Alexandra College - History

History

The school was founded in 1866 and takes its name from Princess Alexandra of Denmark, the school's patron. The school colours, red and white, were adopted from the Danish flag in her honour. Alexandra College was founded by Anne Jellicoe, a Quaker educationist, in the name of furthering women's education. Under Anne Jellicoe, the school grew from a small establishment focused on providing a governess-style education to Irish Protestant ladies into a pioneering force for women's rights and education, providing an education to women equivalent to that available in boys' schools, with a grounding in mathematics, history, classics and philosophy. As Alexandra settled into its role, Ann Jellicoe was convinced that a major obstacle to the liberal education of women was their exclusion from the university campus. She passionately believed that until women were admitted to Trinity College Dublin (founded in 1592), the voice of women would not commonly be heard in politics, literature or in academic debate.

The Royal University of Ireland Act 1879 allowed females to take university degrees on the same basis as males. In fact, many religious schools, including convent schools (Dominican College, Eccles St, Dublin; Alexandra College, Dublin; Loreto College, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin; Methodist College, Belfast; High School for Girls, Derry; Rutland School, Mountjoy Square, Dublin; Dominican College, Sion Hill, Dublin; St Angela’s College, Cork; St Louis’s, Monaghan; Presentation College, Cork; Christian Brothers College, Cork; Rochelle College, Cork). These schools prepared students for the examinations (including degree examinations) of the Royal University.

Susan Parkes, co-author of Gladly Learn and Gladly Teach, a history of Alexandra College (1866-1966), is quoted as saying: "In the late 1800s, lecturers from Trinity College Dublin provided tuition for ladies on the Alexandra campus. And the first women to receive degrees in Ireland or Britain were Alex pupils — six of them successfully studied at Dublin's Royal University from 1891 and at Trinity College Dublin, once it opened its doors to women in 1903."

The school was originally situated in the historic Earlsfort Terrace, across from the National Concert Hall, but moved out to its sports grounds in the 1960s in order to accommodate more students. The original buildings were subsequently demolished and the site remained vacant for over two decades. The Conrad Hotel and office buildings were later erected on the site.

The patriot and leading figure in the Easter 1916 uprising Padraig Pearse was once employed as an Irish language teacher. The first ever international hockey match was held on the Alexandra College hockey pitch. It was England vs Ireland, and Ireland won 1-0.