Culture of Belvedere
The school motto is Per Vias Rectas translating as "By Straight Paths" and the College aspires to produce "Men for Others". Students often write "AMDG" the motto of the Society of Jesuits, i.e.: Ad maiorem Dei gloriam, on the top left of pages of their copybooks. This translates as "For the greater glory of God". Until recently the students would write "LDSetBVM" or "Laus Deo Semper et Beatae Virgini Mariae" ("Love God forever and the Blessed Virgin Mary") on the bottom right of the same page, but this practice has largely died out.
The unofficial school anthem, often heard at rugby matches, is "Only In God", based on Psalm 62 in the Bible. The song was first sung at rugby matches during the 1995 and 1996 Senior Cup Campaigns. The official, less popular anthem, "Belvedere, Oh Belvedere", was composed by a past pupil and recorded by the school choir in 1997. The school's yearbook is The Belvederian. The term "Belvederian" is also sometimes used to refer to attending students and "Old Belvederian" (OB) for alumni. Old Belvederians normally refer to their graduation by using the name of the final year in the college followed by the year as, for example, "OB 1984".
Belvedere College is the backdrop for much of James Joyce's novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It is a semi-autobiographical piece of work, and the teacher, Mr Tate, was based on Joyce's own English teacher, George Dempsey. In the book Joyce mentions his involvement in the College Opera which continues today. The College's Dramatic Society performs four times during the academic year. A museum with an archive were opened in 2002, dedicated to the history of Belvedere and its alumni.
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