Clongowes Stories

18th May 2015

In legend, Chess was invented by Lugh, God of Light and Inspiration, and was played skillfully by his son, the hero Cúchulainn. Recently the Third Line had the chance to emulate these heroes and prove their own mettle as they were forged in the heat of the war games re-enacted in the college… St. Kevin’s School…read article

15th May 2015

Students and staff in Clongowes are well used to Mock Exams but last week they were surprised by the presence of a polling station on the Ref’ corridor complete with returning officers and a polling booth as Ms. Dooley’s second year C.S.P.E class took the temperature of the college to see what way the wind…read article

13th May 2015

Last Thursday the annual Staff v Students Soccer match for the Brendan Cullen Perpetual Trophy took place with the masters finally taming the pupils in a tense penalty shoot-out. Our doughty sports reporter (and now it seems, poet), Richard the Rhymer lost the run of himself altogether and submitted this – well – report, we…read article

11th May 2015

‘The Serpentine Speaks’ was conceived by Tom Carroll and co-written with Ms. Jane O’Loughlin and Ms. Ger Dillon. The play, co-directed by Tom, Ger, Jane and GAP Student, Mr. Paddy Sunderland, marked the welcome return of Third Line drama to the Clongowes calendar. This is a cleverly-conceived play that celebrates the history of Clongowes and its most…read article

9th May 2015

This year’s Beckett-Joyce Award ceremony proved to be an historic occasion in more ways than one. Now in its twenty seventh year, the competition and the occasion have become a wonderful shared experience for both Clongowes Wood College and Portora Royal School, Enniskillen. This year’s ceremony, held in the Community Library in Clongowes on Tuesday…read article

7th May 2015

While soccer is something of a Cinderella sport in Clongowes by comparison with its big sisters Senior Rugby and Junior Rugby, it was not always thus and the game, introduced to the school by the newly arrived Tullabeggars in 1886, enjoyed a golden age for some twenty years before it was overtaken by ‘the Rugby…read article

6th May 2015

Higher Line Gold Medal Debate It has been almost one hundred and seventy eight years since Daniel O’Connell established the Clongowes Debating Society, which has grown to become an integral part of a Clongowes education. Debating is now held as a core activity for many of the boys throughout the school, with every student being…read article

5th May 2015

The origins of racing ‘The Triangle’ in Clongowes, while hardly lost in the mists of time, are certainly unclear. It is such an obvious course that it is likely that boys ran and possibly raced it as long as boys have run and raced in Clongowes. As regards the modern event, Fr Bruce Bradley, in…read article

27th April 2015

Following on from a magnificent performance in the National Concert Hall last month (here), a great evening of music and song was had in Connolly’s Pub, Ballagh last Tuesday night (April 28th) when the Clongowes Wood College Traditional Irish Music group played their last session of the year. The group, led by Catherine Heslin, delighted…read article

20th April 2015

Some 200 boys, many joined by their parents, attended the Curragh last Sunday (19th April), when Ireland’s premier racecourse staged a race to celebrate the bicentenary of Ireland’s premier boarding school. The sun shone to make the occasion perfect and many Old Clongownians made their way to Kildare to enjoy the day. A complimentary coach…read article