Mount Temple Comprehensive School is a secondary school in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under the patronage of the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, and has, as a primary objective, the provision of state-funded second-level education to the Protestant population of northern Dublin, while accepting pupils of all religions and none. The school was established in 1972 following the amalgamation of Mountjoy School, Royal Hibernian Marine School in coastal Clontarf, and Bertrand & Rutland School.[2]
| Mount Temple Comprehensive School | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
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Malahide Road , , Dublin 3 Ireland | |
| Coordinates | 53°22′09″N 6°13′21″W / 53.3691°N 6.2225°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Non-fee paying co-educational comprehensive voluntary secondary school |
| Mottoes | All Different, All Equal,[1] Nisi Dominus Frustra, (Without the Lord, it is in vain) |
| Established | 1972 |
| Principal | Liam Wegimont |
| Teaching staff | >50 |
| Number of students | c. 900 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 25:1 approx. |
| Houses | 2 |
| Colour(s) | Black Blue |
| Information | 01 8336984 |
| Website | mounttemple.ie |
Students
editMount Temple Comprehensive School had about 450 students when it opened in 1972, which rose to over 700 students in the 1980-90s and from 2010 to 2020 had almost 900 students, and rising.[3]
Facilities
editThe school operates from several buildings, the main house being a protected structure.[4] In addition to science laboratories and IT space, the school had for many years a substantial lending and reference library with two paid staff and a rota of parent volunteers, and while the collection had to be moved to make space for teaching, the library room hosted a talk by Bono in late 2022.[5][6] External facilities include a number of on-premises pitches and courts.[7]
There have been plans for many years for a new school building to be added onsite to cater for the extra students, whose numbers are otherwise leading to pressure on space and loss of other facilities to additional classroom need; as of 2022, there is no spare classroom space, nor changing rooms for sport.[7] In 2017, the Department of Education and Skills commissioned a major architectural firm, Wejchert, to design a new main school building, and they assembled a full construction project team.[8] After Covid-related delays, in October 2020, in response to the last application, the city council planning inspector recommended planning permission be granted, despite some local objections, clearing the way to build a three-storey school building that could accommodate one thousand students.[9] This building, in excess of 10,000 sq. metres, will replace most of the non-protected school buildings.[8]
History
editThree schools
editHibernian Marine School was a charity school founded in 1766, originally to provide for the orphans and children of seamen.[10] The school was originally located in Ringsend, and moved to a new premises on Sir John Rogerson's Quay in 1773.[11] In 1904 it moved to Seafield Road in Clontarf, where the Seacourt estate now stands.[12]
Mountjoy School was a boarding school in Mountjoy Square (in the same building was the Incorporated Society for Promoting Protestant Schools), founded in 1896. It later moved to the current location in Clontarf in 1948.[13]
Bertrand & Rutland School was in Eccles Street on the northside of Dublin. It was a Church of Ireland School, which was itself formed by a 1947 merger of Rutland School and Bertrand High school, the latter of which was in turn formed by the amalgamation of Bethesda Female Orphan School and Bertrand Female Orphan School in 1943. The Bertrand and Rutland Fund still funds scholarships to Protestant schools in Ireland.[14]
Amalgamations
editHibernian Marine School amalgamated with Mountjoy School in 1968 and became Mountjoy & Marine School. The school later amalgamated with Bertrand & Rutland and took the name of Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1972.[15]
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Site
editMount Temple was once a residence for the agent of the Earl of Charlemont.[16] The present house was built by the magistrate J. C. Stronge in 1860, and was a family home to Elizabeth Bowen.[16][17][18] For a period, the estate was owned by Thomas Picton-Bradshaw and known as Bradshaws.[18][19] Mountjoy School then took possession in 1949 prior to the merger that formed Mount Temple Comprehensive.[16][11]
Popular culture
editMount Temple was the school where the rock band U2 was formed. In September 1976, 14-year-old drummer Larry Mullen Jr. posted a notice on the school's noticeboard, looking for fellow musicians. All four members of U2 are former pupils of the school.[20]
Christopher Nolan's autobiographical novel Under the Eye of the Clock, which won the Whitbread Award, is based around his time in Mount Temple.[21] The school now awards "Eye of the Clock Awards" for contributions to school life and academic achievement.[22]
Summer activities onsite
editDuring the summer months the whole school facility is used by the Centre of English Studies (CES), catering for hundreds of international students who come to Dublin to learn English.
Notable alumni
edit- Shaun Aisbitt, Ireland's tallest man[23]
- Steve Averill, musician, designer working closely with U2[24]
- Bono (Paul David Hewson), frontman of U2,[20] and husband of activist, businesswoman and fellow past pupil, Ali Hewson
- Amanda Brunker, former Miss Ireland[25]
- Linda Brunker, sculptor [26][27]
- Diane Caldwell, Irish international footballer[28]
- Catríona Cannon, librarian and academic[29]
- Adam Clayton, musician, best known as the bassist of the Irish rock band U2[20]
- Damien Dempsey, musician[30]
- Dudley Higgins, Ireland national rugby union player and president of the Irish Rugby Football Union[31]
- David Howell "The Edge" Evans, musician, best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2[20]
- Dik Evans, brother of David Howell "The Edge" Evans and founder member of The Hype and Feedback, previous incarnations of the band U2
- Frank Ll. Harrison, musicologist[32]
- Ali Hewson, activist, businesswoman and wife of U2 frontman Bono[20]
- Robert Hilliard, Olympic boxer, Church of Ireland minister, journalist, and communist who died fighting with the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War[33]
- Mick Kearney, player with Leinster Rugby[34][35]
- Becky Lynch, professional wrestler (WWE)[36]
- Andrew Maxwell, comedian[37]
- Alan Maybury, Irish football international[38]
- Neil McCormick, music journalist[39]
- Sir David McMurtry, industrialist, co-founder of metrology company Renishaw plc, based in Wotton-under-Edge.[40]
- Larry Mullen Jr., musician, drummer and the founding member of the rock band U2[20]
- Christopher Nolan, author[41]
- Mark O'Neill, television presenter[42]
- Duncan Smith, Labour Party TD for Dublin Fingal[43]
Notable faculty
edit- Elspeth Henderson, president of Irish Girl Guides
- Patrick Hughes, former Irish cricket international
- Colin McKenzie, head of Irish Kidney Association[44]
- Gerard Stembridge, writer, director and actor
References
edit- ^ Learning Policy, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Official Policy, available 12 July 2015 at http://www.mounttemple.ie/policies/learning-policy/
- ^ Mount Temple Comprehensive History
- ^ "Data on Individual Schools". Department of Education. November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ "Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Malahide Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3, DUBLIN". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Finn, Melanie (11 October 2022). "(Exclusive) Bono gives sixth-year pupils a Beautiful Day in surprise visit". The Irish Independent. Mediahuis Gmbh. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ "Library". Mount Temple School. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Sports". Mount Temple School.
- ^ a b "Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Malahide Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3". Wejchert Architects. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ "Dublin author fails in bid to prevent Bono's old school getting planning for new building". The Irish Times. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ "1773 – Hibernian Marine School, Dublin". Archiseek - Irish Architecture. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ a b McIntyre, Dennis (1987). The Meadow of the Bull: A History of Clontarf. Dublin: Future Print.
- ^ Ordnance Survey Ireland, National Townland and Historical Map Viewer, Historic 6" Last Edition B&W: DN019
- ^ "Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Malahide Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3, DUBLIN". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ Educational Endowment Schemes Archived 2012-11-13 at the Wayback Machine Dáil Éireann - Volume 393 - 14 November 1989
- ^ "Free Secondary Education For Protestants 1972". RTÉ. 16 September 1972. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ a b c Garrett, Arthur (1985). In Ages Past: The Short of North Strand Church Sunday and Day School. Dublin: Jack Hade and Company.
- ^ Bunbury, Turtle. "The Colleys of Castle Carbery, Mount Temple & Corkagh". Turtle Bunbury: Irish Histories. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Local History". www.donnycarneyparish.ie. Our Lady of Consolation. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ Carolan, Noel (22 June 2020). "Fairview Park 1900 – 1930: forgotten achievements and landscapes". Old Dublin Society: 23. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. (9 October 2007). U2 by U2. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-077674-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Death of Irish author Christopher Nolan announced". The Irish Times. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ "Eye of the Clock". Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Meet Ireland's Tallest Man". Irish Independent. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ Hayden, Jackie (16 September 2001). "The Hot Press Interview: Steve Averill". Hot Press. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ^ Irish Times Article February 22, 2005.
- ^ "Famous Past Pupils – Mount Temple Comprehensive".
- ^ "SIBLINGS Amanda and Linda Brunker". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Diane meets up with Beckham and Figo..." Fingal Independent. 3 June 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "40 Years: Merton Women 1980-2020: Catríona Cannon (1990)". Merton College. University of Oxford. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ Times Online article on Damien Dempsey's background.
- ^ Rugby: Dudley Higgins' unique role in Irish rugby
- ^ D. F. L. Chadd: "Francis Llewellyn Harrison, 1905–1987", in: Proceedings of the British Academy (1989), p. 361; see Bibliography.
- ^ Ware, Séamas (May 2002). "The Boxing Parson" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. International Society of Olympic Historians. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
- ^ MICK KEARNEY at Leinster Rugby
- ^ Michael Kearney on LinkedIn
- ^ "Becky Lynch, the girl from Baldoyle who has become a wrestling superstar". The Irish Times.
- ^ A short bio on comedy CV. IMDB entry
- ^ Short article from Ireland.com about Maybury being called for the Irish team.
- ^ McCormick, Neil; Adam Clayton; Bono; The Edge; Larry Mullen Jr. (2005). U2 by U2. New York: HarperEntertainment. pp. 40-46. ISBN 0-06-077675-7.
- ^ "Irish-born designer receives knighthood". Irish Times. 15 January 2001. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ BBC article on Christopher Nolan winning the Whitbread award.
- ^ "So, how low did they go?". Irish Independent. 12 April 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Duncan Smith". Labour. 5 November 2015.
- ^ U2’S Former Music Teacher Lands a Top Gig as Kidney Association Chief