Coláiste Íde on the Dingle Peninsula in Co Kerry is the last surviving girls’ boarding school taught entirely through the Irish language.
The school operated as a preparatory college for native Irish speakers to become primary school teachers from the 1920s to the early 1960s. It was bought from the State by the Sisters of Mercy to set up an all-girls boarding school through Irish in 1961.
With declining student numbers and ageing Sisters, the school was about to close in 1996 when a concerned group of parents opted to lease it for a peppercorn rent. The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy gifted the school and its 100-acre grounds (57 of which are in woodlands) to the lay trust, Cairde Choláiste Íde Teoranta, in 2014.
With 125 students across six years, Coláiste Íde is now confident of its future. With boarders coming from all over Ireland and beyond, it has a strong presence in the Dingle Gaeltacht, with the students participating in cultural and sporting activities in the wider area. The addition of Transition Year in the current academic year has boosted numbers further.
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“We have a strong connection to South Kerry and Kenmare, with family traditions of sending their girls here. Some of the local primary school teachers also came to the school,” explains Conall Ó Cruadhlaoich, principal of Coláiste Íde. The current intake includes girls from 18 counties, including Donegal and Dublin, as well as one student from London.
The fee-paying school began taking in day students in 2003, and about 10 per cent of its numbers now come from the local area. Fees for the 2025-26 academic year were €8,900 for boarders and €3,950 for day students.
Although all classes and extracurricular activities are held through Irish, it is not the first language of the majority of the students. “Less than 10 per cent of students come from Irish-speaking homes; about 20 per cent were in Gaelscoileanna around the country, and the rest went to English-medium primary schools,” says Ó Cruadhlaoich.
However, all the teachers, except the Hungarian music teacher, are native Irish speakers. Most of the boarding house staff and even the kitchen staff are fluent Irish speakers, as the majority of them come from the Dingle Gaeltacht. “The students do speak English from time to time, even if they are not allowed. But compared to a Gaelcholáiste in Dublin or Kildare, the girls are hearing Irish spoken around them most of the time,” says Ó Cruadhlaoich.
“If a student is struggling to say something in Irish, they can say it in English, but they are also told the Irish phrase for it. Also, sometimes if a girl is upset after an exam or is missing home, she is allowed to explain it in English,” adds Aoife Ní Laoithe, manager of Coláiste Íde.
Research into the academic benefits of being bilingual is borne out by the above-average results the students at Coláiste Íde achieve in both English and Irish in State exams. “We get a lot of feedback from parents that their Irish has improved so much after being in the school,” says Ní Laoithe.
The introduction of Transition Year in the current academic year has added another dimension, with students from other schools opting to board for a year at Coláiste Íde to give themselves a full immersion experience of learning through Irish.
All classrooms and dormitories are housed in the extended Georgian house, which was originally home to Lord Ventry. There are four big dormitories, with 20 separate cubicles where first- to third-years sleep. The senior cycle students are in two, six or 10-bedded rooms. The sixth-year students also have a sittingroom with cooking facilities in a kitchenette.
Boarding Schools
Some of the country house ambience, with original mahogany doors and window shutters and a large front portico, mingles with Catholic iconography (grotto in the grounds and Virgin Mary statues scattered throughout the building) added by the Sisters of Mercy.
The lay trust has maintained the Catholic ethos of the school. While Mass is no longer said daily before school starts, the boarders do sing in the choir at weekend Mass in St Mary’s Church in Dingle or when Mass is held at the school chapel. There is no requirement for boarders to be members of the Catholic Church to attend the school.
“We have a more open gate to the community than existed in the past, with community athletics, basketball and karate clubs using our facilities that our girls join in,” explains Ní Laoithe,
“There is also far more use of digital technology with wifi in all the rooms than when the nuns were here. But, Covid fast-tracked that in schools across the country,” says Ó Cruadhlaoich.
The school does, however, operate a strict mobile phone policy, with boarders only given access to their phones for 45 minutes before school begins and 90 minutes after evening study ends. “Our mobile phone rule is very firmly in place, but the girls have access to the school phones in the office at any time if they need it. And I have an open-door policy if any of the girls need to come to see me for a chat,” says Ní Laoithe.
“The students themselves – especially the sixth-years – are very conscious of the younger students," adds Síobhan Ní Chathalláin, deputy manager of the school. ”And, if they hear a stupid argument about something, they’ll come to you and say you need to talk to them."
While the school closes every second or third weekend for boarders to go home, many return home more often for family or sporting events, as seems to be the case in all boarding schools nowadays.
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Liz Connor, who works in accounts, was a boarder at the school from 1988 to 1993. She says the atmosphere of the school is much more relaxed now compared to when she was there. “We weren’t allowed to talk in the corridors and we had Mass every morning before breakfast. It was seven-day boarding, and we went home every four weeks. We didn’t go out much compared to now, when the girls go to the cinema, the Aqua Dome and shopping at the weekends,” she explains.
The other big change Connor notes is how mobile phones have allowed much more communications with families. When she was a boarder, she recalls, “We had to put our name down in advance to phone our parents. And then, wait in line with coins to use one of the two telephone boxes inside the front door.”
Views from the boarders
Cáit Ní Laoire Nic Aodh (Sixth-year student from Cork City): “Being a boarder here is like having a second family. I’m the second youngest of six, and my sister came here too. I have made friends for life here. I have become more open-minded and independent. And I appreciate being outside in nature more. And my Irish has become much more natural. I hope to live in Irish-language accommodation at University of Galway next year.”
Mallaidh Ní Bheoláin Sabhaois (Sixth-year from Ventry, Co Kerry): “I only became a boarder for sixth year so that I could study more. I was a day boarder before that, staying until 9pm each evening. I feel everyone is friendly and you’re allowed to feel comfortable and be yourself. You can gauge when someone is having a bad day because you know the different quirks in their personality and you learn not to wrong spot them or press their buttons.”
Katie Ní Cholgáin (Fifth-year from Co Offaly): “I came here because my parents wanted me to have my education through Irish, and there wasn’t any Irish secondary school near me. It’s hard being so far from home, but the teachers and supervisors make it easier when I feel homesick. I found it difficult in first year, but I love the place now. I’ve become more confident getting public transport.”
Ellé-Kate Nic Raith (Transition Year): “I came here from Scoil Mhuire in Cork to improve my Irish for Transition Year. Hopefully, I’ll have a better flow to my Irish after the year. I enjoy the horse-riding, rugby and athletics. And, I feel I am developing academically and socially, living with girls from all over the country. Being here is also a transition from being a child to an adult. You gain a lot of maturity, not having your parents constantly on you.”
Temi Aderonmu (Third-year from London): “It was really hard at first because I only knew my numbers in Irish. By second year, it got easier. My mum went to boarding school and she really enjoyed it. She used to work in Ireland, but I had never been in Ireland before I started school here. Now, I enjoy the quiet here when I come from the great aliveness in London. I play the drums in the Na Harmónacha group, which came second in the national Scléip music competition [a national talent competition for post-primary schools run through the Irish language]”.
Aisa Sümegi (Second-year from Donegal): “My parents are Hungarian, and I already spoke Hungarian and English before I came to school here. My parents thought it would be good to learn to speak another language. I think in boarding school, you form really tight bonds with your friends and they also become your family when you are here. I was always a shy person, but I’ve learned to speak out more.”
Nancy Ní Chonaill (First-year from Dublin): “I went to Scoil Bhríde in Rathmines and I’ve been coming to Dingle since I was a baby, as I have extended family from Kerry. It was scary at first because I’m the only one in first year from Dublin. But, making friends is easy. It’s very different living in the countryside compared to the city.”
