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Gonzaga College SJ Coláiste Gonzaga
Arms of the college, based on those of the House of Gonzaga of Mantua
Location
Sandford Road Ranelagh, Dublin, D06 KF95 Ireland
Coordinates	53°19′0.52″N 6°14′57.58″W / 53.3168111°N 6.2493278°W / 53.3168111; -6.2493278
Information
School type	Voluntary Secondary school
Motto	Semper et Ubique Fidelis (Faithful always and everywhere)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic, Jesuit
Founded	1950; 74 years ago (1950)
School number	+353-1-497-2931
Principal	Damon McCaul
Age range	12-18
Classrooms	84
Colour(s)
School fees	€6,605 (2019-2022)
Website	www.gonzaga.ie

Gonzaga College SJ is a voluntary Catholic boys' secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1950, Gonzaga College is under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), one of five Jesuit secondary schools in Ireland. The curriculum is traditional, with a broad general programme of subjects including Latin and Greek at Junior Cycle and the opportunity in Senior Cycle to study eight subjects for the Leaving Certificate.

The school is named after the early Jesuit Saint Aloysius Gonzaga and takes its emblem from the coat of arms of the Gonzaga family. The school has a liberal, intellectual, and Jesuit ethos.

The annual fee for the 2019–2020 academic year was €6,605.

Campus

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The school is located 4.4 km (2.7 mi) from Dublin city centre on a large area of land including a front lawn with cricket crease, rugby pitches and tennis courts. The school buildings include a library, chapel, clock tower, theatre, priests' residence, science block, and 84 individual classrooms. The architecture of the school mixes modern copper-roofed buildings with older period houses. Some sections of the school grounds were sold to developers for housing estates in 1984.

In 2007, the school began to work on a major extension project, increasing the size of the school building by 84%. The new building opened to students for the 2009–10 school year.

Academic performance

Gonzaga College has a reputation for academic excellence. The use of examinations to select pupils for admission has been discontinued following government intervention (the state part-funds the school by paying most teachers' salaries), although boys and parents are interviewed ("the interview is a sharing of ideas"). In 2018 it was the top all-boys secondary school in Ireland in terms of the percentage of students who progressed to university, with 85.9% of all students doing so. In 2019, 36.1% of students progressed to UCD, while 38.1% progressed to TCD and 19.6% progressed to TUD.

Visual arts, theatre, and music are emphasised in the curriculum; pupils are encouraged to study Latin and Greek.

Sports and games

The school chess team has been particularly successful, winning national and international awards. Notably, their achievements include dozens of Leinster and All-Ireland titles as well as winning the prestigious Millfield International Chess Tournament, held in Somerset, UK, in 1992, 1999, 2014 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Sports

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The primary sport focused on in Gonzaga is rugby, however many other sports such as hurling, tennis, golf, cricket, badminton, and athletics are also played within the school.

The Junior Cup Rugby teams of 1989, 2003, and 2006 reached the final of the Leinster Schools Junior Cup. The Senior Cup Team (SCT) have reached three semi finals and three finals. The SCT of 2019 reached the final of the Senior Cup for the first time in the college's history, losing to Saint Michael's College. The 2023 team won the school's first ever Senior Cup, beating holders Blackrock with a score of 35-31 on 17 March, 2023. They have also won the Senior League (for middle-ranking schools) on several occasions. The school has produced a small number of professional rugby players and seven Irish internationals: Tony Ensor, John Cooney, Barry Bresnihan (who went on to represent the British and Irish Lions), Padraig Kenny, Kevin McLaughlin, Dominic Ryan, and Matt Healy.

The school golf team won Leinster titles in 1999 and 2006. Previously, the team reached the semi-finals of the junior cup. In 2010, the Senior Team won the Leinster Schools Senior Matchplay competition, beating Blackrock College 3½ to 1½. They went on to win the All-Ireland Golf Championship in April 2010.

Gaelic games were not played in the past but, in recent years, a team has been entered in a Gaelic football blitz involving other rugby-playing schools. Hurling has also been introduced in recent years.

The school is occasionally represented by a soccer team in friendly matches, but association football is not an official sport of the school.

The main sports in the college during the summer term are lawn tennis and cricket. Gonzaga has a strong tennis tradition, producing many of Ireland's finest tennis players including Barry King, Seán Molloy and Jerry Sheehan. The college has also produced three cricket internationals, most recently bowler George Dockrell, as well as Ireland internationals in bridge, lawn bowls and fencing. The school also has a rich history of competition in Ultimate Frisbee, winning several Schools Cups and providing the starting point for many players who have gone on to compete internationally at various age levels.

Chess

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The school has a tradition of strong chess teams which have been victorious in numerous Leinster and national championships. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, they were Leinster and All Ireland champions at minor, junior and senior levels – an unprecedented clean sweep of Irish schools chess. Of the school chess teams' many achievements, most noteworthy was winning the prestigious Millfield International Chess Tournament in England in 1992, 1999, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 while also winning the Eton College Rapidplay in 2016. Many school chess players have built on their experiences at the college and after graduating continued to greater success, including International Masters Sam Collins and Mark Quinn.

Gonazga Chess Club, which includes pupils and adults competes in the Leinster Chess Union leagues, with the club being very successful in recent years, winning the first division Armstrong Cup 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Buildings

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Initially the school consisted of the three Bewley buildings on the site, one being used for the school, one as a Jesuit house of residence, and one as a lunch room, changing rooms, science laboratories, etc. In the 1950s, Andrew Devane of Robinson Keefe Devane Architects prepared a masterplan with a school hall between the two main houses and classroom wings extending to the two main houses. The masterplan included a chapel in front of the hall and main entrance. Over the 1950s the classroom wing linked to the school house was built along with the hall and main entrance. In the 1960s the chapel was built. In the 1980s an additional wing of classrooms was constructed. The school's renovation project finished in time for the 2009–10 school year: the first stage was a complete renovation of the science facilities, while the second stage almost doubled the floor area of the school with new buildings. The extension included the new Purdy Dining Hall, the new Coulson Theatre, a gym changing area, and classrooms. The old school hall was completely renovated into a modern library named the Sutherland Library with meeting rooms and study facilities. In 2019-2020 there are tentative plans for a major development of the older section of the school.

Notable past pupils

Academia

• Anthony Clare — psychiatrist and broadcaster
• Peter Clinch — Jean Monnet Professor of European Policy at University College Dublin and economic adviser to former Taoiseach Brian Cowen
• George K. Miley — Professor of Astronomy, Leiden University
• Diarmuid Rossa Phelan — Associate Professor, Law, Trinity College Dublin

Arts and media

• Finghin Collins — concert pianist
• Conor Deasy — lead singer with The Thrills
• Paul Durcan — poet
• Jack Gleeson — actor
• Patrick Gibson - actor
• Aidan Mathews — poet, dramatist, novelist.
• Redmond Morris, 4th Baron Killanin — film producer
• Fionn O'Shea — actor
• Andrew Scott — actor
• Ronan Sheehan — novelist, short story writer, essayist, and former copyright lawyer
• Hugh Tinney — concert pianist

Law

• Paul Carney — Irish High Court judge
• Kevin Feeney — Irish High Court judge
• Charles Lysaght — lawyer and obituary writer

Politics and diplomacy

• Patrick Costello — Green Party TD
• Ciarán Cuffe — Green Party MEP and former TD and Minister of State for Horticulture, Sustainable Travel, and Planning and Heritage
• Jim O'Callaghan — Fianna Fail TD
• Eamon Ryan — Green Party TD and Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
• Ossian Smyth — Green Party TD and Minister of State for Public Procurement and eGovernment
• Peter Sutherland — EU Commissioner, former Director General of the World Trade Organization, former Attorney General of Ireland, former Chairman of BP and Chairman of Goldman Sachs
• Dr. Michael Clark - Councilor in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown county council

Sports

• Barry Bresnihan — former Irish Rugby international, British and Irish Lions player and renowned doctor
• Sam Collins — International Master of chess
• Tony Ensor — Irish rugby international
• Matt Healy - former Connacht Rugby player and Ireland international
• Osgar O'Hoisin - Irish Davis Cup Tennis Player
• Mark Dowling - Irish Tennis Player
• George Dockrell - Ireland Cricket Team
• John Cooney - Irish Rugby International

Sexual Abuse

In 2020, former headmaster Patrick Potts committed suicide several days prior to a court appearance on charges of sexual abuse of students while he was vice-principal of Greendale Community School, a post he held before becoming headmaster at Gonzaga. At the time of his death, Gardai confirmed they were also investigating complaints against Potts by former students at Gonzaga.

See also

• List of Jesuit schools
• List of Jesuit sites in Ireland

References

1. "Mission Statement", Gonzaga College SJ, retrieved 15 February 2022
2. "Gonzaga College, Dublin City 6 on SchoolDays.ie". www.schooldays.ie. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
3. "Gonzaga College SJ".
4. The Characteristics of Jesuit Education Archived 2010-06-02 at the Wayback Machine. Seattle University. Retrieved: 2010-09-03.
5. The Characteristics of Jesuit Education. World Union of Jesuit Alumni(ae). Retrieved: 2010-09-03.
6. "Fees for private schools jump as enrolments return to boom-time high". The Irish Times. 28 December 2019.
7. Wikimapia Distance measured precisely to G.P.O. as crow flies.
8. "Irish Times Article:Free schools score highly in third-level feeder list". The Irish Times.
9. Dáil question to minister for education on use of entrance exams Archived 2012-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
10. Admissions policy: (E) Decision making, gonzaga.ie. June 2010. Retrieved: 2010-11-29.
11. "The top 25 schools in Ireland have been revealed". JOE.ie. 24 September 2018.
12. "Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin | The Irish Times Feeder Schools". www.irishtimes.com.
13. "Latin and Greek encouraged by headmaster". Archived from the original on 8 September 2007.
14. Millfield International Chess Tournament - 15 December 2005 Archived 27 September 2007 at archive.today
15. "Roundcube Webmail :: Welcome to Roundcube Webmail". webmail.email.hosting.
16. "St Michael's College win third Leinster Schools' Senior Cup". 17 March 2019.
17. Short game by Shay Keenan, The Irish Times, 2010-02-16. Retrieved: 2010-09-01.
18. "The chair man: the Anthony Clare profile". the Guardian. 13 May 2001.
19. He's the last big hope for nation on its knees, Sunday Independent, 2008-06-29. Retrieved: 2010-08-25.
20. "George K. Miley".
21. "Diarmuid Rossa Phelan".
22. "Finghin Collins ~ Concert Pianist". Archived from the original on 11 November 2007.
23. "The Secret History of the Thrills".
24. "Poetry and emotion".
25. "First encounters: Jack Gleeson and Matt Smyth". The Irish Times.
26. Aidan Mathews, Ricorso. Retrieved: 2012-01-06.
27. "Unison Engineering". 26 August 2016.
28. "Fionn O'Shea". IMDb.
29. "Andrew Scott". IMDb.
30. "The CALL".
31. "Great Scott: How it all began with a bowl of porridge". 27 April 2014.
32. Ronan Sheehan, Ricorso
33. "News Articles - Gonzaga Golden Jubilee Concert". 27 October 2007. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007.
34. Judge with one eye on the Media Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
35. Clash of Wigless Titans Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
36. Photo Gallery Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine Gonzaga Union. Retrieved: 2011-11-18.
37. "Patrick Costello | Green Party – Rathgar Rathmines Local Election Candidate". Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
38. "Green Party TD". Archived from the original on 17 February 2007.
39. "Gonzaga past pupils were 'extremely drunk' at match". independent. 3 March 2017.
40. FF's strength in numbers Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
41. "Ossian Smyth". Linkedin.
42. Secretary-General Appoints Peter Sutherland as Special Representative for Migration, United Nations Press Release, 2006-01-23. Retrieved: 2010-08-25.
43. Barry Bresnihan Obituary The Telegraph, 2010-07-26.
44. "The chess games of Sam E Collins". www.chessgames.com.
45. Old dogs and new tricks
46. Team, The42 (27 June 2016). "Mixed feelings for Connacht's Healy after Ireland debut in defeat to Boks". The42.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
47. "Abuse allegations agains ex-principal of Gonzaga 'Deeply disturbing'". www.irishtimes.com.
48. "Abuse allegations agains ex-principal of Gonzaga 'Deeply disturbing'". www.irishtimes.com.

Further reading

• Parent Power: Zealous ethos drives Gonzaga to the top, The Sunday Times.(subscription required)
• Archived history page from old version of the college website
• A Short History of Gonzaga College, 1950–2000, Christopher J. Finlay, Dublin, September 2000, Eneclann Ltd. ISBN 978-0-9537557-1-4.

External links

• School website
• Gonzaga past pupils union

v t e Society of Jesus in Ireland
Education	Primary schools St Declan's School Scoil Iognáid Secondary schools Belvedere College Clongowes Wood College Coláiste Iognáid Crescent College Gonzaga College Higher education Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy Former schools Mungret College St Stanislaus College
Spirituality	Residential centres Hatch Hall Manresa House Rathfarnham Castle Media Messenger of the Sacred Heart Sacred Space
Churches	Parish churches St Francis Xavier Church, Dublin Chapel of Ease St Ignatius Church, Galway
Catholicism portal Society of Jesus

• Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland
• Secondary schools in County Dublin
• Jesuit secondary schools in Ireland
• Private schools in the Republic of Ireland
• Ranelagh