All Hallows College
All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing because of declining student enrollment. The sale of the campus in Drumcondra to Dublin City University was announced on 19 June 2015 and completed on 8 April 2016. The college closed on 30 November 2016, becoming the All Hallows Campus of Dublin City University.
History
The college was founded in 1842 by Reverend John Hand and, from 1892 until its closure in 2016, was under the direction of Vincentians.By 1973, the college had trained 4000 priests for England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, South America, South Africa, India, Canada, Australia, the West Indies, New Zealand, and the United States. All-Hallows alumni were the largest group of secular priests in California up to the late 1890s.
The name of the Monastery may also originate from the fact that the lands it was built upon once belonged to the much older monastic foundations of the Priory of All Hallows owned by the Augustinians and founded by Diarmaid mac Murchadha in 1166, but later dissolved under the Reformation. The general area of Drumcondra back then was commonly known as Clonturk or Ceann Torc of North, Dublin.
The academic training for a priest took seven years, of which three were devoted to physics, mental philosophy, languages, and English literature; the remaining four years were devoted to sacred scripture, history, liturgy, canon law, sacred eloquence, and the science of theology.
Up until 1891, the college was run on a voluntary basis, not under any particular Catholic body, following a number of disputes with the hierarchy and Cardinal Cullen, over the administration of the College, and increased nationalism in the college following on from the Land League and Home rule movements, following intervention from the pope, the Vincentians were placed in charge of the college.
The church organ was built in 1898 by Telford & Telford of Dublin.
After its establishment in 1909, some students would take examinations for the National University of Ireland, as some students had previously done with its predecessor the Royal University of Ireland from 1936 All Hallows students attended UCD's Earlsfort Terrace for their degree courses.
In autumn 1955, while on holiday in Ireland, Senator John F. Kennedy addressed students of All Hallows at the invitation of Fr. Joseph Leonard. His speech referred to the suppression of religion in the Soviet bloc.
After the Second Vatican Council
In the 1960s, after the Second Vatican Council, the college began accepting women from religious orders and also all Lay Students, offering adult education, and certificates, degrees and diplomas in theology, humanities and pastoral studies.In 1976, the Vincentian retreat and conferencing in St. Joseph's, Blackrock, moved to Purcell House, All Hallows. Similarly, in 1981 the Vincentian Mission Team moved to the College, from Blackrock, resulting in All Hallows being where missionaries returned to stay.
In 1982 the Diploma in Pastoral Leadership course commenced. The Pathways - Exploring Faith and Ministry adult education course for the dublin diocese commenced in 1985.
In 1984, the Dominican College Girls Secondary school, Eccles St., transferred to a new school built on the northern part of All Hallows College lands, on Griffith Avenue.
The BA degree, a four-year programme in Theology with Philosophy, Psychology or Spirituality was validated by the Irish governments NCEA in 1988. In 1991 the Evening BA and MA by Research began, which was followed in 1993 by the taught MA programme.
In 1992 during the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the college, the All Hallows Association was set up by Pastmen former students of the college who had not proceeded to ordination. Also in 1992 the Sabbatical Renewal Programme commenced.
In 1997 in association with the National Adult Literacy Agency, the Dept. of Education, and WIT, the first Certificate in Training and Development Adult Basic Education Management was run in All Hallows.
The final two ordinations took place in 1998 and the College ceased to be a seminary.
In 1999, the colleges degree programmes were validated by Dublin City University following on from NCEA. The undergraduate degrees based on subjects were recognised by the teaching council entitling graduates to teach in secondary schools in Ireland.
From 2003 to 2015, Preparing for Ministries, a version of the Pathways programme in All Hallows, was provided on an outreach basis, at various locations in the Diocese of Clogher.
In 2008, the college, as with the Mater Dei, and St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, became a college of Dublin City University.
In 2009 MA in Ecology and Religion run by the Missionary Society of St. Columban moved to the college and in 2012 the MA in Applied Spirituality moved from the Milltown Institute began being delivered by All Hallows.
In 2012, the International Peace Bureau conference was held in All Hallows, where President Michael D. Higgins presented the Sean McBride Prize.
In 2018 the All Hallows Alumni Network was set up to continue the connection between graduates of the college.
Courses
All Hallows College was home to programmes that provided students with the skills to promote fairness and equality in the workplace and in society: leadership and management in the pastoral arena, the community and voluntary sector and on all dialogue between public policy and social justice. Programmes were held in spirituality, supervisory practice and ecology and their application to questions and issues about the meaning of life that came up in work settings, therapeutic settings, family settings, relationships or in the context of social issues. The college enrolled 700 students.The college offered joint major undergraduate degree courses in a combination of Theology and either Psychology, English Literature or Philosophy. These were offered under the Free Fees scheme that operates in Irish third-level education. Degree options were also available excluding Theology. In those instances, students applied directly to the college and paid full fees. The undergraduate degree courses were available to school leavers via the Dept. of Education's Central Applications Office, yet about 50% of first-year students were mature students.
The college offered postgraduate programmes in Social studies such as Social Justice and Public Policy, Management: Community and Voluntary Services, Leadership and Pastoral Care, Christian Spirituality, Supervisory Practice and Ecology and Religion. Most of these taught courses had a graduate certificate and diploma stages prior to the MA stage. The college also offered research master's and doctoral studies. All of the master's and doctoral programmes were entitled to tax relief under the government scheme.
In 2017, the President of All Hallows College in conjunction with Dublin City University launched a strategic plan for the future called the Aisling program in order to modernize the courses on offer in the college and also develop a stronger academic and resource links with its new partner institute, Dublin City University.
All Hallows ran adult and community learning courses.
As part of the reaction to the closure of the aerospace company in Dublin Airport under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund a tailored degree course was provided in All Hallows for some 70 former employees.
Public talks
The college ran a series of public talks each autumn and spring on subjects relating to the church, its mission and social justice, the 2015 spring series was entitled "Reading the Signs of the Times - Urgent Questions for the Church today", with speakers including Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Fr. Peter McVerry SJ. Previous subjects have included "Vatican II : The Journey Continues" and "The Joy of the Gospel: Evangelii Gaudium Exploring the Teaching of Pope Francis".Graduation
Graduation took place every year on campus. The final graduation, 1 November 2016, was presided over by the vice-president, Mary McPhillips and the president of Dublin City University, Brian McCraith. Following the ceremony, a reception was held for graduates and their friends and families in the college dining hall.Exchange programmes
The college engaged in the Erasmus student exchange programmes with Liverpool Hope University as well as the universities of Trier and Erfurt in Germany. All Hallows ran study abroad programmes with American universities such as DePaul University in Chicago and St. John's University both also founded by Vincentians. The college also engaged in programmes with Webster University, St. Louis; the University of Missouri and Regis University, Denver.Facilities
The college had a dining room, student common room, computer room, the John Hand library and study facilities. Students could use the facilities in Dublin City University and its sister colleges. Students had access to online learning via moodle. An archive of the college was hosted on campus. The college had on-campus accommodation for visiting students and groups. The Purcell House building hosted seminars, conferences, and workshops.A number of non-profit organisations and charities such as Volunteer Missionary Movement, Daughters of Charity Education and Training Service, Ruhama, Accord Catholic Marriage Counselling, Debt and Development Coalition Ireland, Console, Migraine Association of Ireland, National Association for Pastoral Counselling and Psychotherapy, Marys Meals, and Older Women's Network Ireland were based on campus.
On campus there is a monument to Fr. Hand and a graveyard where he and a number of other former presidents, professors and students of the college are buried. Deceased former students and staff are commemorated by trees planted on the college grounds.
The College Chapel was often used for concerts by choirs and musical societies, such as Liam Lawton, Dolce Choir, The Offbeat Ensemble, and the Dublin Airport Singers.
On 22 December 2003, the college hosted a special Christmas edition of RTÉs Marian Finucane Show with choirs for the northside of Dublin, and featured Brian Kennedy, Suzanne Murphy, Anúna, Bernadette Greevey and the Three American Tenors.
The BBC Songs of Praise show on 20 March 2016, featured a recording of Enya singing in the college chapel.