C.B.S. Secondary School Ennistymon


CBS Ennistymon is an all-boys secondary school located in Ennistymon, County Clare. It was founded in 1824 by Edmund Ignatius Rice and is one of the oldest Christian Brothers schools in Ireland. It is also the only all-boys school in Co. Clare. The last brother to be principal left the school in 1996; Micheál Ó Maolchaoin was acting principal for 2 years and then became the first lay principal of the school. The current secondary school was built in 1974; a primary school was opened in 1939 and was closed in early 2000.

History

The school was founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice in 1824, when 2 Brothers arrived in Ennistymon. An old chapel which was built in 1812 was renovated and transformed into a brothers' residence and a secondary and primary school. From 1824 to 1930 the primary school and secondary school were all located in the same room. A primary school was built in the rear in the 1930s; it closed in the early 2000s and the building is now part of the secondary school, who use it as Technical Graphics and Woodwork rooms.
The original school building was used up to 1974, when the school's Superior, Br. Sheehan, had the hill above the monastery cleared and a new secondary school and playing field built. Until 1972 the school operated totally through the medium of Irish. The school's original name was Mount St. Joseph's Secondary and Primary School or Meanscoil na mBráithre.

Notable alumni