Maynooth, St Patrick's College

Maynooth, St Patrick's College, the principal seminary for the training of Irish Catholic priests, created by act of parliament (1795) at a time when the French Revolution had caused the closure of many continental colleges, and the government was seeking to woo moderate Catholic support. Its lay college functioned until 1817, its theological school was declared a pontifical university in 1896, and its arts and science schools have constituted a recognized college of the National University of Ireland since 1910.

Maynooth's early structure and discipline followed French models and the first generation of academic staff included refugees from the Revolution. By 1826 it had over 400 students and by 1853 half the priests serving in Ireland had been trained there. Many contemporary commentators claimed that the creation of Maynooth had led to the appearance of a new breed of priest, of humbler social origins and stronger political prejudices than those trained in the continental seminaries, but recent research suggests that any such contrast should not be overstated.

The bishops resented Maynooth's legal and financial independence, which seemed far too Gallican to prelates like Paul Cullen. He and his supporters worked tirelessly, and successfully, to increase episcopal control, taking advantage of the severing of Maynooth's links with the state at disestablishment. By the end of the 19th century the college had assumed the architectural, organizational, and governmental form it would retain until the 1960s, when its recognized college and pontifical university were opened up to lay students. This strained old structures. While the recognized college coped as well as any university with increased student numbers and meagre resources, the pontifical university struggled to identify a properly contemporary theology while the seminary, with a reduced student body, sought to modernize its training and formation programmes.

Thomas O'Connor