St. Benildus College
Encyclopedia
St. Benildus College is a Catholic boys' secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 located in Kilmacud, Dublin, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It was established in 1966 when free secondary education was introduced in Ireland. Founded in 1966, the College was named after the De La Salle Saint, Brother Benildus of Clermont, France.. As of 2005, 710 students were recorded as being current pupils at the school. Prospective students must pass an entrance test. It is located on the Upper Kilmacud Road in South Dublin on a 25 acre site, it has state of the art educational and sporting facilities. Most of the school's students live in the surrounding areas such as Kilmacud
Kilmacud
Kilmacud is a suburban area in Dublin in the local authority area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.Kilmacud is the area west of Stillorgan. In essence, it is a collection of middle-class housing estates built in the 1950s by a range of small private construction companies to cater for the growing market...

, Sandyford
Sandyford
Sandyford is a suburb of Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. A major part of Sandyford today is composed of the Sandyford Industrial Estate and related developments.- Location and access :...

, Dundrum
Dundrum
Dundrum is the name of several places:in Ireland:*Dundrum, Dublin, a suburb of Dublin city.**Dundrum Town Centre, a shopping centre*Dundrum, County Tipperary** the Dundrum meteorite of 1865, which fell in Munster, Ireland...

, Goatstown
Goatstown
Goatstown is a suburb of Dublin located in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. To the west is Dundrum, to the east is Mount Merrion and Stillorgan, to the south is Sandyford, and to the north is Roebuck and Clonskeagh....

, Stillorgan
Stillorgan
Stillorgan , formerly a village in its own right, is now a suburban area of Dublin in Ireland. Stillorgan is located in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, and contains many housing estates, shops and other facilities, with the old village centre still present...

, Balally
Balally
Balally , Dublin, Ireland, is a residential area at the southern end of Dundrum, Dublin between Dundrum village and the Sandyford Industrial Estate in Sandyford....

 and Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham or Rathfarnam is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin County Councils.The area of Rathfarnham...

.
St Benildus College is under the Le Chéile trusteeship as of 2010, but still follows De La Sallian Way. The school is administered by an eight member Board of Management.

The school is located in an area of south Dublin which was largely farmland until the 1950s and 1960s, when the area became built up with housing estates. The Luas
Luas
Luas , also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, is a tram or light rail system serving Dublin, the first such system in the decades since the closure of the last of the Dublin tramways. In 2007, the system carried 28.4 million passengers, a growth of 10% since...

 green line is adjacent to the school, and the Kilmacud
Kilmacud
Kilmacud is a suburban area in Dublin in the local authority area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.Kilmacud is the area west of Stillorgan. In essence, it is a collection of middle-class housing estates built in the 1950s by a range of small private construction companies to cater for the growing market...

 stop is at the back of the school. In 2009, a new road was opened, named Benildus Avenue, which runs parallel to the Luas
Luas
Luas , also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, is a tram or light rail system serving Dublin, the first such system in the decades since the closure of the last of the Dublin tramways. In 2007, the system carried 28.4 million passengers, a growth of 10% since...

 line. The new road aims to ease traffic congestion around Sandyford
Sandyford
Sandyford is a suburb of Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. A major part of Sandyford today is composed of the Sandyford Industrial Estate and related developments.- Location and access :...

 Industrial Estate.

Academics

The school has a relatively good academic record, and a higher than average percentage of its students go on to study at third level. The Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

 said Benildus had "the best education money can't buy".

Sports

Students are encouraged to participate in sports including basketball, football, hurling, soccer, chess, badminton, table tennis and athletics. The school has had much success in all of these sports, winning both Provincial and All Ireland honours in many. There is a healthy rivalry between Benildus and local school Coláiste Eoin
Coláiste Eoin
Coláiste Eoin is an Irish language Catholic voluntary secondary Gaelscoil for boys, under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust located in Booterstown, County Dublin, Ireland. It prides itself in the Irish culture, having successful hurling and football teams, traditional music bands,...

. Benildus' hurling and gaelic players come from local clubs, such as Kilmacud Crokes, Naomh Olaf
Naomh Ólaf
Naomh Ólaf is a Gaelic Athletic Association club which was founded in 1981 to provide facilities for encouraging the sporting abilities of the people of the developing parish of Balally in South County Dublin, Ireland...

, Ballinteer St Johns, and the Stars of Erin.

The school also runs a gym which is available to students in 4th year and over, although students who are supervised by a P.E.
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....

 teacher can use the facilities.

Further evidence of the college as a major sporting power is that they competed the Dublin Senior A football final in 2007 and 2008, narrowly losing to close rivals Coláiste Eoin
Coláiste Eoin
Coláiste Eoin is an Irish language Catholic voluntary secondary Gaelscoil for boys, under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust located in Booterstown, County Dublin, Ireland. It prides itself in the Irish culture, having successful hurling and football teams, traditional music bands,...

 and Portmarnock
Portmarnock
Portmarnock is a small suburban village to the north of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the administrative county of Fingal.-Location:Portmarnock lies on the coast and, owing to its proximity to Dublin city, is a form of dormitory village north-northeast of the city centre...

 respectively. But on the 19 March 2009 the mighty men of Benildus went out and won their first ever Dublin senior "A" colleges title. The school had much success in hurling in 08/09. The U-16 hurlers won the Dublin "A" division title and the U-14 hurlers won the "A" division shield. The Benildus team beat Coláiste Éanna
Coláiste Éanna
Coláiste Éanna CBS is a Catholic Secondary School for boys in Ballyroan, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1967 by the Christian Brothers, to serve the needs of Ballyroan and adjacent parishes. It now has over 500 pupils, and a staff of around 50....

 on both occasions. The 1st year soccer team won the Leinster title this year but they lost the All-Ireland semi-final. In January 2010, the Senior basketball team reached the U19'A' All Ireland Schools Cup final, narrowly losing out to Oranmore. On 4 May 2010, in O'Toole Park, Benildus retained their Dublin Senior "A" Football crown by beating local rivals Coláiste Eoin 1-8 to 0-7 in the final sparking joyous scenes at the final whistle.

Healthy eating policy

At the start of the school year 09/10, the school introduced a new Healthy Eating Policy, which included a relaunch of the school shop. Foods high in salt, sugar and saturated fats were replaced with healthier options.

Yearbook

In 2009, the college produced their first yearbook, titled 'The Frame' which included many articles written by students about trips taken from school and interviews of teachers, along with photos from the school year. Much of the editing work was carried out by a team of 4th year students. The first copies arrived at the school shortly before the school year ended. The yearbook was sold at a cost of €10 per student.

Due to the success of the yearbook, another was produced for the year 09/10 using the same title, but with more content.

Famous alumni

  • Bobby Healy; Business Eland Technology.
  • Danny O'Donoghue
    Danny O'Donoghue
    Danny O'Donoghue is an Irish singer-songwriter from the band The Script.-Career:O'Donoghue was an original member of a late '90s Eamonn Maguire managed Band called Mytown after being signed for $15 million dollars to Universal Records in 1999...

    ; of Irish band The Script.
  • David Gillick
    David Gillick
    David Gillick is an Irish international track and field athlete. David began his education in Our Lady's Boys School and attended St.Benildus College secondary school in Kilmacud. He studied at Dublin Institute of Technology before moving to Loughborough to train as a full time athlete with coach...

    ; twice Europe
    Europe
    Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

    an indoor athletics
    Athletics (track and field)
    Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

     gold medalist.
  • David Kitt
    David Kitt
    David Kitt is an Irish musician. He is the son of Irish politician Tom Kitt.He has released six studio albums to date: Small Moments, The Big Romance, Square 1, The Black and Red Notebook, Not Fade Away and The Nightsaver.-History:Kitt grew up surrounded by music, as his father and uncles formed a...

    ; singer-songwriter.
  • Derek Daly
    Derek Daly
    Derek Daly is a former racing driver from the Republic of Ireland. He won the 1977 British Formula Three Championship, and competed as a professional racing driver for 17 years participating in 64 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on April 2, 1978. He scored a total of 15...

    ; racing driver-Cart, Formula Two, Formula One.
  • Diarmaid Ferriter
    Diarmaid Ferriter
    Diarmaid Ferriter is an Irish author, historian, and university lecturer. He has authored several books on the subject of Irish history. Diarmaid attended St. Benildus College in Kilmacud in Dublin.-Career:...

    ; historian and author.
  • Gareth Colgan; Designer.
  • Joe Lynam
    Joe Lynam
    Joe Lynam is an Irish Journalist working for the BBC in the United Kingdom.Joe was born in Dublin and moved to London in 2001.Joe is the BBC's Weekend Business Correspondent covering economic, business, company, financial and personal finance news on the main BBC One bulletins as well as BBC News,...

    ; BBC Presenter
  • Maurice Pratt; Business, Ex Quinnsworth, Tesco, C & C.
  • Padraic McMahon; of Irish band The Thrills
    The Thrills
    The Thrills are an Irish rock band, formed in 2001 in Dublin, Ireland. The band was founded by lead vocalist Conor Deasy and guitarist Daniel Ryan, guitarist and bass player Padraic McMahon, pianist Kevin Horan and drummer Ben Carrigan. Their big break came with their debut album, So Much for the...

    .
  • Ray Cosgrove
    Ray Cosgrove
    Ray "Cossy" Cosgrove is an Irish Gaelic footballer, born in Dublin. He attended St. Benildus College in Kilmacud. He plays his club football for Kilmacud Crokes and played for the Dublin senior football team between 1999 and 2008...

    ; Dublin GAA footballer and former All-Star.
  • Richard Sadlier
    Richard Sadlier
    Richard Sadlier is an Irish former professional footballer and former CEO of St Patrick's Athletic F.C.. Since retirement from the professional game he has worked as a pundit with RTÉ, earning comparisons with Mark Lawrenson and Jim Beglin who also began to work in punditry after their careers...

    ; former Ireland
    Ireland
    Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

     international soccer player.
  • Fergal Bowers; RTE Health Correspondent.
  • Paul Cunningham
    Paul Cunningham
    Paul G. Cunningham is a minister and general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.Cunningham was elected to the highest office in the Church of the Nazarene at the denomination's 23rd General Assembly in Indianapolis, Indiana in July 1993. Prior to his election he served as the senior...

    ; RTE Environment Correspondent.

Famous teachers

  • Aidan Fennelly
    Aidan Fennelly
    Aidan Fennelly is a Gaelic football player from Laois in Ireland.He plays for the Portlaoise club. He usually plays at right corner back for Laois and in 2005 was nominated for a prestigious All-Star award...

    ; Laois footballer.
  • Austin O'Malley
    Austin O'Malley
    Austin O'Malley is a Gaelic football player for Wicklow and St Patricks. O'Malley won the Dublin Senior Football Championship with UCD in 2006. The Louisburgh native was involved in a messy transfer process which brought him to St. Vincents in Dublin. The story was leaked to Dublin newspaper, the...

    ; Mayo footballer.
  • Cormac McAnallen
    Cormac McAnallen
    Cormac McAnallen was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for Tyrone. He won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship with the county in 2003, also winning the Ulster Senior Football Championship twice and two National League titles. At underage level he won an All-Ireland Minor and two...

    ; Tyrone football captain.
  • Morris MacMahon; Kerry Goalkeeper, Author.
  • John Brennan
    John Brennan
    John Brennan may refer to:People*John Brennan * John Brennan * John Calder Brennan , historian* John Brennan , American football player...

    ; RTE Maths Columnist.

External links

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