St Kieran’s College is a diocesan Catholic secondary school under the patronage of the Bishop of Ossory.  St Kieran of Saighir is said to have preached the Gospel in Ireland before St Patrick.

The College was established in 1782, ‘the first Catholic College in the Kingdom’ to open its doors after Grattan’s Parliament had relaxed the Penal Laws in the same year.  The College was situated in a number of different locations during the following decades before the foundation stone of the present neo-Gothic building was blessed in 1836. Two years later the College had a permanent home.

Since then, many extensions have been added, making St Kieran’s College a fine blend of historical and modern building styles.

The present College crest replaced an earlier one in 1874. St Kieran is represented with mitre and staff, standing between two pillars.  The motto is Hiems Transit (“Winter has passed”) from The Song of Songs (2:11) which refers to the ‘winter’ of the Penal Laws era.

In keeping with the aims of the College founders, we at St Kieran’s College strive to prepare an educated, committed, Catholic laity, keeping in mind its particular role in promoting solid Christian values.