… phew!

A Classy Reunion

St. Conleth’s PPU Dinners are always memorable affairs: well-attended, well-catered and well-lubricated… more raucous than retiring, a fact any residents left on our particular stretch of Clyde Road can attest to. Our recent New York City PPU Dinner was a decidedly more refined affair, with the humour as good and the sentiments as warm as […]

Rugby Round-Up!

As you can see in the news items below, St. Conleth’s sports is thriving on the basketball courts, running tracks and in our fencing arenas… but we shall never forget our sporting bread and butter: rugby. And though we have been faithfully tweeting away about our accomplishments with the oblong ball, we thought we would […]

New York, New York!

The greatest city in the world is now going to host Ireland’s greatest Past Pupils Union! Following on our successful inaugural international PPU reunion in London a few years back, St. Conleth’s CEO Ann Sheppard and PPU President John Carvill decided to hit the Big Apple for the next one. And when the New York […]

Poetry in Motion!

Conlethian fencing parents, Robert Smyth and Cahir Davitt, make quite a pair of ‘adjunct’ sports reporters: Robert with his faithful reporting and journalistic flair, such as the headline above, and Cahir with his stunning photography. Their latest missives: Last Saturday in Dublin, James Moriarty-Smyth ended just outside the last sixteen in Men’s Senior Sabre, after a […]

You Need a Noggin!

Did that gust of wing almost blow you back to Ballybrack? Are you freezing when you step outside in Firhouse? Shivering in Shankill? What you need is a Noggin! Turns out Greta was a bit premature with her doomsaying and it is still mighty cold outside. Protect yourself (and help a good cause) with an […]

Get Ronan to the Paralympics!

We remember a young Ronan Roche Griffin lighting up his First Year Form Class with his wicked wit and a glint in his eye. Whether it was sending notes in binary to a like-minded stemmy classmate or politely wriggling out of some minor kind of trouble, Ronan always did everything with considerable panache. Now, he […]

Top of their Class!

We know we punch above our weight in rugby and hockey and the recent runs by our basketball teams is certainly pleasing the bookies, but where we really annoy the actuaries (some of them our own alumni) is with our academic results. Recently there was tangible evidence of St. Conleth’s academic prowess on show at Ireland’s […]

A Soirée to Remember!

Ms. Fay, our stylish musical maestra, and Seamus Gallagher, our agent to current and future recording stars, pulled out all the stops and put on a concert to remember, one of which the sweet-sounding reverberations will be felt down the years… Whoever is planning the 85th celebrations better get started because it will be nigh […]

The Multi-Talented Mr. Sheridan

Every knows about Mr. Sheridan’s sporting prowess both as a competitor and coach. He is a regular first team selection in the annual Sixth Year vs. Staff Soccer Match, playing an authoritative Makelele-like midfield, and he has been leading various Junior School sports teams to glory for years. Just last week he took our Junior […]

Inspirational Information!

Nearly everyone worked late last Monday night, and it has taken us almost a week to recover but it was worth it as the St. Conleth’s Senior School Information Evening was once again a smashing success. Such was the queue snaking down Clyde Road and approaching Elgin that the US Embassy security staff were on […]

Did I See You at Ascot?

We have been a bit preoccupied with the impending release of our St. Conleth’s 80th Anniversary Quinquennial, but now that the printing presses are rolling, we intend on catching up with a few stories which we had stashed beneath the typewriter. One such story concerns one of the Past Pupil authors featured in that weighty […]

Information Evening: Mon. at 7:00!

Come and see why St. Conleth’s Senior School is attracting so much attention and so many students at our Information Evening on Monday, October 7th, at 7:00 p.m. Here is our promotional flyer (pdf):

Ready, Steady…. Sit?

I know it sounds strange at first, just sitting together- like some kind of college campus protest in 1968 Paris- but as with everything that originates in the wonderful spirit of our resident Mindfulness guru, Mr. Porzadny, we know it will turn out to be sublime and profound. Our very own dalai lama explains: Sit […]

Return of the Kings

You know we can’t resist a LOTR reference, but the ‘kings’ in this case do not (yet) possess any sovereign kingdoms but they did certainly royally rock the Leaving Certificate in 2019 and now they have returned to spill their secrets to the Class of 2020. Tomás Clancy, Hugh Downes, Pearse Roberts and (Queen) Maggie […]

Happy 80th Birthday!

Of Points and Plans

There is nothing wrong with a bit of friendly competition, especially when the end result is a shared victory. On Leaving Certificate Results Day, in a sense everyone is a winner as everyone gets that piece of paper which serves as a key in unlocking their future. Obviously, there is always a range of results […]

The Golden Sword!

Past Pupil Philip Lee (Class of 1975) has become Ireland’s first ever European Champion in fencing! He won the European Veterans Championships in Cognac in France in early June, in the ‘Over 60’ age category in men’s foil. Yes, just a few years shy of getting his free travel pass (not that he needs it), […]

Ann Cramp: An Appreciation

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Ann Cramp. Aside from the Kellehers and Sheppards and perhaps a certain games master, no-one has been part of St. Conleth’s for longer than Ann Cramp. And certainly no-one has been more universally appreciated and beloved. Generations of Conlethians have benefitted from the ‘ship-shape’ in […]

The Last Fence… Really!

Yes, we officially ended the seemingly endless flow of fencing news some weeks ago but a operantly we were foiled again… we had forgotten about the in-house St. Conleth’s Fencing League/Tournament! Started a few years ago by Fencing Captain emeritus Michael Li, it is a great way to end the season and the school year: […]

Liverpool, Tottenham, Staff Team

Yes, there were three great games of soccer these past few days, but though the last displayed similar levels of skill and entertainment, we really cannot claim that the Staff Soccer Team’s victory was as surprising as the other two. Yes, Kane was in the stands and Bolger was making soup in Naas, but there […]

Power Lunch

Past Past Pupils Union President Donal Milmo-Penny and Current PPU Pres John Carvill organised the first ever St. Conleth’s Business Lunch and it was a smashing success, with close to 100 attendees at the Lansdowne FC. The featured speaker was Past Parent and famous entrepreneur Brody Sweeney and, by all accounts, his talk was as […]

Relatively Recent History

Apologies for not posting this sooner, but the combined Junior and Senior School Parents Association produced a fantastic newsletter back in March which highlighted some of the many goings-on at St. Conleth’s College from the start of the school year until February. It is available here and on our Parents page where there are also […]

Hee-Haw! Welcome to MAGA Land!

Actually, that was just to get your attention: most of the debaters, even those supporting the Bouchier Hayes Plate Debate motion ‘THBT the current American president has made America great again’ quickly disavowed themselves personally from such a position, most hilariously by the impish Sammy Butler. Adam did bravely attest that the motion was irrelevant […]

Let Us Eat Cake!

To be honest, for all the lawyers, doctors and engineers we churn out of this place, it is not like many of these past pupils often drop any complementaries into the staffroom for their old teachers, like a coupon for colenoscopy or a voucher for a discount on divorce proceedings. Now, the culinary arts boys, […]

Fifth Form Adventures

With all this hockey hullabaloo we have been a bit neglectful of our other newsmakers, particularly our little Conlethian brothers in Fifth Form who have been up to all sorts of activities (and surely a bit of mischief on the side), and without much fanfare at all! Well, better late than never! Below you will […]

Carvill Takes Control

So, this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause. Yes, the count has receded into the shadows and the chancellor has seized the reins of power… John Carvill has taken the position long prepared for him, with kingmaker Ronan O’Kelly smiling from the shadows and the outgoing Donal Milmo-Penny in gracious acquiescence. The new Past […]

Ballsbridge Braces for Past Pupil Party!

Let Blackrock prance and preen in the reflections off their 69 Leinster Senior Cups… let Michael’s attempt the same with their two… let Gonzaga brag about their chess dominion and accompanying groupies… and let Scotus win the yogic flying championships… but there is one thing these big boy schools cannot come close in comparison with […]

The Debate is Over…

…and the motion has been carried: “That this House declares St. Conleth’s to be the greatest debating school in the land!” We should have taken our own advice (given below), and laid a few quid down at Paddy Powers as the Conlethian contingent at the Irish Times Debate Final 2019 came up trumps. Conlethians took […]

The Third Triumvirate?

As the gentleman involved here know well, there have only been two notable triumvirates in all of European history: those of late Republican and early Imperial Rome. Now, there are whispers and rumblings in the back-corridors of power that a third may soon appear to lead us through these troubling times… Daniel Gilligan (Class of […]

It’s a Long Way…

… to Tipperary, indeed, but the likely lads (and lady) seen below, who accompanied Ms. Sheppard and Mr. Carvill on a trip down to the heart of the country passed the time by singing old rebel songs. Yes, for a neighbourhood which proudly returned a Unionist to the 1918 Dáil, there are now a surprising number […]

St. Brigid and Bernard Sheppard!

With the belated arrival of the polar vortex and the permanent problem of dampness, this year in particular we needed Mr. O’Dulaing’s warming words about the coming of Spring on St. Brigid’s Day. And with help from words of wisdom and delight in Irish, as well as a bit of Gerald Manley Hopkins (early GMH, […]

A Trophy in Every Stocking?

Yes, the band of brothers (and Claudio) have been busy leading into the holidays, building up their supply of precious metals… perhaps for re-gifting at Christmas? There simply is no more room on the trophy shelf! Pembroke Fencing Coach Olga Volga and Conlethian fencing parent Kathrin Chambers provide a round-up of our recent fencing exploits: […]

We Look Back… and Forwards

Our Annual School Mass is always an affair in which we engage with mixed emotions. In this liturgical time of remembrance, we rightly look back and remember the Conlethians who are no longer with us, a list which grows longer each year. But we also take great joy and hope in seeing the ever-renewing community […]

The Next Lord Chancellor of Ireland?

Yes, Conor Power of the Class of 2018 now moves in rarified company, joining the bishops, the parliamentarians, the lord chancellors and the Daniel Gilligans as Exhibition Scholars at Trinity College. Conor’s achievement is even more impressive than the that of all the Anglo-Irish magnates who came before him: this is the first year that […]

Top of their Classes!

We know we punch above our weight in rugby and hockey and the recent run by our basketball teams is certainly pleasing the bookies, but where we really annoy the actuaries (some of them our own alumni) is with our academic results. You have recently seen our Maths results charts with all the numbers and percentages […]

Making News in Leinster!

With our JCT campaign kicking off today, it is good time to recall the essential role St. Conleth’s has played in the development of Leinster Schools Rugby… and to make one significant addition to our Leinster roll of honour. The latter, first: Nicholas Cunningham-Ash has been the starting No. 8 for the Leinster ‘Metros’ throughout […]

Berries! Alumnus Chris Luke Honoured in Cork

We all know (because the Corkonians keep telling us) that Cork is the best city (or very large town) in Ireland, if not the world… d’ya know like. And since they are used to living with such a high level of native excellence, Corkonians are notoriously parsimonious in bestowing laurels on anyone not borne within […]

A Plethora of Portfolio!

Ms. Halpin has been busy. You have already seen, in other news items, snaps of the new Art Room in all its glory. Well it certainly did not come ‘out of the box’ looking like that! Ms. Halpin was here in the waning days of summer, getting the new digs ready, moving the enormous variety […]

Amacing Debaters!* Updated With New Photos!

As proved just last Wednesday, Conlethians are famously tough on the rugby pitch, but off the field we are notoriously reluctant to engage in juvenile fisticuffs when local toughs accost us at the DART station or ambush us in the darker recesses of Herbert Park. Many a time, primary schoolers from the other side of […]

Good Grief, Greif!

Are you sure that is safe? Yes, we know we have molly-coddled our kids to the point where they risk and fun intolerant, but throwing them off Dun Laoghaire Pier with only wetsuits, helmets, flotation devices and security drones to protect them? Well, Past Pupil Sean Greif (Class of 2005) reassured us, we relaxed and […]

Probably… the Politest Lacrosse Goalie in the World!

We have a slew of alumni news to tell you, and that is coming soon in a special omnibus, but if anyone deserves special mention and an article all of his own, it is Aongus Hegarty of the Class of 2017. Aongus was renowned at St. Conleth’s not only for his sporting acumen and academic […]

Over The Next Fence!

Another term, another fencing season…. This year the blade bar has been upped: James Moriarty-Smyth and Claudio Sosa, having been selected by Irish Fencing, are now fencing at Under 17 level on the European Cadet Circuit. Last weekend the Conlethian pair, along with 10 other selected foilists, represented Ireland at the inaugural leg of the 2018/19 […]

Style and Substance

We expected nattily dressed gentlemen and girls in gorgeous gowns and we were certainly knocked out with the style, but we also knew there would be a more important aspect of the Class of 2018 Debs’ reception at St. Conleth’s: a spirit of honest affection and appreciation, tinged with the tiniest bit of regret that we […]

Uisce, Teanga agus Craic!

TYs enjoy a day of water-sports and Irish at Moontour, an innovative language adventure centre run by Past Pupil Sean Greif (Class of 2005). More details from Ms. Dorman, as Gaeilge: Chuaigh lucht na hIdirbliana (TY) go dtí Dun Laoghaire an Mhairt seo caite chun lá a chaitheamh ag déanamh sport uisce as Gaeilge le […]

No Magic Bullets…

Even School Captain emeritus Harry Mansfield, who very soon will be handling real ammunition as a Defence Forces Officer Cadet, had to admit: there is no magic bullet for doing well on the Leaving Certificate. Yes, consistent hard work seems to be the only key to success, but there are plenty of little tips and […]

First Year Rugby Enjoys 3-0 Debut!

We have decided that last Wednesday’s stunning start to the St. Conleth’s rugby season, with First Years winning all three matches, deserves a bit more attention! Head of Junior Rugby Louis Magee (and Celestial King of All Sport Gavin Maguire) must be very proud of their First Year players and coaches (Messrs. O’Brien, Smith and […]

A Walk on the Wild Side

We have cultivated, nay, invented a good-natured competition regarding our Past Pupil accomplishments: Who has been more influential, the STEM-siders or the liberal artists? Well, here is one alumnus who strides both sides of that artificial line. Colin Stafford-Johnson (Class of 1982) has been filling British and Irish TV screens with stunning wildlife photography and […]

Settling In…

It did not take long for our First Year Boys and Girls to find a suitable and satisfying place at St. Conleth’s. Yes, the first few days were a bit hectic with three way subject splits and multiple room switches but all that confusion had a noble purpose: to give as much academic choice as […]

Eskimo Supreme?

For a relatively small school, St. Conleth’s punches far above its weight in many areas, including alumni accomplishment. You have read all about our scientific, business and artistic alumni hi-fliers below, but now we have news of a Conlethian past pupil making waves in a very different talent pool. There we were minding our business […]

Stop Doodling, Jack!

Yes, we ourselves were guilty of occasionally shouting that at Jack Siggins (Class of 2009) back when he was in LC Classics and instead of listening to our repetitious yet sonorous description of Alexander the Great’s precise cavalry movements, he was carefully putting the last deft pencil marks to a masterful portrait of the legendary […]

No, Really, What Did We Do This Year? *Corrected Edition!

Well, loads, judging by the 47 (!) pages of the 2017-2018 St. Conleth’s College Parents Association Combined Newsletter (*now with the proper 2018 message from Principal ODulaing!)! If you are a parent, check your email or get it right here. Well done to PA Chairs Michael Mansfield and David MacNicholas and all the parents and students who […]

Avoid The Summer Doldrums: Get ‘Food Active’!

An army runs on its stomach and a school runs on its canteen. At St. Conleth’s College we are convinced that Chef Mark McColgan is the main reason why attendance rates are so high amongst both students and staff. A common scene in the early a.m. on the southside of Dublin: “Oh… French […]

The Last Fence?

You knew the fencers would not give up the headlines to all that graduation hullabaloo without a fight. Two fencing parents Kathryn Chambers and Robert Smyth report on the last salvos of another record-setting season, and as you might expect, our young competitors did not fall at the last fence! Our Conlethians were all on […]

Total Football!

Things did not look good for the Staff Team in the moments leading up to kick-off. Yes, we had retained the legendary ‘Goblet of Fire’ for over ten years. Yes, we always play a stylish sort of football, which leaves the students and the various Irish national teams which frequent the Irishtown facility gnashing their […]

Basketbrawl!

The deck was stacked against the Staff basketball team from the start. The Sixth Years (the Man City of schools basketball) had a veritable All-Star team ready to roll, having recently bought up most of the available free agents at the trading deadline, including the expensive foreign imports, Marlon ‘Air’ Marishta and Michael ‘Lethal’ Lee. […]

Project: Maths!

All this recent falafel about art, music and cooking has annoyed the STEM lords and stirred them to action! You previously read here how the Sixth Years did so well in the IMTA competition. Now, Ms. NiAonghusa sends us a wrap-up of the other goings-on in Maths this year, and to be fair, they have […]

Conlethians: Here and There!

Regular readers might surmise that we have no editorial process at all, but St. Conleth’s is such a busy place that we actually do have to sift daily through a pile of news and events, trying to determine what is ‘fit to print’. For example, look what happened in and around 28 Clyde Road, […]

Fencers Climb National Rankings

We can barely keep up with the fencing news and results at St. Conleth’s! This just in off the wire: Saturday saw a sizeable number of Conlethians, both past and present, fence Senior Men’s Foil at the Irish National, hosted by Irish Fencing and held at Loretto Abbey, Dalkey. The two day event is the […]

Conlethians Impress the Sensei!

Last weekend, Fencing Ireland invited a senior coach from the internationally acclaimed Club Jesi in Italy to Dublin. The St Conleth’s College gym was packed to the gills with 26 up-and-coming fencers from all over Ireland. Coach Filippo Triccoli put James Moriarty-Smyth and Claudio Sosa Smatrala through their paces during two grueling days and each […]

A Gentleman… and a Schol!

We all knew that Daniel Gilligan was the perfect gentleman: no Conlethian had won as many laurels as Daniel in his time at 28 Clyde Road, and no Conlethian had worn them so lightly. Now Trinity College is enjoying the benefits of having Daniel Gilligan as a debater, student leader and downright, old-school intellectual. Everyone […]

Past Pupil Dinner Cancelled

The Clyde Road Residents Association, the local constabulary and the gendarmes may be relieved, but it is with great regret that we announce that the 2018 Past Pupils Dinner has been cancelled. Full refunds are available. It is the first time in the full seventy years of its existence that the ‘show’ has not gone […]

Generational Conflict!

How dare those debaters steal the spotlight! Don’t they know that pride of place on the front page is always reserved for fencers? Sure enough, the swashbucklers were at it again over the ‘break’… Last Sunday, James Moriarty-Smyth and Claudio Sosa competed in the East of Ireland Open, a Tier A-ranked Senior National Circuit competition, […]

Fencing Pays!

The recent exploits of Philip Cripwell, Class of 2014, marry two of our consistent themes at stconleths.ie: fencing and STEM. Fencing, as you can see above and below, is a consistent good news generator at the school, as training continues for both Juniors and Seniors under Maître David Couper and our merry band of swordsmen […]

Another STEM Star From St. Conleth’s!

Whatever alchemy Michael Manning, Brendan Doyle and the other St. Conleth’s Science teachers were up to in the school lab over recent decades, it certainly did work! You can read about the multiple American based professors of Maths and Science spawned in the Manning/Doyle lab in our 75th Anniversary Annual and you have read in […]

The Alumnus, The Drummer and The Keeper

Evidently, the fat lady has still not sung… as Past Pupil and rennaissance man Nick Kelly has continued to push boundaries and mix media in a variety of creative pursuits: first, as the main singer/songwriter of the aforementioned, seminal 1980’s alternative rock band, then as a solo artist and fluid musical collaborator while working a […]

The Pro Shots Are In!

Yes, we entertained you with those live-action shots of the Class of 2017 Debutants Ball, but even the iPhone 8+, de riguer at St. Conleth’s, cannot match the skill and touch of a pro. Here you see a sampling of the portraits taken on the night by professional photographer Seamus Travers. If you would like more, in […]

High-Flyers Point the Way!

As Deadalus once told his son Icarus, steering the middle way is the way to succeed in most enterprises, including getting enough Leaving Cert points for your desired CAO course. That was the advice, anyway, from some of the high-flyers of the Class of 2017 who, at the behest of Mr. Carvill, came back to their […]

Aonghus and Friends: The 2017 Debs!

Forgive the delay in reporting on the St. Conleth’s Class of 2017 Debutante Ball. First there was the little issue with Fireman Sam and then we had the darndest time finding some suitable photos! PA Chairman Michael Mansfield did his part, sending us a report before the slow set had even started, but then we waited […]

Michael O’Dea: Alumnus, Trustee, Architect and Friend of St. Conleth’s

It is quite an achievement to say that one arrived at St. Conleth’s at the same time as a certain Kevin D. Kelleher and Michael O’Dea was as proud of this distinction as any other in life full of personal and professional distinctions. Michael’s life, family and legacy are as intertwined with that of St. Conleth’s as […]

Ishan Prasai, 1999-2017: An Appreciation

It was with a sense of disbelief and then heavy hearts that we heard the news that Ishan Prasai, a member of the Class of 2017, had passed away in his native Nepal after a short illness. Ishan was a quiet but vibrant member of the St. Conleth’s community for three years, and we have […]

Words of Wisdom

Alumni (and alumnae) are constantly dropping in at 28 Clyde Road, and the door is always open to those past pupils who would like to stop in for a visit or a chat or a character reference for the gardai… Sadly, Mr. Kelleher, a mainstay of these reunions for so many years, is no longer […]

High Points and Even More Important Points!

It is understandable that students and their parents and teachers get obsessed with the ‘points race’ when it comes to the Leaving Certificate: for better or worse, that mid-August sum is quite significant when it comes to plotting one’s immediate future. And this year’s Results Day was particularly nerve-wracking, as a new system of grades was […]

The Zorin Brothers: Technology for All!

St. Conleth’s alumni brothers, Kyrill (2012) and Artyom Zorin (2013), were the Wozniak and Jobs of their time when they graced the halls of 28 Clyde Road, winning the Technology Section of the Young Scientist competition and repeatedly amazing their teachers and classmates with their rare combination of technological genius, common sense and honest enthusiasm. Their […]

The PPU Dinner photos are in

…and there is no need to call your lawyer! Yes, we know how you usually spend the morning after the Past Pupils Union Dinner in a cringing state of apprehension of some social media outlet’s pictorial display of you nocturnal misadventures, but you can relax and go ahead and get that modem boinging because all the […]

They’re Baaaack!

Preparations for the annual Past Pupils Dinner is quite similar to those made before the visit of a head of state from a Caucasian ‘republic’: the hedges are clipped back, the recycling bins are surreptitiously emptied into the Dodder, the good silverware is well hidden, extra security cameras are wired up and Willie takes up […]

Conor White: St. Conleth’s Chuck Norris?

Back in the days before our culture evolved to the heights of meme creation, we used to pass around little ironic jokes that made us feel smart and smile. Sometimes we even said these jokes face-to-face, and not on Skype or Facetime. A common theme was the omnipotence of certain individuals: Demba Ba and […]

Alumnae Illuminatae

With the St. Conleth’s Past Pupil’s Dinner just around the corner (March 3rd: tickets), we thought this might be the appropriate time to catch up with two particular alumni, or alumnae if you will, who reached new heights in their respective careers in 2016. And with St. Conleth’s quickly becoming fully co-educational, what better role models for the school’s current […]

Basketball Alumni Reunion in Tallaght

It might not be the first place you would expect a gathering of St. Conleth’s alumni, but this past weekend Tallaght was the site of an impromptu reunion, as four of the UCD-Marian basketball team playing in the NICC Cup Final also used to ply their trade in the gymnasium of 28 Clyde Road. They […]

Class of 2016 Clean Up At Trinity and UCD!

We know we punch above our weight in rugby and the recent run by our basketball teams is certainly pleasing the bookies, but where we really annoy the actuaries (some of them our own alumni) is with our academic results. You have already seen our PPU-produced chart with all the percentages but just recently there was […]

Debs Night Style and Substance

We expected nattily dressed gentlemen and girls in gorgeous gowns and we were certainly knocked out with the style, but we also knew there would be a more important aspect of the Class of 2016 Debs’ reception at St. Conleth’s: a spirit of honest affection and appreciation, tinged with the tiniest bit of regret that we […]

Pogatchnik Plays for Ireland (and Ulster)!

Last year’s SCT golden boys are continuing to find rugby success on fields near and far. Former Captain Kevin Dolan, who is now playing that familiar, majestic style of rugby for Old Belvedere, was named to Leinster’s U-19 Provincial 30 man panel and David Pogatchnik, whose rambunctious runs and tackles we so enjoyed witnessing these last few years, […]

A Class Evening: PPU Honours Shay Keenan, the SCT and Themselves!

Turns out that this was one of the best behaved PPU Dinners on record. No-one was going to ruin a night whih was dedicated to marking 50 years of service by Shay Keenan and the historic victory by Gav Maguire’ SCT. Shay’s immense contribution to the school (and Leinster sports in general) was recounted with […]

The PPU Are Coming!

Actually, the bad, old days when the looming Annual Dinner of the Past Pupils Union was viewed by Mr. Kelleher and the other respectable residents of Ballsbridge like a Viking warship somehow navigating up the Dodder are far behind us. Now, under the steady guidance of President Donal Milmo-Penny and the omnipotent and omnipresent PPU High Priest Ronan […]

“And How Marketable is that Degree in Ancient Greek?”

To be fair to Alastair Daly, one of the most dedicated and honest intellectuals ever to grace these halls, he is also studying English at Trinity, which does make that position of venture capitalist/vampire a bit more attainable. So, why was Alastair willing to answer such tough, probing questions? Because he was invited back by Captain Hannah Collins to […]

Full Marks Alchemy

As you can see in this photo, some of our 2015 graduates recently dropped by to pay Headmaster Kevin Kelleher a visit and relay the secrets to their success. But despite Daniel Barry’s stylish timepiece, it turns out wizardry and alchemy are quite unnecessary and the answer to every eager and ambitious Fifth and Sixth […]

Our School

Senior School

Junior School

School of Rock!

To Heaven…in Connacht!

Invasion Française!

Conleth’s Goes County!

ROAR!

Champions d’Irlande!

They Grow Up So Fast!

First Year Flourish!

Not Just Corrie Questions!

Dads & Lads & Moms & …

Cailíní iontach!

PPU…phew!

…for Winners!

Daniel Does It, Again!

Fore! Ryan Wins National Tourney!

No Rehearsal Space? No Problem.

The Debate Goes On!

Style and Substance

Siún Hickey: Prima Ballerina!

Ewan Gaster (2nd Form) Flaps Wings in Madama Butterfly

Early Doors: Christmas Exams!

A Portrait of the Artist as a TY

Junior School Active Flag Pursuit Begins with Skipathon

A Distinctive Set of Results!

Of Points and Plans!

Alumni News: Far and Near!

Junior School’s ‘Celebration of Learning’ does Exactly What it Says on the Tin

Leinster Coaching Treat for Junior Conlethians

Best in Class Bag Baggatonia (Goody) Bags!

Please, DO take his Kodachrome away!

Ms. Kelly is Keeping Secrets…

“Mommmm! The Boys are Making…”

Early Doors!

Welcome Back!

The Last Waltz

Back to the Future!

Alumni Cam!

Is That You… Anthony?

It’s OK to Win!

House Heaney Helps!

Slán Go Deo

Halcyon Herbo!

Sportsday 2025: Club Mix!

TYs: The End of the Yellow Brick Road!

Daniel, on that Point!

Please Clear Your Desks…

TYs Plead le Cinquième!

Total Football

Sun and Fun at Sportsday 2025!

Junior Sports Jumble!

From STEM to Sissonne!

STEM Stars!

From Ember to Flame!

Titans of Tennis!

Please… No More Ice Cream!

Keep TrYinG!

Road Warrioress!

Rhetorical Rookies Rock the Rostrum!

Faith and Fun!

Classic Gold Hits!

Conlethian Clan Cultural Connection!

Spring Sports Wrap

Mocks Timetable

A Familiar Face at this Year’s Pantomime!

Upcoming Carol Service for Junior School

Easter Art!

Ethos in Action!*

Roisin’s Rugby Rise!

The Debate Goes On!

The Debate is Over…

Buy Someone Lunch, Today!

Darius the…

Delphi Dip!

An Infinite # of Mathematicians Walk into a Bar…

House Proud!

David is Goliath!

Buzz, Buzz…