Zone d'identification
Cote
Titre
Date(s)
- 1854-1904 (predominantly 1870-1888) (Création/Production)
Niveau de description
Étendue matérielle et support
2 standard archival boxes
Zone du contexte
Nom du producteur
Histoire administrative
Mungret Agricultural School was established in response to a broader movement for agricultural education in Ireland, which gained momentum in the 1830s. Although the National Board of Education supported agricultural schools from 1832 onwards, Mungret’s origins were unique. It was funded through the Reproductive Loan Fund, raised in England during the 1825 famine for the relief of distress and later reclaimed in 1852. Influenced by Lord Monteagle, a bill (11 and 12 Victoria, C.115) allowed the debt due to the fund from County Limerick to be redirected and vested in trustees to establish an agricultural school.
In 1853, trustees purchased 71 acres at Mungret and leased it to the National Board for 61 years. Construction began in 1854, and by 1858, the school opened with dormitories for 75 boarders. The curriculum combined practical farm work with literary and agricultural studies, aiming to train future farmers and agricultural teachers. The course was designed to last for 12 months, after which the boarders could continue their studies at the Albert National Agricultural Training Institution in Glasnevin.
However, the school struggled from the outset. Its facilities were too grand to serve as realistic models for small farmers, and fees eventually rose from £8 to £26, alienating its target demographic. By 1870, only 8 boarders remained, and criticism mounted that students performed menial labour without learning skilled agricultural techniques. The school never exceeded 23 boarders. It was closed 1878, and the National Board surrendered the least to the trustees. Bound by the original trust deed to maintain an agricultural school, the trustees took possession of the property but soon acknowledged the venture as a complete failure. In a report to the Lord Lieutenant, they proposed repurposing the school into an institution offering general education, ideally positioned between primary and collegiate levels, though not excluding agriculture. To enable this change, a parliamentary bill was passed allowing the Lord Lieutenant, with Treasury approval, to redirect the use of the land, buildings and trust funds for broader educational purposes.
In August 1880, the trustees leased the premises to the Reverend Joseph Bourke, president of St. Munchin’s Seminary. Bourke intended to operate both the new boarding school at Mungret and the original seminary in Limerick. However, the dual operation proved unsustainable. Mungret failed to attract enough boarders, and by summer 1881, Bourke, facing financial difficulties and lacking support from the bishop, surrendered the lease. This transitional period set the stage for a more successful chapter: in 1882, the Jesuits, led by Father Ronan SJ, took over the site and established a university college, which later evolved into Mungret College, operating until its final closure in 1974.
Histoire archivistique
Unknown.
Source immédiate d'acquisition ou de transfert
Purchased from Purcell Auctioneers on 10 July 2019.
Zone du contenu et de la structure
Portée et contenu
This collection contains correspondence, accounts and other documents concerning the leasing of Mungret Agricultural School by its trustees to the Commissioners of National Education in 1853; the subsequent closure of the school and surrender of the lease back to the trustees in 1878; the parliamentary bill required to allow the trust fund to be redirected for broader educational purposes; and the subsequent lease of the school to the Reverend Joseph Bourke 1880 and to Father Ronan in 1882. The material provides an interesting record of the legal and administrative complications affecting the operation of the school and its gradual shift from an agricultural school to a Jesuit apostolic school and lay secondary school.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
All records have been retained.
Accruals
No accruals are expected.
System of arrangement
The material has been divided into three sub-series by document type and thereunder listed chronologically by date.
Zone des conditions d'accès et d'utilisation
Conditions d’accès
Unrestricted access to all items.
Conditions governing reproduction
Standard copyright regulations apply to all items. For photocopying or reproducing material, please consult with the staff.
Language of material
- anglais
Script of material
Language and script notes
Caractéristiques matérielle et contraintes techniques
Paper documents in good or reasonable condition.
Finding aids
Zone des sources complémentaires
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Zone des notes
Identifiant(s) alternatif(s)
Mots-clés
Mots-clés - Sujets
Mots-clés - Lieux
Mots-clés - Genre
Zone du contrôle de la description
Identifiant de la description
Rules and/or conventions used
This description follows guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd edition, 2000; Irish Guidelines for Archival Description, 2009; National Council on Archives: Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997; and EAP Guidance on Data Protection for Archive Services, 2018.
Statut
Niveau de détail
Langue(s)
Écriture(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Papers arranged and described by Anna-Maria Hajba in August 2025. Milo Spillane’s article, ‘Mungret Agricultural School’, Old Limerick Journal, vol. 6 (Spring Edition, 1981), pp. 26-27, was used in the preparation of the identity statement.