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Education · Galway city

Coláiste Iognáid

The Jesuits have been teaching in Galway, with some involuntary intermissions, since the 1620s, and their first school opened in 1645 on the generosity of Edmund Kirwan, with Latin in the classroom and only Irish-speaking Jesuits sent on the Irish mission. The school that carries on that line is Coláiste Iognáid on Sea Road, which everyone calls the Jes: about 600 pupils, boys and girls, no fees, no uniform.

Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.

Coláiste Iognáid
Coláiste Iognáid
Snapshots Of The Past, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Coláiste Iognáid, Galway Cathedral on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.

How it works

The school takes three streams a year; one is taught through Irish up to Junior Certificate and all three are mixed ability. A board of parents, teachers and Jesuits runs it, and pupils from thirteen to eighteen sit the Junior and Leaving Certificate. Juniors take Irish, English, maths, business, science, geography, religion, history, PE, SPHE and CSPE, French or German, and one of music, home economics, art or technical graphics; Transition Year is built from modules designed in the school.

History and sport

After the first school in Abbeygate Street survived war and upheaval, the Jesuits came back to the city in 1859 at the request of Bishop John McEvilly and settled on Prospect Hill. Today the Jes rows, plays Gaelic football, rugby, hockey, soccer and basketball, canoes, climbs and swims; in 2017 both the junior and under-15 football teams reached Connacht finals. Its debating society, founded in 2007, has competed nationally and internationally and by 2015 had topped the tab for eight years running. The model on this page pins the school, the Claddagh and the cathedral across the river.

Questions people ask

Does the Jes charge fees?
No; Coláiste Iognáid is non-fee-paying and co-educational, with no school uniform.
When was Coláiste Iognáid founded?
The Jesuits' first Galway school opened in 1645; the present school is on Sea Road.
Is the Jes an Irish-language school?
Partly; one of its three entry streams is taught through Irish to Junior Certificate.

Written from Wikipedia, "Coláiste Iognáid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.