St. Aloysius College, Athlone

{{Infobox school

| name = St. Aloysius College

| native_name = {{Native name|ga|Coláiste Naomh Aloysius|paren=omit}}

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| motto = Per ardua ad astra

| motto_translation = Success through Effort

| established = {{Start date|1960}}

| closed = {{End date|2017}}

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| gender = Male

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| head_name = Second Master

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| streetaddress = Deer Park Road

| city = Athlone

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| country = Ireland

| coordinates = {{Coord|53.4201|-7.9457|region:IE_type:edu|display=inline,title}}

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| campus_type = Urban

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| website = {{URL|www.staloysiuscollege.ie}}

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St. Aloysius College ({{langx|ga|Coláiste Naomh Aloysius}}) was a secondary school in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland. It was primarily a school for boys, though its Leaving Certificate Repeat Programme was open to all students.

History

The school was founded in 1960 by Monsignor John McCarthy and Dr. Vincent Hanly, Bishop of Elphin. The institution is named after Aloysius Gonzaga, the Renaissance Italian aristocrat born in 1568, who joined the Jesuits, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726.

The first classes took place in a small room attached to the Dean Crowe Theatre. The school later moved to a much larger, dedicated location at Deer Park Road, its present-day location. The Georgian house there, built in 1820, was the sole venue for classes in the early years after the move, but as the number of pupils grew, newer classrooms, study areas and recreation facilities were built.

The late Dr. Joseph Ducke, author, and founder of the 'Passionfruit Theatre', taught English at the school.{{fact|date=May 2020}}

In 2010, the college partnered with Élan Corporation in a business-to-education learning initiative.{{cite web | title=St Aloysius and Elan join in a novel partnership | url=http://www.anglocelt.ie/news/business/articles/2010/05/12/3997095-st-aloysius-and-elan-join-in-a-novel-partnership | date=12 May 2010 | journal=The Anglo-Celt | access-date=4 August 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814155530/http://www.anglocelt.ie/news/business/articles/2010/05/12/3997095-st-aloysius-and-elan-join-in-a-novel-partnership | archive-date=14 August 2014 | df= }}

From the start of the 2017/2018 academic year, the school merged with St. Joseph's College, Summerhill, with the new name of Colaiste Chiaráin, named after the local saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise. The new school is located at the existing Summerhill site, on the outskirts of Athlone, with a new name, and new management structures.{{cite web | title=Major announcement on future of two athlone secondary schools | url=http://www.westmeathindependent.ie/news/roundup/articles/2015/09/23/4106188-major-announcement-on-future-of-two-athlone-secondary-schools/ | date=23 September 2015 | journal = Westmeath Independent | accessdate=8 December 2015}}

Awards and academic achievements

In 2014, the school won third place in the technology category at the Young Scientist Exhibition,{{cite web |title=The Results |url=http://www.independent.ie/life/family/learning/the-results-29906674.html |date=11 January 2014 |journal=Irish Independent |accessdate=4 August 2014}} with students Lochlann O’Regan, Paul Rushe and Eryk Zaplata{{cite web |title=Category Awards |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 August 2014 |via=Wayback Machine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811103410/http://www.btyoungscientist.ie/search/results/category-awards|url=http://www.btyoungscientist.ie/search/results/category-awards |website=BTYoungScientist.ie |access-date=21 November 2018}} answer to the question 'Can non-proprietary/open-source software be used to emulate large scale proprietary text to speech systems?'.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808052020/http://www.advertiser.ie/athlone/article/66237/westmeath-projects-vie-for-young-scientist-title |archive-date=8 August 2014 |url-status=live|title=Aloysius projects vie in Young Scientist expo |url=http://www.advertiser.ie/athlone/article/66237/westmeath-projects-vie-for-young-scientist-title |date=10 January 2014 |journal=Athlone Advertiser |author=Tríona Doherty |access-date=4 August 2014}} Also in 2014 students Dylan Fuery, Chris Halota and Oisin Prendergast won a Display award at the Young Scientist Exhibition with their project "Can an architectural program be combined to create a interactive map?". The project later won first place in its category at Sci Fest.

Also in 2014, the school won the SEAI Sustainable Energy Award at the SciFest event at Athlone Institute of Technology, with pupil Aaron Broughall's project 'Let your devices soak up the rain', under the mentor-ship of teacher Bill Kearney,{{cite web |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808043558/http://scifest.ie/athlone-institute-of-technology-major-award-winners-2014 |archive-date=8 August 2014 |via=Wayback Machine |title=Athlone Institute of Technology Major Award Winners 2014 |url=http://scifest.ie/athlone-institute-of-technology-major-award-winners-2014 |journal=SciFest.ie |access-date=4 August 2014}} while student Loughlan O'Regan was recognised with a Junior Ericsson Technology Award for his project 'Teaching the basics of sailing using information technology tools'.

Notable alumni

Michael Duignan, Catholic bishop
Denis Naughten, TD and minister
Owen Killian, CEO of Aryzta{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/top-marks-the-schools-that-shaped-our-business-brains-28950704.html | title=Top marks: The schools that shaped our business brains | date=22 December 2012 | first=Mark | last=Keenan | publisher=independent.ie | accessdate=25 January 2020 }}

References

External links

{{official website}}

Category:1960 establishments in Ireland

Category:2017 disestablishments in Ireland

Category:Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland

Category:Educational institutions established in 1960

Category:Educational institutions disestablished in 2017

Category:Schools in Athlone

Category:Secondary schools in County Westmeath