Sandymount High School
Sandymount High School was a coeducational secondary school on Herbert Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4. Founded in 1947, it was initially controversial because, as a non-denominational school, it wasn't owned by a church but by the Cannon family, who also provided the two headmasters the school had: father and son Patrick and Conall Cannon. Patrick's wife Eileen Cannon also served as headmistress.
The school's student body was arguably drawn from several distinct groups:
- those from a local council estate called Beech Hill
- the offspring of parents disenchanted with denominational/same sex schools
- Students on the Malahide/Howth to Bray rail corridor and the 3 & 18 bus routes
- foreign nationals who paid tuition fees
The school's pre-Celtic Tiger period accommodation and successful integration of the latter group was remarkable, as until the late 1990s non-white/non-Christian students were a rarity in the vast majority of Irish classrooms.
While the school had gym — basically exercise classes — for Intermediate Certificate students, it had no compulsory sports or sports team while Conall Cannon, the second headmaster, was in charge: allegedly he hated having compulsory sports while he was a student. The first headmaster, Patrick Cannon, was happy to have rugby as the main school sport for both Intermediate and Leaving Certificate male students in the early 1960s.
A rival school opened next door several years later: Marian College, run by the Catholic Church. It was opened at the behest of John Charles McQuaid to counter what he perceived as the influence of Sandymount High.[1] Marian College even copied the school colours.
The school was closed in 1999 and the land sold for development.[2] The site now contains a gated community called Cannon Place.
Famous former pupils include Fionnula Flanagan,[3] Charlie Bird,[4] Eric Brennan, Eamonn Dunphy and Ronnie Delaney.
External links
References
- ↑ John Charles McQuaid: ruler of Catholic Ireland, John Cooney, p.295
- ↑ Parliamentary Debates, 26 April 2006 - the school is listed as one that closed since 1996
- ↑ Fionnula Flanagan, the Lisa Richards Agency
- ↑ Press Release Archive, University College Dublin, retrieved 21 July 2009
Coordinates: 53°20′01″N 6°13′32″W / 53.3335°N 6.2255°W