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.
