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Headquarters Sandymount, Republic of Ireland |
Sandymount High School was a coeducational secondary school on Herbert Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4. Founded in 1947, it was initially controversial because, as a non-denominational school, it wasn't owned by a church but by the Cannon family, who also provided the two headmasters the school had: father and son Patrick and Conall Cannon. Patrick's wife Eileen Cannon also served as headmistress.
![Sandymount High School Photos 1980s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition Archive](https://alchetron.com/cdn/sandymount-high-school-20914221-e967-4097-9a1a-f47821fab2e-resize-750.jpeg)
The school's student body was arguably drawn from several distinct groups:
![Sandymount High School Sandymount Park The other Newgrove Ave building](https://alchetron.com/cdn/sandymount-high-school-371405d8-86f0-4567-8a79-c626aa5e86b-resize-750.jpeg)
The school's pre-Celtic Tiger period accommodation and successful integration of the latter group was remarkable, as until the late 1990s non-white/non-Christian students were a rarity in the vast majority of Irish classrooms.
![Sandymount High School Sandymount High School Mapionet](https://alchetron.com/cdn/sandymount-high-school-15397e70-1866-430b-9d54-bcbf564017c-resize-750.jpeg)
While the school had gym — basically exercise classes — for Intermediate Certificate students, it had no compulsory sports or sports team while Conall Cannon, the second headmaster, was in charge: allegedly he hated having compulsory sports while he was a student. The first headmaster, Patrick Cannon, was happy to have rugby as the main school sport for both Intermediate and Leaving Certificate male students in the early 1960s.
![Sandymount High School Sandymount High School Class of 77](https://alchetron.com/cdn/sandymount-high-school-09282425-b4e4-43f7-9217-2f1b9b63af9-resize-750.jpeg)
A rival school opened next door several years later: Marian College, run by the Catholic Church. It was opened at the behest of John Charles McQuaid to counter what he perceived as the influence of Sandymount High. Marian College even copied the school colours.
![Sandymount High School Sandymount High School WikiVisually](https://alchetron.com/cdn/sandymount-high-school-6e8dc847-7327-44a9-99b7-c966ab1c90d-resize-750.jpg)
The school was closed in 1999 and the land sold for development. The site now contains a gated community called Cannon Place.
![Sandymount High School Sandymount High School Class of 77](https://alchetron.com/cdn/sandymount-high-school-f2339564-d4ff-4137-bcdf-f675697b08e-resize-750.jpeg)
Famous former pupils include Fionnula Flanagan, Charlie Bird, Eric Brennan, Eamonn Dunphy and Ronnie Delaney.