[6] The name of the Monastery may also originate from the fact that the lands it was built upon once belonged to the much older monastic foundations of the Priory of All Hallows owned by the Augustinians and founded by Diarmaid mac Murchadha in 1166, but later dissolved under the Reformation.
[8] The academic training for a priest took seven years, of which three were devoted to physics, mental philosophy, languages, and English literature; the remaining four years were devoted to sacred scripture, history, liturgy, canon law, sacred eloquence, and the science of theology.
In autumn 1955, while on holiday in Ireland, Senator John F. Kennedy addressed students of All Hallows at the invitation of Fr.
[13] In the 1960s, after the Second Vatican Council, the college began accepting women from religious orders and also all Lay Students, offering adult education, and certificates, degrees and diplomas in theology, humanities and pastoral studies.
Similarly, in 1981 the Vincentian Mission Team moved to the College, from Blackrock, resulting in All Hallows being where missionaries returned to stay.
[14] The BA degree, a four-year programme in Theology with Philosophy, Psychology or Spirituality was validated by the Irish governments NCEA in 1988.
[17] From 2003 to 2015, Preparing for Ministries, a version of the Pathways programme in All Hallows, was provided on an outreach basis, at various locations in the Diocese of Clogher.
In 2012, the International Peace Bureau conference was held in All Hallows, where President Michael D. Higgins presented the Sean McBride Prize.
All Hallows College was home to programmes that provided students with the skills to promote fairness and equality in the workplace and in society: leadership and management in the pastoral arena, the community and voluntary sector and on all dialogue between public policy and social justice.
[22] In 2017, the President of All Hallows College in conjunction with Dublin City University launched a strategic plan for the future called the Aisling (Vision) program in order to modernize the courses on offer in the college and also develop a stronger academic and resource links with its new partner institute, Dublin City University.
As part of the reaction to the closure of the aerospace company in Dublin Airport under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) a tailored degree course was provided in All Hallows for some 70 former employees.
[24] The college ran a series of public talks each autumn and spring on subjects relating to the church, its mission and social justice, the 2015 spring series was entitled "Reading the Signs of the Times - Urgent Questions for the Church today", with speakers including Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Fr.
Previous subjects have included "Vatican II : The Journey Continues" and "The Joy of the Gospel: Evangelii Gaudium Exploring the Teaching of Pope Francis".
A number of non-profit organisations and charities such as Volunteer Missionary Movement, Daughters of Charity[27] Education and Training Service,[28] Ruhama[29] (Supporting women affected by prostitution and human trafficking), Accord Catholic Marriage Counselling, Debt and Development Coalition Ireland, Console (Living with Suicide), Migraine Association of Ireland, National Association for Pastoral Counselling and Psychotherapy, Marys Meals, and Older Women's Network (OWN) Ireland were based on campus.
On 22 December 2003, the college hosted a special Christmas edition of RTÉs Marian Finucane Show with choirs for the northside of Dublin, and featured Brian Kennedy, Suzanne Murphy, Anúna, Bernadette Greevey and the Three American Tenors.
The BBC Songs of Praise show on 20 March 2016, featured a recording of Enya singing in the college chapel.
Hand, over the years a number of eminent people had taught at or been associated with All-Hallows Dr. Bartholomew Woodlock(became Rector of the Catholic University of Ireland), Dr. David Moriarty, Dr. Michael Flannery, Dr. Eugene O'Connell, Dr. George Michael Conroy(Professor of Dogma, 1857 to 1866), Dr. James McDevitt, Dr. Sylvester Barry, Dr. Thomas A. Bennett, Monsignor James O'Brien (St. John's College, Sydney), and Dr. Patrick Delany (Hobart), have gone on to leading positions in the Catholic Church or other educational institutions.
Two other noted professors at the college were the converts from Anglicanism Father Thomas Potter, and Mr. Henry Bedford MA.
The architect and designer of churches in Ireland James Joseph McCarthy was Professor of Ecclesiastical Architecture at the college.
(serving from 1996 to 2011) he was succeeded in 2011 by the first foreign and the final president of All Hallows College, Dr. Patrick McDevitt, C.M., PhD, a Vincentian priest, from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.
[34] On 23 May 2014, it was announced that the College activities would be winding down due to financial difficulties, these were brought to the fore following a fundraising effort which included the sale of letters from Jackie Kennedy was cancelled.
[40] The College was not in receipt of direct state funding, and was capped at how many students it could accept on the Irish government's free fees scheme.
Efforts were made, liaising with DCU and its Colleges, to maintain the Adult Learning BA (ALBA) degree programme, which is the only one of its kind in Ireland.
All Hallows College Festival Week was held in July 2016, to mark the transition of the All Hallows Campus to DCU, and to celebrate the legacy of the College, featuring events such as a garden party, fun day and open day with tours, exhibitions and lectures and a mass celebrated by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.