Synge Street CBS
Synge Street CBS is a boys' non-fee-paying state school, under the auspices of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, located in the Dublin 8 area of Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1864 by Canon Edward McCabe and Brother Edward O'Flaherty, as part of a mid-nineteenth century programme to expand the provision of Catholic schooling across the city, particularly for poorer boys. It was important in developing multiple new Christian Brothers schools in the local area and beyond.
Originally the school was part of the Christian Brothers monastery, but in 1954 new buildings were erected for primary pupils, and in 1964 for secondary pupils on Heytesbury Street. Although founded and largely known as an all-boys school, since 2016 it has offered co-educational Gaelscoil classes at primary level. Having been the second-largest school in the country in the 1950s, the school roll declined significantly from the turn of the millennium, and by 2021 there were only around 260 pupils at second level, and just 100 at primary. In September 2024, it was announced that the secondary school would be moving to a co-educational basis, and all-Irish education. The moves were controversial as they had not been discussed with parents or staff in advance, even the principal, and many staff were said to lack the training to teach other subjects through Irish. Further, with much of the student body having a diverse background, some sources suggested that many would have to move school as a result.
The school has a long list of notable alumni in Irish political, business, academic, media and sporting life, including both the President and Taoiseach of Ireland for a period of nearly two years in the mid-1970s, and is a status that has led to the school being described as the Eton of Ireland. It also has a strong record in the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition becoming, in 2022, the first school to win the overall prize four times.
History
Mid-nineteenth century Ireland, and Dublin in particular, saw a major push for expansion of Catholic education. Church officials were particularly keen to ensure there was provision for the poor and given societal perspectives of the time, this led to a focus on provision for poor boys. When Canon Edward McCabe was appointed as parish priest at St Nicholas parish in Francis Street, in the Liberties, it was probably inevitable that church institutions would expand in the area, after the successful struggle for Catholic emancipation in the 1820s and 1830s.In 1861, he secured a parcel of land between Synge Street and Heytesbury Street and built a temporary wooden church as the basis for a new neighbouring parish of Saint Kevin's. Between 1862 and 1864, he raised funding for and commissioned the building of the original monastery and school on the Synge Street side of the plot.
McCabe's partner in these endeavours was Brother Edward O'Flaherty, a teacher at the Christian Brothers' Mill Street school. O'Flaherty had taught James Aloysius Hoare at Mill Street in the 1820s, and it was more than fortuitous that Hoare was appointed as the third Superior General of the order in 1862.
The first school opened on 12 April 1864, with O'Flaherty as the first Superior, and the first pupil enrolled was Paul McSwiney, son of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Peter Paul McSwiney. Very quickly the number on roll reached its limit at 600 pupils with 10 Christian Brothers employed teaching them.
The school building was extended four times over the next half century culminating with the purchase and demolition of three cottages at Nos. 13–15 Synge Street and extending the school building into the space. In 1931, a gaelscoil was opened in premises at Harcourt Street by brothers from the school community. Called Coláiste Mhuire, the school in 1933 moved to the Gaelic League headquarters on Parnell Square and ceased to be managed from Synge Street.
In 1925 the school affiliated to the newly created Irish Free State's Programme for National Schools, and has continued to provide education free of charge since then.
The school is known as "Synger" colloquially.
The new secondary school has been officially known as St Paul's Secondary School, Heytesbury Street. The present building replaced a row of houses, used for class-rooms, and was opened by the Minister of Education Donogh O'Malley in January 1967, and blessed by John Charles McQuaid. It was extended in the 1980s.
In September 2024, it was announced that the school would be moving to a co-educational basis, and an all-Irish educational approach. It later became known that this decision was only notified to the principal, and then staff, the day before public announcement, and without involvement of parents, the actual decision having been made by the Edmund Rice Schools Trust and approved by the Minister for Education. It was stated that many staff were not trained to teach other subjects through Irish, and much of the student body has a diverse national or ethnical background, with some sources suggest that many will have to move school as a result.
School roll
Having started with 600 on the roll in 1864, by 1963 the roll had expanded to 1500. A profile in the Irish Times in 1953 described the school as the second largest in the country.The roll size has collapsed in recent years, due to changes in local demographics; in 2010 the school saw its roll fall by 11% over 2004 figures. But it is still seen to be a very viable school, and in 2015 had been part of the Delivering Equality in Schools programme for the past 20 years.
Primary schools
In 1930 a new primary school was opened at Donore Avenue to the west, under the patronage of the Brothers at Synge Street. This was followed in 1947 by the building of Scoil Iosagáin Primary School, again under Synge Street's patronage, to the south at Aughavanna Road in Dolphin's Barn, and by the opening, in 1954, of the new Sancta Maria CBS primary to the north of the current school on Synge Street. In 1961, a new primary was opened at Francis Street, replacing an earlier 1846 building, under the patronage of the school's Christian Brothers community.In 2017 Bunscoil Sancta Maria changed its enrolment policy to accept boys and girls at Junior Infant level to be educated via the medium of Irish. The existing enrolment of boys at 2nd class remains. This Irish stream was the first-ever 'sruth' established at primary level in Ireland.
School site and buildings
The school, at its greatest extent, covered most of the area delimited by Heytesbury Street, Grantham Street, Synge Street and Harrington Street in Dublin 8. The other major building on this block is St Kevin's Church, which had very strong links with the school, providing a venue for most school-related religious celebrations.There are two main school buildings, St Pauls Secondary School facing onto Heytesbury Street, and Sancta Maria Primary School on Synge Street. The third large building on the site now hosts the Lantern Centre, a community intercultural venue, although it was the original school building and Christian Brothers monastery.
St Pauls was built in the 1960s and extended in the 1980s. It contains three science labs, an art room, and a library, as well as the classrooms. It hosts the school PE hall which is also used for drama productions and featured in the film Sing Street.
Curriculum
The school educates to Leaving Certificate and runs a transition year. It has been perceived to be a traditionally academic school. Gay Byrne has indicated in his era that the prime driver of the school was for the boys to pass their exams.In September 2024, it was announced that the school would be moving to a co-educational basis, and all-Irish education. It later became known that this was only notified to the principal, and then staff, the day before public announcement, the actual decision having been made by the Edmund Rice Schools Trust with the approval of the Minister for Education. Many staff are not trained to teach other subjects through Irish, and much of the student body has a diverse national or ethnical background, and some sources suggest that many pupils will have to move school as a result.
Drama and the arts
The school has a long history of drama productions including The Plough and the Stars and The Risen People. Records for an "Annual Concert" go back to 1893. When St Pauls was built in the 1960s it included a large fully equipped theatre which was used to produce drama productions right from the beginning.Sports
As with most non-fee-paying Christian Brothers schools, the sporting focus of the school was in gaelic games, to the point that other sports, especially soccer, were actively discouraged. But activities such as athletics, water polo, golf swimming and chess were tolerated and even encouraged.Gaelic football
Football and hurling were the school's two traditional sports throughout the 20th century. The school produced numerous successful teams, including Dublin and Leinster Colleges Champions in 1964 at Under 15, a team that included Don Givens, while the school contested three out of six Leinster Colleges hurling and football finals in 1956. The Leinster Junior Cup winning team of 1965 comprised the core of the 1967 Leinster Senior Cup finalists, including one Anton O'Toole in both teams.Synge Street Past Pupils Gaelic Football Club
Until 1999, past pupils of the school played together in a unique club – Synge Street Past Pupils GFC. The club would only register players who had formerly been pupils at the school. In 1999 the club merged with Templeogue GFC to form Templeogue Synge Street GFC.The club own their own grounds at Dolphin Park, in Dolphins Barn. This ground was originally the Dolphin Racing Track and was purchased by the Christian Brothers in 1943, as playing fields for the school, with a total area of 15 acres, but were subsequently sold to the club in the 1990s.