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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Active | 1850–1882 |
| Location | , Ireland |
TheQueen's University of Ireland was established formally byroyal charter on 3 September 1850, as the degree-awarding university of theQueen's Colleges ofBelfast,Cork, andGalway that were established in 1845 "to afford a university education to members of all religious denominations" in Ireland.
The university system itself was replaced by theRoyal University of Ireland in 1880, which in turn was replaced by Queen's University Belfast, with the Cork and Galway colleges forming theNational University of Ireland, along withUniversity College Dublin.
The three Queen's colleges are currently known as:
TheQueen's Colleges (Ireland) Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. 66) (An Act to enable Her Majesty to endow new Colleges for the Advancement of Learning in Ireland) established the colleges with the intention that they would provide forRoman Catholic requests for university education, since Catholics did not generally attendTrinity College Dublin at that time (though there were no legal restrictions preventing them from doing so).
Nevertheless, at the prompting of Protestant interests, the Queen's Colleges were not permitted to give instruction intheology. Thus, the Queen's Colleges became derided as the "godless colleges" —Pope Pius IX even ventured as far as declaring them to be "detrimental to religion" in an official condemnation. This non-acceptance was articulated in the creation of a rival to the Queen's Colleges — theCatholic University of Ireland in Dublin.[citation needed]
In 1845 theMayor of Limerick applied to have a Queen's College[1] located in the city; however Cork, Galway and Belfast were chosen.
The colleges were incorporated on 30 December 1845; and on 30 October 1849 they opened for students.[2] ABoard of Queen's Colleges was created to draw up regulations for the colleges, consisting of the President and Vice-President of each college.
Academic degrees were conferred by thechancellor andsenate of the university with a status similar to those of other universities of the formerUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.[2]
In 1866 the university considered examining and conferring degrees on students other than those of the Queen's colleges, such as the CatholicCarlow College[3] theSt. Patricks College Carlow Report[4] was conducted and the college was deemed to meet the suitable, however it was never enacted.[5]
The Queen's College at Belfast became predominantlyProtestant, unlike the colleges at Cork and Galway.
A number of significant figures in Irish public life participated in the governing senate of the university such as SirDominic Corrigan (Vice-Chancellor). NaturalistRobert Ball became secretary of Queen's University of Ireland in 1851.Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon served on the senate of the university.
The Queen's University was superseded by a new, inclusive, degree-awarding institution, theRoyal University of Ireland in 1880.[2] The Queen's University was formally dissolved on 3 February 1882.[2] Immediately on incorporation, the Royal University broke with the“godless" convention, by setting examinations for, and awarding degrees to students of colleges with a religious heritage, notablyMagee Presbyterian College, and theCatholic University of Ireland (that includedSt. Patrick's College, Maynooth andUniversity College Dublin.)[6][7]
The Belfast college was separated from the other two in 1908, and becameThe Queen's University of Belfast (QUB).[8] Queen's College, Cork is nowUniversity College Cork (UCC), while Queen's College Galway is now theUniversity of Galway.[2] Since 1908 the last two have been part of the federalNational University of Ireland system.
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