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| PBC Cork | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
Mardyke,Cork Ireland | |
| Coordinates | 51°53′51″N8°29′06″W / 51.8976°N 08.4851°W /51.8976; -08.4851 |
| Information | |
| Other names | Irish:Coláiste na Toirbhirte and Pres |
| Type | private, fee paying |
| Motto | Viriliter Age (“Act Courageously ”) |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1878 |
| Principal | David Barry |
| Gender | Boys |
| Enrolment | 720, approx. (120 per year group) |
| Colors | Black White and Purple |
| Website | https://www.pbc-cork.ie/ |
Presentation Brothers College (PBC Cork) (Irish:Coláiste na Toirbhirte; colloquially known asPres) is aCatholic, boys, private fee-paying secondary school inCork, Ireland. As of 2020, Presentation Brothers College was ranked as the top boys secondary school in Ireland[1] and regularly places first in the annual top performing schools table rankings conducted by The Irish Times.[2] In recent years it has also been ranked as one of the top rugby playing schools in Munster, winning the Rugby school of the year award in 2023 and 2024.
The college was founded by thePresentation Brothers in 1878, in the South Mall. Soon afterwards it moved to theGrand Parade and, in 1887, to the Western Road. In 1985, the college moved to a new building on the Mardyke on the site of the college's rugby facilities; the Western Road premises is now owned and used byUCC. The college has developed new rugby facilities at Dennehy's Cross and has its own rowing club and boathouse located on the Marina.
In 1969, Jerome Kelly returned home from missionary work in theWest Indies and was appointed principal of the college.[3] He organised a series of workshops, in which the students of Presentation College were encouraged to think globally and act locally:[3]
"Imbuing teenagers with a sense of responsibility and social consciousness is a vital part of any education, and it was with this in mind that Brother Jerome sent his senior Pres students out to walk the streets of Cork..."[4]
The result was the founding of the charityStudents Harness Aid for the Relief of the Elderly in 1970.[3] SHARE expanded and now includes pupils from othersecondary schools in Cork city.[3]
In 2005, thePreslink organisation was founded in the school; a group ofjunior students whose stated aim is to forge links with other Presentation Brothers communities.[5] In 2006, the organisation received an "Edmund Rice Award", which recognises groups that work to improve the lives of others.[5]
In November 2009, ownership of the school, along with seven other Presentation Brothers schools in Ireland, was handed over to a group of lay trustees[6]
It is one of the few private fee paying schools in Cork.[7]
The school offers both theJunior andLeaving Certificate cycles. The current curriculum teaches first yearsreligion;Irish asL2;English asL1;mathematics;Latin;French asL2;German asL2;science;business studies;history ;geography;CSPE;SPHE;art; social education; ICT andphysical education. In second year, the students may choose to drop two of theL2 foreign languages and choose between art and geography. From second year onwards, students do not study social education or ICT. Unusually for a private school, streaming is not used until third year.[original research?]
After completing theJunior Certificate, the college requires students to complete a mandatoryTransition Year. In fifth year, students begin the Leaving Cert cycle. At theLeaving Certificate level, the college offers a wide range of courses.Irish asL2,EnglishL1 andmathematics are compulsory. One language must be taken fromFrench asL2,German asL2 andLatin. Any three optional subjects may be taken from the sciences (physics,chemistry,biology, agricultural), the businesses (business studies,accounting,economics),history,art,applied mathematics,geography, politics and society, physical education andreligion.
The college sport isrugby union. As of 2024[update], the college has won 32Senior Schools Cups and 32Junior Schools Cups respectively, and has produced 22 Irish Rugby Internationals. In 2007, the school won both the Senior Schools Cup and the Junior Schools Cup (the first time they had won both in the same year since 1995, whenRonan O'Gara was the Senior Captain). Six players have played for theLions - Tom Kiernan (1962 & Captain in 1968 ), Jerry Walsh (1966),Michael Kiernan (1983), Ronan O'Gara (2001, 2005 & 2009),Simon Zebo (2013) andPeter O'Mahony (2017).
In March 2014, PBC won the Junior Schools Cup for the first time in five years in a 17–12 win overCrescent.[citation needed]
The school participates in a number of Munster under-age School-Boy competitions: McCarthy Cup A, B & B Schools (U-15), The Junior Schools Cup (U-16), The Kidney Cup (Junior B), The Bowen Shield & B Schools (U-18), The Barry Cup (Senior B), and The Senior Schools Cup (U-19). Pres have won every cup at some point and several teams have won every competition.[citation needed]
The school playing fields are located at Dennehy's Cross, Wilton. There are 4 pitches, one walled and one flood-lit.
The college drama society performs one production of a dramatic play annually. This is very often the play studied byLeaving Cert students of that academic year. Previous productions have includedSive (2013) andAll My Sons (2014).[citation needed]
In 2012, three students were invited to partake in the European Science and Maths Olympiad, based on their Junior Certificate results in Maths and Science. These students participated in the Olympiad inDCU.[citation needed]In 2004, the Pres team won the first Cork Robotics Competition for Schools, which was launched by the Cork Electronics Industry Association (CEIA) at the National Software Centre in Mahon Point.[citation needed]
PBC has had a number of students who have been members of the various Corkrowing clubs since 1890,[citation needed] some of whom have won Irish Championships with these clubs but never as Pres College Rowing Club.[citation needed] In 1985, the Presentation College Rowing Club was registered officially for the first time with theIrish Amateur Rowing Union and began rowing out ofShandon Boat Club on the Marina. The first equipment used was bought second-hand from Dungarvan Rowing Club. In its existence to date, the club was a tenant of Shandon Boat Club, Cork Boat Club and Lee Rowing Club, but has subsequently constructed its own boathouse, located to the east of Lee RC on the Marina[citation needed] The club owns a selection of modern racing boats consisting of 5 eights, 8 fours, 4 pairs and 9 single sculls, together with a large selection of rowing blades, coaching launches and a boat trailer.[citation needed]
Other sports played at the college includebasketball,GAA,soccer andgolf. The school has won the GAA Lord Mayor's Cup five times in the last six years.[when?] The school golf team has also won the Cork County Championship consecutively in 2006 and 2007. PBC reached the All-Ireland basketball U-16s cup final for the first time in 2009 and defeated St. Columbs college from Derry to win PBC's first ever All-Ireland. The school has also won several soccer titles, including Cork Cups at First Year, Minor, Junior and Senior level.[citation needed] In February 2015, PBC won the Munster Schools Senior Cup.[citation needed]
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[Micheál Martin] was flung into a campaign which would soon see him leave his new substitute teaching post at Presentation Brothers' College.
