Cathal BarryThe closure of All Hallows is a worrying sign, says Cathal Barry
It was with “huge regret and deep sadness” that All Hallows College announced last week its intention to close its doors after 172 years.
The college, which is not in receipt of State grants, had been operating at an increasing deficit over many years.
It had, in recent times, embarked on a stringent programme of sustainability, including increasing its activities and embarking on an extensive fundraising programme.
However, it has admitted a lack of State funding for the college and a cap on enrolments of undergraduates eligible for the free fees scheme all played a factor in the colleges shock decision to shut.
At present, the college plays host to 450 students on accredited degree courses and employs in excess of 70 staff.
It has already begun a 30-day statutory consultation period with its staff to ensure the wind-down will be conducted in a phased and orderly fashion.
In the meantime, a spokesperson for All Hallows has assured existing students that “every effort will be made to facilitate the completion of their courses”, while the college’s administration “will be in contact with current applicants”.
The spokesperson also mentioned the decision had been taken “mindful of the long history of the college, its proud traditions and its contribution to education in Ireland”.
The college was established in 1842 by Fr John Hand to train missionary priests for work abroad. It was taken over by the Vincentian Fathers in 1892 and it remained a seminary right up until the late 1980s.
During that time, it produced thousands of missionary priests who ended up in countries right around the world.
However, the widespread falloff in vocations forced the college to open its doors to lay students, specialising at undergraduate level in the teaching of theology, philosophy, psychology, and English literature as well as programmes in personal and professional development.
Since 2008, Dublin City University has accredited the college’s degree programmes and provided access to supports such as library and IT services to All Hallows students.
Although the college’s closure may have come as a shock to many, the writing has been on the wall for quite a while.
President
Its current president, American-born Vincentian, Dr Patrick McDevitt, CM, was recruited in 2011 from the world renowned DePaul University in Chicago, the largest Catholic university in the US.
In Fr McDevitt’s mind, the fact that the Vincentians actively went about a professional search to find a president for the first time in the college’s history signaled that the order “obviously wanted to see the college continue”.
In fact, according to Fr McDevitt, both the Irish Provincial and the Superior General of the order envisage third level education as being “central to the mission” of the Vincentians.
He was at pains to point out their “support and definite commitment” to keeping the show on the road in Drumcondra.
Charged with the task of bringing the college back from the brink of financial crisis, he actively set about implementing a programme of renewal, a “re-missioning” of the college, as he put it.
This included seeking philanthropic donations and a review of the college’s archives to see if there were items of value which could be sold.
This search identified a significant number of valuable items, among them the much publicised Jackie Kennedy letters to Fr Joseph Leonard, which, if sold, may have contributed to briefly extending the life of the college.
Unfortunately for All Hallows, an intervention by the Kennedy family, coupled with a claim by the Vincentian Fathers that the order owns the letters, was enough to put a halt to the proceedings. An announcement of the college’s closure swiftly ensued.
“The letters were one piece of a puzzle,” Fr McDevitt put it. “And one piece can make a difference.”
Fr McDevitt seemed to share concerns that the closure of All Hallows is a somewhat worrying blot on the landscape of third level Catholic education in Ireland.
He said the Catholic ethos of colleges like All Hallows offer “diversity in the system of third level education”.
“We attract people to our institutions because of our sense of mission which is based on Catholic values and
ethos. We educate women and men in leadership and human services. We teach future professionals how to work with people in and for the betterment and systemic change of communities. Our programmes are rooted in three core values of Justice, Service and Leadership. These Catholic social values informs people’s sense of mission,” he said.
Fr McDevitt also made the point that private colleges like All Hallows are essential to the New Evangelisation, forming people in the Catholic faith through a wide variety of courses.
“We reach people in the classroom who will never come to our churches,” he reasoned. “By reaching out to those people we can communicate the values of the Catholic faith. I have said it before and I will say it again – All Hallows is the New Evangelisation in action.”
‘Can-do’ attitude
So has this Vincentian’s ‘can-do’ attitude been damaged due to the college’s closure? To a certain extent, yes.
“I didn’t come here to close the place. I’m not into failure,” he stated boldly.
As somebody who is “determined to make things happen”, Fr McDevitt, along with the leadership team have worked hard to ensure the longevity of the college.
“But sometimes it gets to the point that you have to ask yourself what is best for the future,” he confessed.
“It’s sad and disappointing,” he acknowledged, admitting it was always going to take “something radical” to save All Hallows.
Fr McDevitt had a 10-year mandate to turn the college around and maintains All Hallows “would have made it” had he been gifted more time. However, in his own words, “time is money”, and All Hallows was found wanting.
So will the college’s services cease completely or will All Hallows exist in any future form?
A psychologist by trade, Fr McDevitt is quick to point out the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
Fr McDevitt, however, is also a “man of faith”, and people of faith “always have hope”.