Cork secondary school looking to identify former students in photograph archive as it celebrates 200 years in Blackrock

A Cork secondary school, which is the oldest continuously running girls school in Ireland, is celebrating a significant anniversary this year.

More than a quarter of a millennium old, Ursuline College was established in 1771, 254 years ago.

However, it was in 1825 that Cork’s Ursuline Sisters moved their convent and school to what is known today as Blackrock House.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Ursuline College on the Blackrock site, and a number of initiatives to mark the bicentennial year are planned by the school and wider Ursuline community.

One such initiative will be the publication of a special 200th anniversary book.

Ursuline principal Patrick McBeth said he hoped readers of The Echo could help with plans for the book’s publication.

“We are keen that the book is relevant to our current and past pupils and as such we are putting a call out for photographs and stories from past pupils,” he said.

“If any past pupils are reading this and have old photos at home or an interesting story about their time in the school we would love to hear from them.” 

“We are also seeking to connect with past pupils so we can let them know of the events planned for this year,” he said.

“One way we are doing this is via the Ursuline College LinkedIn page and we would encourage anyone on LinkedIn to follow our page.” 

As part of the plans for its 200th anniversary book, Ursuline College is seeking help in identifying former students featured in some of the photographs in the school’s archives. 

One such photograph is the picture above, featuring the 1985 Leaving Certificate class. 

If you can identify the students, please mail [email protected].