Establishment
On May 18, 1854 the Catholic University of Ireland was formally established with five faculties of law, letters, medicine, philosophy and theology with John Henry Newman (later Cardinal) as the Rector. Lectures commenced on November 3, 1854, with the registration of seventeen students, the first being Daniel O'Connell, grandson of the notable Catholic politician Daniel O'Connell.
In 1861 Dr Bartholomew Woodlock, the rector from 1860–1879, tried to secure land for a building near Holy Cross College Clonliffe, the establishment to be known as St. Patrick's University. Plans were drawn up by an architect, J.J. McCarthy, and a foundation stone laid. Cardinal Cullen was against the idea of educating lay and clerical students on the same premises. However this plan was shelved because of the expansion of the railway line, and a church and monastery was built on the site.
Some feeder secondary schools were established for the CUI. The nearby Catholic University School was joined by St. Flannan's College in Co. Clare and Catholic University High School in Waterford.
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