It was originally situated Elm cliff, near the station, on land leased by the Earl of Meath and other benevolent members of society, it then moved in 1877 to Avondale House off Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Dublin.
Protestant (Church of Ireland) religious instruction was provided to the boys in the institution, alongside school subjects, the boys were taught vocational skills, like shoemaking, tailoring and watchmaking.
[6] In 1917 boys were transferred to another protestant school, Balmoral Industrial School, Belfast, when it was commandeered by the war office[7] and the building was used as a military Hospital (Blackrock Military Orthopaedic Hospital).
[8] Records of the school are held in the Church of Ireland Representative Body.
The writer James Stephens was committed to the school for begging as a child.