Ardscoil Rís, Limerick


Ardscoil Rís is a voluntary, all-boys, Roman Catholic secondary school in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1963, it is located on the North Circular Road.

History

Ardscoil Rís was formally opened by the Christian Brothers, on the North Circular Road in Limerick, on 1 September 1963. It welcomed 52 pupils in its first year and classes were held in an old school house until the first purpose-built classrooms were available. This first intake included Pat Cox, who later became a politician.
From its foundation, the school was managed by the Christian Brothers. In 1989, a board of management, representing trustees, staff and parents, was put in place and a lay principal was appointed. From these beginnings, the school, augmented by periodic extensions, grew. By 2018, it had grown to over 740 students and had fifty teaching staff.
A team from the school won the RTÉ television secondary schools quiz programme Blackboard Jungle in 1993.
The late twentieth century witnessed the contraction of religious orders in Ireland. Ardscoil Rís's last remaining Christian Brothers had retired from teaching duties by the mid-2000s and the school is now staffed entirely by lay teachers. The Christian Brothers maintain ownership and trusteeship of the school and are represented on the board of management by four lay representatives.
In 2010, the redevelopment of the school went to the construction stage following almost a decade of lobbying and planning. Acting as main contractor for the project, Cordil Construction were responsible for the management of the €5 million plan, which saw the school expand to three times the usable space on completion of all three phases. Construction was temporarily abandoned in 2011 due to the liquidation of Cordil Construction, but continued following a seventeen-month delay. The new school was official opened in March 2014 by Limerick City TD and then Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan.

Sport

Rugby, hurling and field hockey are the main sporting activities of the school. Teams representing the school have won the Munster Schools Senior Cup and Junior Cup competitions, the Dr. Harty Cup, the Dean Ryan Cup and the White Cup.
Ardscoil Rís is one of the most successful Limerick schools in hurling. In March 2010, Ard Scoil Ris became the first Limerick team since 1993 to win the Dr. Harty Cup. They defeated the 2009 champions Thurles CBS after a third replay and lost to St. Kieran's College in the All-Ireland final later that year. In 2022, Arscoil Rís defeated St. Kierans college to win the Croke Cup, the All-Ireland senior hurling schools title. It was the first time the Croke Cup had been won by a Limerick side in over 50 years.
On 8 November 2014, Paul O'Connell captained Ireland against South Africa in the Aviva Stadium, Seán Cronin started at hooker and Dave Kilcoyne came on as a replacement in the 73rd minute, this was the first and only time that three past pupils of the school earned Ireland caps on the same day.

Alumni

Politics

Sports

Limerick GAA
Clare GAA
  • Darach Honan Clare GAA Clare hurler. Munster and All Ireland U21 Hurling medal winner 2009. All Ireland Senior Hurling medal winner 2013. Named U21 Hurling Player of the Year in 2009.
  • Conor Ryan Clare GAA Clare hurler. Munster and All Ireland U21 Hurling medal winner 2012. All Ireland Senior Hurling medal winner 2013. Man of the Match award for his performance in the 2013 All Ireland Hurling Final. GAA/GPA All Star award 2013.
Rugby
Other sports

Music