The country\u2019s second-oldest university level institution, based in Co Carlow, is to close.<\/p>\n
Carlow College, St Patrick\u2019s, is to phase its closure over a two-year period as South East Technological University (SETU) is to take control of the campus. All current students \u2013 more than 600 \u2013 will have completed courses by 2028.<\/p>\n
The college offers undergraduate, postgraduate and part-time courses in arts and the humanities.<\/p>\n
Almost 90 staff at the college, which is based on a campus of 17 acres, are to be made redundant.<\/p>\n
The college was founded in 1782 and first admitted students in 1793. It is described by the college as Ireland\u2019s second oldest university, after Trinity College Dublin.<\/p>\n
Its history includes educating both lay students and those preparing for the priesthood. <\/p>\n
College management has confirmed that an agreement has been reached with SETU and the move is being backed by Minister for Higher Education James Lawless.<\/p>\n
In a statement the college said it was \u201ccommitted\u201d to engaging openly and respectfully with staff and union representatives over job losses.<\/p>\n
Fr Conn \u00d3 Maoldhomhnaigh, president of Carlow College, St Patrick\u2019s, said the merger process \u201creflects the continuation of its long-standing contribution to education\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n
He said the college\u2019s \u201cpriority\u201d was to ensure a \u201ccarefully planned completion\u201d of all academic programmes over the next two years, so that \u201cevery student\u201d enrolled could complete their studies and affected staff could be supported.<\/p>\n
The college started an engagement process with the State in February 2022 on its long-term future in the higher education sector.<\/p>\n
Fr \u00d3 Maoldhomhnaigh outlined that the decision to transfer the college\u2019s land and buildings to SETU was made with \u201cdue regard to the best interests of our students and staff, and in recognition of the College\u2019s long and distinguished contribution to liberal arts education\u201d. <\/p>\n
Lawless said: \u201cFor over 240 years, Carlow College has made an outstanding contribution to higher education, not only in the south-east but nationally. Its strong tradition in the liberal arts and its deep connection to community life have left a lasting impact which should be recognised and valued.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The country\u2019s second-oldest university level institution, based in Co Carlow, is to close. Carlow College, St Patrick\u2019s, is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":458217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[16665,61,60,43,17159],"class_list":["post-458216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-carlow","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-third-level"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}