Glenstal Abbey School

Glenstal Abbey School is an all boys independent day and boarding Catholic secondary school, located on the grounds of Glenstal Abbey in Murroe, County Limerick, Ireland. It is run by monks of the Benedictine order. The school offers seven-day full boarding, 5 day boarding, as well as day boarding (Mon-Fri). The school is regularly ranked among the top schools in Ireland.^[1][2][3]

Glenstal Abbey School
Location
Murroe, County Limerick Ireland
Information
Former name	Glenstal Priory School
Type	Boys only, 7-day Full Boarding and Day Boarding (Mon-Sat)
Motto	PAX, Reverence, Respect and Responsibility
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1932
President	The Abbot of Glenstal
Head teacher	Marius Carney
Chaplain	Fr. Denis Hooper OSB
Number of students	c. 250
Houses	Junior House Inter House Senior House
Color(s)	Red and grey
Mascot	Raven
Website	www.glenstal.com

History

Glenstal is a Norman Revivalist Castle, designed by William Bardwell, an English architect and built by Sir Matthew Barrington in 1839.^[4] Sir Charles and Lady Barrington left Ireland permanently in 1925.

The castle and estate were purchased shortly after by Monsignor James J. Ryan, retired president of St Patrick’s College, Thurles, for the nominal sum of £2,000. Some months after the purchase, Msgr Ryan wrote to Celestine Golenvaux, the Abbot of the Benedictine monastery at Maredsous, and invited him to come to Ireland and set up a daughter house in Glenstal and by March 1927, the first two Belgian monks had arrived at Glenstal to establish the new house.^[5] In September 1932, the monks opened a Secondary School with Fr Columba Skerret as Headmaster, and with an intake of just seven pupils. The first lay teacher at the school was Mr Vincent Quirke.

Glenstal Abbey was faced with allegations of child abuse. Records indicate four historic allegations against two members of the monastic community relating to abuse at Glenstal Abbey School.They were reported and investigated; in no case were there criminal or civil proceedings.^[6] In a 2014 report The National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) stated that the Benedictine community handled these accusations well with proper action, including removal from monastic life and treatment for one that admitted abuse.^[7]

Notable former pupils

Notable former pupils

• John Blayney, Judge of the Supreme Court
• Kim Carroll, composer and musician.
• Henry de Bromhead, horse trainer ^[8]
• Jack Stafford,^[9] rugby player.
• John Magnier,^[10] businessman and former senator Seanad Éireann.^[11]
• Eamonn Quigley,^[12] researcher in medicine.
• Tony O'Connor,^[13] Judge of the High Court.
• Paul Mullen (rugby union), rugby player
• Colm Hogan, rugby player
• Patrick Martyn-Hemphill, 5th Baron Hemphill,^[14] former member of the House of Lords, Senior stewart of the Irish National Hunt Society, former chairman of the Galway Race Committee.
• Ian Nagle,^[15] rugby player
• John M. Kelly,^[16] former Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism, acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, Attorney General and Government Chief Whip.
• Francis French, 7th Baron de Freyne, aristocrat and former member of the House of Lords.
• Peter Cunningham, writer.
• Duncan Casey,^[17] rugby player.
• Paddy Cosgrave^[18]
• Ben Healy, rugby player
• Sean Lucy, Poet and Professor at University College Cork
• Abbot Mark Patrick Hederman

Sports

Glenstal vs Newtown in rugby

The main sport in Glenstal is rugby union, mandatory for all students in first and second year. Teams are fielded at all ages from U-14 to U-19 and are involved in both friendly and competitive fixtures from late September until March.

The school won the Munster Schools Senior Cup, for its first time on 18 March 2018 beating Christian Brothers College, Cork 18-17.