About Us
History
St. Joseph’s Patrician College Galway was founded by the Patrician Brothers in 1862 at the request of the Bishop of Galway at that time. It was known locally as the Bishop's school hence the name “The Bish”.
The Bish is now part of the Le Chéile Schools Trust whose message of
“Welcome, Witness, Wisdom” is very evident in our day-to-day workings. This message is also on display in our school motto of “Love God, work hard and take care of one another.”
Current School
The current school in Nuns’ Island was built in 1970 for 450 pupils. It was fit for purpose when built and replaced an older building which was demolished at that time. The building has been modified over the years to get the greatest number of classrooms possible.
St. Joseph’s Patrician College has a student population of over 760 students. It offers a wide range of subjects at Junior and Senior Cycle and traditionally has a strong academic emphasis where students are encouraged to achieve the highest academic standards. The exceptional achievements of our students in both the Junior and Leaving Certificates ensures that the Bish has established an outstanding academic record which has facilitated our students progress to a variety of third level colleges.
To accommodate increasing numbers in recent years the board of management acquired the Monastery building across the road on a short lease. This allowed the college to expand its numbers to 760 pupils. The college does not have any playing fields and sports activities in the school are carried out with the support of the city council and local city clubs and additional costs are incurred by the school for transport.
With a proud tradition of extracurricular opportunity in a wide variety of sport and cultural activities, St. Joseph’s provides a variety of different opportunities for students to enhance their development.
We are a community working together to promote and develop a learning environment where students can reach their full potential by participating in a holistic and Christian education that will equip them to serve society as good citizens.
