On February 23rd, 1927, at the request of Bishop O’Sullivan, four Sisters were sent to take charge of Cólaiste Íde, a Preparatory College established by the Department of Education on the Ventry Estate, three miles from Dingle town.
The object of this College (it was one of five) was to provide second level education through the medium of Irish for girls wishing to become primary school teachers. This scheme was meant to make Padraig Pearse’s dream of a Gaelic Ireland a reality by providing the Nation with teachers who would be fluent Irish speakers with a good knowledge and deep appreciation of everything Irish.
Alive to the signs of the new times, and sensitive to the needs of the students of whom the future of so many Irish children would depend for their birth right, the Sisters set to work with courage and perseverance to make what had been a centre of Anglicisation and proselytism, a centre of Gaelic culture and learning. Irish was the vernacular of the College and every aspect of our Irish heritage was given its place in the curriculum. Each year from 1930 onwards a group of girls left Cólaiste Íde to enter one or other of the two teacher training colleges in Dublin or Limerick. This continued until 1961 when the Department of Education decided to close the Preparatory Colleges. By that time almost 800 girls (past pupils of Cólaiste Íde) had been trained as Primary teachers, 311 of whom had come from Corca Dhuibhne and forty from Dingle town.
A new era began for Cólaiste Íde when the Sisters of Mercy bought the College from the Department in 1961. It then became an A school (residential), where the students are still prepared for their certificate examinations, but are no longer geared solely towards primary teaching, and many enter University, the Nursing Profession, Civil Service, etc. All subjects including religion are still taught through the medium of Irish, the overall emphasis being placed on the preservation of our national heritage which comprises our native Christianity and all branches of Irish culture, language, music, drama, games, etc.
Coláiste Íde continued to operate under the management of the Sisters of Mercy until 1996 when the Sisters of Mercy withdrew from the college due to declining vocations and lack of personnel. A group of dedicated lay people, called Cáirde Coláiste Íde, took over the management of the college and it still continues to operate as the only Irish speaking boarding school in the country.
Southern Province 