Through the years, many children from the Dublin 2 and 4 areas will have attended the CBS Westland Row School. Its Past Pupils Union has set up a website at www.row.ie. The school has played a major role in Irish history and produced some famous past pupils, including the Pearse Brothers, Ken Doherty, Ray Tracey and Cyril Cusack to name but a few.

The school is right in the heart of the South Inner City. Although the address is Westland Row, the school buildings are entered from Cumberland Street and are wrapped around the back of St. Andrew’s Church.

Some of the ground floor and basement space is used by the administrative offices of the church so that most of the classrooms are on the second and third floors. Pearse Street railway station borders the school on the eastern side.

The Christian Brothers came to the Parish in 1812 at the invitation of the then-archbishop, Dr. Murray. After moving buildings a few times, they arrived in the present school in 1844. The school grew rapidly and within a few years had a joint enrolment over 400 pupils.

There were separate primary and secondary schools on the same site, sharing the playground and other facilities. In 1864, the Brothers laid the foundation stone for the present monastery which fronted onto Westland Row.

In 1988 the primary section amalgamated with the Mercy Girls’ School and moved to their newer premises in Baggot Street. Two years later the secondary went co-educational to accept all pupils leaving the Primary.

In 1994 the Christian Brothers decided to open up the position of principal to lay people and an acting principal was appointed. The following year, one of the first woman principals in a Brother’s school was appointed to the permanent post and a board of management was set up. The school has had a lay principal since then.

The school provides a wide range of Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate subjects concentrating on the LCA and LCVP programmes. Recent additions to the school include a new extended kitchen for the home economics classes and a language laboratory. Pupil numbers are now on the rise and the future of the school looks secure.
Don’t forget to check out the website at www.row.ie.