Carlow College, St. Patrick’s, is Ireland’s second oldest university-level institution. Founded in 1782, we have a distinguished history as a college of teaching and research in the Humanities.
Carlow College, St. Patrick’s is situated in its own grounds on an eighteenth-century parkland and is known locally as St. Patrick’s College. Carlow College is ideally located in the heart of Carlow town. Tullow Street is only one hundred meters away our students have access to banks, shops, food outlets and a wide variety of social venues on the doorstep. Pedestrian access from the town centre is on College Street and is flanked by the Cathedral to the South and by the magnificent VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art to the North.
The former entrance on College Street is now a pedestrian entrance and the railings which replace the high walls show off the College, its parkland and the Arts Centre, as an attractive feature of the town. The College is within walking distance of the facilities students need and the new entrance on the Dublin Road, with its spacious car park, for the many students who commute to the College from the surrounding counties.
Carlow College is proud of its long history and it maintains its strong tradition as a student friendly campus where students and lecturers work together to create the optimum atmosphere for student and personal development.
Over the years Carlow has educated generations of politicians, priests, writers and public officials who were leaders in the society of their time. Today’s students find employment in education, community work, the civil service, media and the social care field. A high percentage of our students proceed to postgraduate studies in the fields of Philosophy, English, History, Theology and Social Studies.