Kilkenny College
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|
| Motto |
Comme Je Trouve (As I Find) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1538 |
| Type | Co-educational Boarding and Day School (Public, fee-paying) |
| Religion | Church of Ireland |
| Headmaster | Mr Simon Thompson |
| Board of Governors | Right Revd. Michael A.J. Burrows, Bishop of Cashel and Ossory |
| Founder | Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond |
| Location |
Castlecomer Road Kilkenny County Kilkenny Ireland Coordinates: 52°24′01″N 7°08′44″W / 52.4002°N 7.1456°W |
| Staff | Approx 100 |
| Students | ca. 800 (ca. 500 boarding) |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 12–18 |
| Houses | 4 |
| Colours | Red, Black |
| Publication | The Swift Review |
| Athletics | Rugby, Hockey |
| Website | www |
Kilkenny College or KCK is a co-educational secondary school located in Kilkenny, in the South-East of Ireland. It is a public school which caters for both boarders and day students. It is the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland. The school's students are mainly Protestant (Church of Ireland), although it is open to other denominations.
The College motto Comme je trouve, which means "As I find" in French, comes from the family coat of arms of the Butlers, an aristocratic family in the area and former patrons of the school. It is intended to encourage grit, striving through adversity and taking life's challenges head on.
It was founded in 1538 to replace the School of the Vicars Choral, which had been founded in 1234. Piers Butler the Earl of Ormond located it in the city centre. It was moved to its current location on the outskirts of Kilkenny in 1985.
Kilkenny College provides schooling mainly for the Protestants of the community but is also open to other denominations. It caters for both a boarders and day-pupil. Founded in 1538 by Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond and his wife, Margaret, Kilkenny Grammar School as was then called was located to the west of the Cathedral and sited beside the library of St Canice's Cathedral. The 1538 school replaced the older School of the Vicars Choral, which was founded in 1234. It was closed for a period in the 1650s (because of the English civil war that spilled over into Ireland), reopening as Kilkenny College in 1667 under the auspices of James Ormonde, first Duke of Ormonde, following the Butler tradition of promoting education in the city. It soon became a famous school and so, in the 1780s, a new College was built on the same site overlooking the river Nore on John St. In 1985 the college was relocated to the 63-acre (250,000 m2) site at Celbridge House on the outskirts of the city, while the old school with its Georgian buildings and elegant facade, now houses the offices of the County Council within Kilkenny city centre.
At one time the College was termed a university and boasted a complement of three professors. In contrast at the end of the 19th Century, the College was reduced to one pupil. The amalgamation with the nearby Pococke school was its saving. Twenty-nine headmasters of Kilkenny College are recorded, including such notable figures as Edward Jones (Bishop of St Asaph) and John Mason Harden. In the 20th Century there were four long-serving men: C.G. Shankey 1917 - 1952; Gilbert Colton 1953-1979; Samuel McClure 1979-1996; Robert John Black 1996-2005. E.R. Dodds, the famous classicist and Michael Cusack also taught at the school.
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