Royal Hibernian Military School

Not to be confused with Royal Hibernian Marine School.

Mid 20th Century view of the school building in the Phoenix Park

The Royal Hibernian Military School was founded in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland in 1769, to educate orphaned children of members of the British armed forces in Ireland.

In 1922 the Royal Hibernian Military School moved to Shorncliffe, in Folkestone, Kent, and in 1924 it was merged with the Duke of York's Royal Military School which, by then, was in its current location atop 'Lone Tree Hill' above Dover Castle.

## General

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The foundation of the School came about in 1769 when King George III granted a Charter of Incorporation on 15 July, the School Governors holding their inaugural meeting on 6 November in Dublin Castle.[1]

The buildings housing the school were erected in 1771 in the Phoenix Park, overlooking the village of Chapelizod in the Liffey valley (in full view of the Wicklow mountains). The chapel was designed by Thomas Cooley, while thirty years later Francis Johnston designed the extensions to the buildings. It first took in 90 boys and 50 girls as pupils (in the charge of an Inspector and Inspectress, assisted by the Chaplain and an assistant mistress) in March 1770. The site originally occupied 3 acres (12,000 m2) but by 1922 its boundary walls enclosed thirty three acres.

By 1808 the system and organisation of the school followed closely that of its sister school, the Duke of York's Royal Military School (then at Chelsea, London, England). By 1816, when Thomas Le Fanu (father of Sheridan Le Fanu) took over as chaplain, there were 600 children at the school.

In 1853 the school's first "stand of colours" were presented by the then Prince of Wales and, in the same year, the girls at the school left to join their own separate establishment, the Drummond School, which was founded for them at Chapelizod.

The school acted as a feeder to the British Army, where In the mid-19th century, children as young as 12 could enlist in the Army but generally enlistment began at 14. By the 1900s 50 per cent of pupils were going straight into the army. By this stage the school was not only an orphanage; for instance, the Army Non-Commissioned Officer father of Liam Mellows entered him there to get a good basic military training which he hoped would lead to an army career, instead it was used during the Easter Rising and the Irish War of Independence, both in fighting and in training the flying columns in guerrilla warfare.[2]

Many of the school's pupils carried acts of gallantry in the wars that the British Army was involved in. One such individual was Frederick Jeremiah Edwards who was awarded the Victoria Cross for extraordinary bravery in the First World War.[3]

## Relocation and merger

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In 1922 the Royal Hibernian Military School moved to Shorncliffe, in Folkestone, Kent, and in 1924 it was merged with the Duke of York's Royal Military School which by then was in its current location atop 'Lone Tree Hill' above Dover Castle.

A stained glass window depicting a saluting boy soldier is sited above the 'minstrel gallery' type balcony of the Duke of York's School Chapel in Dover, and commemorates the merging of the schools.[4]

## Dublin campus

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Many of the school's original buildings remain and form a large part of St Mary's Hospital,[5] Phoenix Park. A war memorial to those pupils that were killed in World War 1,[6] the school's graveyard and protestant chapel also remain;[7][8] the Roman Catholic chapel was demolished as the hospital site was developed.

## Bohemian F.C.

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Members of the school were instrumental in forming Bohemian F.C. in 1890.[9]

## Commandants

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* Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Colville 17 January 1809[10]
* Colonel George Thomas Colomb up to 1858 (promoted major general on 26 October 1858)[11]
* Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Henry Buckley Jenner Wynyard, late 89th Foot 1 November 1878 [12]
* Lieutenant Colonel Lynch Stapleton Cotton, late 63rd Foot 1 May 1879[13]
* Colonel Francis Charles Hill, late The Essex Regiment 31 May 1882[14]
* Colonel Clifton de Neufville Orr Stockwell 31 May 1889[15] to 1895
* Colonel Henry Hall, Derbyshire Regiment 11 Nov 1895 - 31 August 1902[16]
* Lieutenant-Colonel Rowley Wynyard, Royal Artillery 1 September 1902[17] to 1906
* Colonel Richard W Deane 1906–1913
* Lieutenant Colonel Arthur John William Dowell 1913–1914
* Colonel John McDonnell 1914–1919
* Colonel Arthur Milton Bent CB CMG CBE, late Royal Munster Fusiliers (last Commandant) 1920–1924.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Hibernian Military School.

## References

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1. ^ "Delta Tech Systems : Welcome". Achart.ca. Retrieved 20 August 2016. "This is the site of choice for histories of the Duke of York's and Hibernian military schools, opposing views on 19th Century Army education, dedicated military history, and journalism of interest."
2. ^ "Witness Statement : Robert Brennan" (PDF). Bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie. p. 45. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
3. ^ "Frederick J Edwards VC - victoriacross". vconline.org.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
4. ^ "RHibsWindow". Jao.delboys.com. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
5. ^ "HSE.ie - Health Service Executive Website - Services for Older People in Dublin North Central". Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
6. ^ "War Memorial Hibernian School Great War Memorial in Dublin 08, St. Mary's Hospital, Phoenix Park, Dublin City 08". Irishwarmemorials.ie. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
7. ^ "1766 - Royal Hibernian Military School, Phoenix Park, Dublin - Architecture of Dublin City - Archiseek - Irish Architecture". Archiseek. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
8. ^ "1771 - Royal Hibernian Military School Chapel, Phoenix Park, Dublin - Architecture of Dublin City - Archiseek - Irish Architecture". Archiseek. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
9. ^ "Frank McNally: The Pisser Dignam's field". The Irish Times.
10. ^ "The Gazette, January 17, 1809". Retrieved 8 May 2020.
11. ^ "The London Gazette, October 26, 1858". Retrieved 8 May 2020.
12. ^ "The Gazette, November 29, 1878". Retrieved 8 May 2020.
13. ^ "The London Gazette, May 16 1879". Retrieved 8 May 2020.
14. ^ "The London Gazette, July 18, 1882". Retrieved 8 May 2020.
15. ^ "The London Gazette, June 11, 1889". Retrieved 8 May 2020.
16. ^ "Hart's Army List 1899". digital.nls.uk. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
17. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36854\. London. 23 August 1902. p. 8.

## Bibliography

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* Cockerill, A. W. (1984). Sons of the Brave: the Story of Boy Soldiers. ISBN 0-436-10294-3.
* George Shorter, ed. (1987). Play Up Dukies. The Duke of York's Royal Military School, Old Boys Association.

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States