[16] From the beginning, CBC was principally involved in preparing pupils for university entry,[citation needed] and operated on St Patrick's Place for one hundred years.

[17] In the Intermediate Education Commission of 1899, chaired by Christopher Palles, CBC Cork was one of nine Roman Catholic schools in Ireland to be interviewed.

Anthony P. Quinn, writing in Wigs & Guns: Irish Barristers During the Great War, explains that "discipline" and other characteristics beneficial for military service were instilled in 'Christians', in the same manner as public boys' schools in England.

The school at this time was noted as "catering for the sons of comfortable families, and, as such could hardly be expected to be a hot-bed of revolutionary ideas".

Unlike other Christian Brothers' schools, there existed a "vital thrust" to "support Britain in her hour of peril", and visits by past pupils wearing khaki aided a recruitment drive.

[29] In 2009, the school was scrutinised by the Irish Independent for its receipt of state subsidies, along with Blackrock, Belvedere, Clongowes, Wesley, Mount Anville, King's Hospital, Terenure, Kilkenny, and St.

[38] Marking the centenary in 1988, the college moved from its original site to a new location, one hundred metres away, atop Sidney Hill.

[43] Though the Christian Brothers retain a presence on the board of management, as trustees, CBC is now staffed entirely by lay teachers, and is recognised as one of Ireland's leading educational establishments at secondary level.

The individual had previously lodged an objection against a larger scale version of the proposed development, costed at €12.5 million, in 2020.

[45][46][47] While planning permission had been granted for this development in 2020, a review by the board of management and the Edmund Rice Schools' Trust deemed it to be not commercially viable.

They have won the Munster Schools' Senior Cup thirty-one times,[51] winning its first title in 1909 (where they defeated Rockwell College).

[59] One noted meeting of this pair occurred in 1974, when 'Christians' defeated a 'Pres' team featuring Moss Finn 9-6, sealing CBC Cork's four-in-a-row win of the Cup.

[60] In Where Miracles Happen: The Story of Thomond Park, they are noted for dominating these tournaments for most of the 20th century, regularly meeting each other in cup finals.

[67] The school has produced a number of Irish rugby internationals, with some of its earliest, among whom were Harry Jack and Vincent McNamara, predating the First World War.

[72] In 2019, the Sunday Independent referred to the school, along with PBC Cork, Belvedere, and Clongowes, as "bulk providers of raw material" for Irish rugby.

[76] In the 21st century, this has included (among others) Rory Burke,[77][78] Darragh Hurley, Tomás O'Leary[79] (in 2023, O'Leary was appointed to lead the school's Junior Rugby coaching team),[80][81] Billy Holland,[82] Stephen Archer,[83] Liam Coombes,[84] Alex McHenry,[85] Ross Noonan,[86] Mark Donnelly,[87] John William Ryan,[88] Cian Hurley,[89] Frank Murphy,[90] Ivan Dineen,[91] Duncan Williams,[92] Scott Buckley,[93] Simon Zebo (who attended both CBC Cork and PBC Cork),[94] James Coughlan[95] and Donncha O'Callaghan.

[98][99][63] The school has links with the Old Christians Club, Uruguay, and has commemorated the Flight 571 disaster of October 1972, in which most of the rugby team's players and coaches perished in the Andes mountains, Argentina.

John (Dicey) O'Reilly (who had been a founding Brother of the Uruguayan school in Montevideo), who was the principal of CBC Cork at the time of the crash.

Donal Lenihan, a past pupil and former captain of the Irish international rugby team, recalled that, once the news had broken, Br.

[107][108] The school contributed a total 16 players and 2 coaches to Cork GAA's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship bid in 2021, including Robbie Cotter, Padraig Power, Jack Cahalane, Eoin Downey, Robert Downey, Robbie O'Flynn, Shane Barrett, Billy Hennessy and James O'Flynn.