St. Laurence College was established in 1967 by the Cincinnati Province of the Society of Mary (The Marianist Order), a religious congregation of priests and brothers founded in France in 1817 by Blessed William Joseph Chaminade. The College is a voluntary secondary school. It has been co-educational since 1973. A number of Marianist religious continue to be active members of the school staff. This year the enrolment is just over 305 students.
The College began operation in pre-fabs and the present circular building was formally opened in 1970. The overall site area is 6.9 hectares with playing pitches, car parking, roads and hard surface playing areas. The general school building is a reinforced concrete structure with a floor area of over 5,600 sq. metres including the sports hall. Some internal partitions have converted open plan classroom spaces into individual rooms.
The Sports Hall has a floor area of over 1000 sq. metres. The Computer Room was completed in 2004/5 and a Prayer Room constructed in 2005. The two Science Laboratories and Home Economics room were extensively refurbished in 2006. In 2007 the Technical Drawing room was completely refurbished. In 2008 a new four-room permanent extension was added to the College. In 2008 the tennis court was developed into an all weather football pitch.
In 2009 the Library was completely refurbished (dedicated the Bro Fred Rech Library in May 2011) including the creation of Staff Study and Conference Room areas. In 2010 the entire College underwent an electrical refurbishment. In 2011 the College availed of over €70,000 in funding for ICT infrastructure: every classroom now having a teacher PC work station and a fixed Digital Projector (particularly resourcing Project Maths with a Project Maths Classroom).
Situated on the main Bray dual carriageway (N11) between Cabinteely and Shankill, St. Laurence College is within easy reach for families living in Ballybrack, Loughlinstown, Cherrywood, Cabinteely, Killiney, Dalkey, Shankill, Dun Laoghaire and Bray. The school can be reached by Dublin Bus route numbers 7, 7A, 45, 45A, 145 and 84, as well as by DART services via the 111 feeder bus service from Dun Laoghaire. Since November 2010, the school is also accessible by using the LUAS (Cherrywood stop).
Our Trustees are the Society of Mary, Province of the United States (Marianists). The Board of Management operates the school under the Articles of Management for Catholic Secondary Schools on behalf of the Marianists. St. Laurence College has three Marianists on staff, one of whom is Irish but remains associated with the American Province. It is the only Marianist school in Ireland.
While members of the order are now active in a wide variety of occupations and professions, since their inception the Marianists have been in the vanguard of educational progress, administering primary, secondary and university level schools and colleges in many countries around the world. The only Marianist School in Ireland, St. Laurence College, forms part of the order’s USA province.
In keeping with the order’s Ethos and Philosophy, each Marianist School aims to:
- Educate for formation in faith
- Provide an integral, quality education
- Educate in family spirit
- Educate for service, justice, and peace
- Educate for adaptation and change.
Our first logo
The goal of education is to develop every student as a whole person, helping them to understand the many different branches of human knowledge, educating them to critical thinking and stimulating their desire for truth and theory in action.
This philosophy is summarised in the artwork proudly displayed on our main lobby wall. The quote beneath the sculpture reads: “Out of darkness and imagination towards truth.”
Traditionally this work is understood by some to be a dove on the backdrop of a cross, others hold that the original idea was the spirit of truth arising out of a set square and an artist’s palette. Either way it has been a very important symbol for our staff and students.
The quote and its source: Blessed Cardinal Newman died on August 11, 1890. Before his death he requested that his gravestone bear the words: “Ex umbris et imaginibus in Veritatem” (from which our translation evolves).
What kind of man was Newman? What did he say? Included are just a few references.
“Be on your guard that the world does not lead you astray!”
So Blessed Cardinal Newman speaks to us today. “[The world] would convince you that only it is reasonable and wise, that religion is a relic of the past. . . It will call evil good and good evil. And so you will surely be tempted. . . Either you will conquer the world, or the world will conquer you.”
The Irish bishops invited Newman to found a Catholic university in Dublin—an ambitious project which he successfully undertook during the 1850s. But differences on what a Catholic university should be, caused the bishops to withdraw their support at a crucial time, leaving Newman to return, humiliated, to England.
The sculptor: Richard Enda King (1943-1995)
The art of Richard Enda King is imbued with a deep spirituality which draws the viewer into a religious experience. It is also intellectually stimulating and visually challenging so that traditional religious subjects can be presented in a new, striking and unconventional manner.
The range of media used proves the extraordinary versatility and talents of this artist who was given to much experimentation in both style and technique. Richard Enda King is principally known for his innovative secular public sculptures such as The Fifth Province (1989), Navan Approach Road, Dublin Road, Navan, Spirit of the Air (1989-1991), Airport Roundabout, Dublin and Evocation (1991), Dublin Road Roundabout, Athlone.
Bro. Jim
19th January 2019
