150th anniversary of St Patrick’s College, Cavan

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 marked the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the iconic building which served as the original Saint Patrick’s College in Cavan and is now the base for the Kilmore Diocesan Pastoral Centre.

Bishop Martin Hayes will be the principal celebrant of a special Mass in the Cathedral of Saint Patrick & Saint Felim, Cavan to commemorate this milestone anniversary on Saturday, March 16, at 11am.

Also in attendance will be Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop-Emeritus of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland; Archbishop Francis Duffy of Tuam, Bishop-Emeritus Leo O’Reilly of Kilmore, and Bishop Michael Router, Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh – all natives of the diocese and former staff members of the College.

Priests of the diocese will also concelebrate as will some priests from Ireland and overseas who studied in the College down through the years. Civic representatives and representatives from other Churches will be present. A special message from Pope Francis will be read out at the Mass.

Students from the College will provide the sacred music at the Mass which will include a specially commissioned anthem, “The Belief of St Patrick’s”. This will be premiered after the distribution of Holy Communion.

Louis McEntee, Oisin Hilton and Ben Lynch composed the melody for the new anthem with lyrics by Andrew Duffy. Ciarán Tackney, music teacher in the College, arranged the anthem.

Representatives from both the College and the Diocesan Pastoral Centre will participate in the Mass. Other College students fashioned a new Paschal Candle stand for use in The Conaty Chapel within the Diocesan Pastoral Centre which will be placed in the sanctuary of the Cathedral during the Mass.

Following Mass, there will be commemorative events in the original College building including the planting of a commemorative tree, the unveiling of a special plaque to mark the occasion and a short talk by the distinguished historian, Monsignor Liam Kelly, Parish Priest in Ballyconnell and Vicar General of the Diocese of Kilmore, followed by refreshments in the new College Canteen.

Past students of the College are especially welcome to attend.