The National University of Ireland

Under the Queen's College (Ireland) Act, 1845, Colleges were established by the Goverment at Cork, Galway and Belfast, to provide higher education on a non-denominational basis. Unfortunately, the character of these Colleges were felt to be out of accord with Catholic educational principles, and after a storm of public controversy they were condemned by the Hierarchy. In 1854,the Catholic University of Ireland was established by the Hierarchy, who invited John Henry Newman to be it's first Rector. Newman, imbued with the liberal principlesmbodied in his celebrated Idea of a University, was not quite at home amid the realities of Irish political and religious controversy, and his brave experiment failed. As "Newman's University" was not recognized by the State, it could not confer degrees, neither did it have any public endowment. Coriously, it's best success was in medicine, for the College of Surgeons and the Apothecaries' Hall recognized the courses of study pursued by the Catholic University Medical School students and admitted them to the College and Hall examinations, thus to become registered medical practitioners. The Royal University was founded in 1879. This was merely an examining body, set up mainly for the purpose of enabling the students of the Catholic University to obtain recognized degrees. In 1883, the Catholic University, henceforth to be called University College, Dublin, was placed in the charge of the Society of Jesus, who maintained it succesfully until the passing of the Irish Universities Act, 1908. This Act provided for the dissolution of the Royal University and of Queen's College, Belfast, and for the foundation in their stead of two new Universities, one in Belfast which was to become Queen's University, and the other, in Dublin,the National University of Ireland. The two universities are self-governing institution operating under charter, autonomous as regards policy and administration, and appointing their own academic and administrative staffs. The National University of Ireland is a federal university, with a central office in Dublin and three Constituent Colleges: University College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Galway; and one Recognized College, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. Maynooth is a seminary for the training of Catholic clergy. It was founded in 1795 and endowed by a Goverment who, chastened by the French Revolution, recognized the conservative and conserving character of the Irish priesthood. In 1845 the Maynooth College Board of Trustees was incorporated by Statute, and in 1899 was invested by the Holy See with authority to confer degrees in Philosophy, Theology, and Canon Law. The National University itself does not teach; the courses for degrees are conducted by the Colleges which, in practice, lay down their own programme and set their own examinations. Courses are given in the various faculties, with certain exceptions, at each of the Constituent Colleges; and in Arts, Philosophy and Sociology, Celtic Sudents, and Science at Maynooth. Courses in Dairy Science are given only at University College Cork;courses in General Agriculture and Veterinary Science are (outside of Trinity College) confined to University College Dublin.By the University Education (Agriculture and Dairy Science) Act, 1926, the Royal College of Science and the Albert Agricultural College were Transferred to University College Dublin, which was empowered to continue the functions formerly fulfilled by these institutions. Like Trinity College, the National University receives, through the Department of Education, financial assistance from the State in the form of annual grants-in-aid, as well as nonrecurrent grants for capital purposes. Each of the Colleges is a complete organism, with it's own Governing Body and full control of it's own finances.