When brothers of the Carmelite Order came to Clondalkin in 1811, they saw that there was little or no formal education facilities in the Village. Poverty and hardship were, in those times, the lot of most, if not all of the local population.

In their wisdom, the good brothers decided to put this long standing wrong to right and set up a small school in a premises which they shared with a local hostelry.

However, the brothers found this to be a very unsatisfactory arrangement and having endured two years in this location, decided to build a small school on lands which the Order had purchased at Knockmitten.

The official opening and dedication of the two roomed school took place on the 15th of August 1814 and records show that at that time, over 100 local boys were already attending St Joseph's School for Boys.

Mount St. Joseph, the private boarding school for boys later developed by the Order, stood side by side with the more humble establishment with which it shared its name, on the now derelict site at the top of Monastery Road. It was attended by students from all over the country and abroad and boasted among its many distinguished patrons The Liberator, Daniel O'Connell.

In 1939, the Carmelite Order decided that due to falling numbers, the boarding school was no longer viable and while the entire site was sold on, the Boys' School remained in its original location until 1961 when it was relocated to its present site on Boot Road.

The section of the present school fronting on to the road, was the original three roomed building. From little acorns great oaks grow and with the unprecedented development of Clondalkin during the 1960's and 1970's giving rise to one of the largest and youngest populations in the country, an extensive building programme was undertaken. Nineteen classrooms with accommodation for over 500 pupils, constructed to the highest possible standards and incorporating state of the art hi-tech educational aids, came on stream in 1983. Enrolment still stands at 500 with 19 staff members.

The green field site of 1961 is now but a distant memory. The carefully tended landscaped grounds with their many shrubs and ornamental trees have earned St. Joseph's an enviable reputation as one of the most outstanding visual and environmentally conscious premises in the Village.

Tangible and visible links with the monastery school of old include the statue of St. Joseph at the front entrance, which once stood above the main door of the old school, and the school colours of black and white, worn then as now by the students of St. Joseph's, reflecting the colours of the habits worn by those long forgotten Carmelite brothers.

St. Joseph's has played, and continues to play, an important role in the life of the community. It is home to several local groups and organisations including Clondalkin Youth Band and the Adult Education Centre, while over 20 social clubs and sporting groups have continuous use of the school premises and facilities throughout the year.

It is then from this historic background, with its legacy of dedication and commitment, that St. Joseph's reaches out, educationally, spiritually and socially, to its own community.

A link with the past...

The statue at the entrance to St. Joseph's once stood over the entrance door to the old school on Monastery Road.