Coláiste Moibhí

Coláiste Moibhí was a preparatory school in the Republic of Ireland providing Irish-language instruction for Protestant girls intending to proceed to train as primary schoolteachers. Operating from 1926 to 1995, it was located just outside Shankill, Co. Dublin, until the premises closed when it was relocated in Rathmines, Dublin, and run by the Church of Ireland. In 1968, it became the Juniorate of the adjacent Church of Ireland College of Education, to which most pupils would graduate. It was named after Moibhí, a sixth-century saint from Kilmovee, County Mayo, who is associated Glasnevin.

The Coláiste was one of seven Irish-language preparatory schools established by the government of the newly-established Irish Free State, as part of a Gaelicisation policy which required a supply of teachers fluent in Irish. It was approved by John Allen Fitzgerald Gregg, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, and was a mark of both the Protestant, historically unionist minority's commitment to the new state, and the state's commitment to preserve that community's identity.

In the light of the growth of multidenominational schools, Coláiste Moibhí closed in June 1995. Its premises now form the Resource Centre of the Church of Ireland Training College library.

References

• Jones, Valerie (2006). A Gaelic Experiment - The Preparatory System 1926–61 and Coláiste Moibhí. Dublin: The Woodfield Press. 
• de Bhal, Padraig (2008). "Review". Search (Church of Ireland).