Clongowes Wood College was opened 14th May 1814. The choice of Clongowes as the place in which to establish the college was made by the great Fr. Peter Kenny S.J. Certain pressures prevented him from buying a site which offered in the south suburb of Dublin. However, he came to regard the move to Clongowes as most fortuitous and offering the very best environment for the education of boys. A factor in its choice may have been the fact that there were at that time two Jesuits in the Irish Province from the parish of Clane - a Fr. Aylmer from Painstown and a Fr. Esmonde from Clane. The latter was the son of Dr John Esmonde, a local doctor and 1798 rebel leader in Clane and Prosperous, who was hanged that year on Carlisle Bridge in Dublin.

The college grew rapidly, and by 1818, the enrolment had increased to 250. In that year, a bad fever broke out and the college had to close for a time. Over the years the college acquired such facilities, educational, sporting and otherwise, as are second to none in the country. This is reflected in its academic record. It has provided leaders in every profession and in public life.

The Jesuits restored the original Irish name which is derived from "Cluain na nGabhann" - the clearing or meadow of the smith. Between the years 1718 and 1788, as would seem to follow from the inscription over the hall door of the castle, the Brownes, whose ancestor, a Dublin merchant, purchased the place in 1667 from the Eustace family, changed the name from Clongowes to Castlebrowne. A remarkable feature of the grounds is the double row of lime trees that flank the avenue. These once extended to Betaghstown (to Delaney's house) as can be seen from the map of 1837.

Reproduced from "Le Chéile" by kind permission