Dominican College Sion Hill
| Dominican College Sion Hill Sion Hill | |
|---|---|
 Veritas | |
| Location | |
|
Blackrock, County Dublin Ireland | |
| Coordinates | 53°18′05″N 6°11′23″W / 53.301496°N 6.189597°WCoordinates: 53°18′05″N 6°11′23″W / 53.301496°N 6.189597°W |
| Information | |
| Established | 1836 |
| Principal | Ms Sheila Drum[1] |
| Number of students | 400+ [1] |
| Website | sionhillcollege.ie |
Dominican College Sion Hill is one of the oldest girls' secondary schools in Ireland. It was founded in 1836 in Blackrock, County Dublin in Ireland. Its approach to education is based on the Dominican ideal of developing the whole person. "Dominican College Sion Hill aims to help each student achieve her full potential academically, spiritually, emotionally and socially in a happy environment."[2]
History
Foundation
Sion Hill was founded by the Dominican sisters in 1836 in a suburban villa called Sion Hill because of rare shrubs brought by its owners from the Holy Land. In the beginning the school catered for 40 day pupils, 8 boarders and 10 nuns. By 1950 this had increased to 120 day pupils and 130 boarders. The boarding school closed in the late 1960s and the school now caters for 300 day pupils.
Grounds
There used to be two grass Hockey pitches as part of the school, but these were sold off in 1990 for residential development. The Residential development of Sion Hill now occupies this space since 1992.
Concert Hall
The Concert Hall was established in 1928 and was modernised in 2008.
Sports
Hockey
Sion Hill has a long tradition of playing hockey. They have teams participating in the Leinster Schoolgirls competitions. The teams are professionally coached and use the facilities of an all weather hockey pitch.
Tennis
Sion Hill has teams participating in the Leinster Championships. The tennis facilities comprises 3 tennis courts.
Basketball
Sion Hill has teams participating in the Dublin League. The teams are professionally coached and use the facilities of 3 outdoor courts and 1 indoor court.
Other sports
There are other sports provided for at Sion Hill, such as Archery, Fencing, and Highland Games training.
Extracurricular
Music
The music department offers music at Junior and Leaving Certificate level, with opportunities to use the music technology option and conducting for Leaving certificate.
There are three voluntary choirs and an orchestra in the school which perform at various school functions and go carol singing annually at Powerscourt Townhouse Centre in Dublin. Sion Hill also enters competitions such as the Cork Choral Festival, The Arklow Music Festival (2nd Place in 2006), The Wesley Inter Schools Festival (1st prize winners March 1999) and the Department of Education examinations (making the regional finals 1995 and 1996).
Debating
Debating is a popular activity with many successes in various competitions debating in English, Irish, French and German.[2]
Clubs
Sion Hill also has clubs such as St. Vincent Paul, Alive and an Art Club.
Notable alumni and teachers
- Frances Fitzgerald, Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Fine Gael TD
- Niamh Bhreathnach, former Minister for Education and Science, Labour Party TD
- Mary Hanafin, former Minister for Education and Science, Fianna Fáil TD
- Sinéad O'Connor, singer [3]
- Clare Cryan, artist