St Patrick's College, Maynooth is the "National Seminary for Ireland", a college and seminary often called Maynooth College located at Maynooth, Ireland. The degrees at the college are awarded by the assocated Pontifical University of Maynooth which is Ireland's only private university and was established by a Pontifical Charter of 1896.

The college was established in 1795 and the building work was paid for by the British Government, partly to discourage the Catholic Church from endorsing Irish separatism. Even after the granting of the Pontifical Charter in 1896 the college became a recognised college of the National University of Ireland in 1910 and from this time its degrees were awarded by the National University. The college held this link until 1997 when the Faculties of Art, Celtic Studies and Philosophy, and Science were reconstituted as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, and the other faculties remaining as part of the college.

The college continues to share its campus with National University of Ireland, Maynooth but is a separate legal entity with training in Canon Law, Philosophy and Theology and awards the degrees of the Pontifical University and is associated with several other colleges.

See also

• Education in Ireland
• List of Irish Universities

External links

• Official site