It was founded in 1904 by the Franciscan Brothers, who previously had a secondary school on the location, and was the first such college in Ireland.
[1] It is a private college but runs courses in association with the Irish governments Agricultural and Food Development Authority (Teagasc) and the nearby Atlantic Technological University Mountbellew campus (GMIT).
The links with GMIT have strengthened and students can now choose between two degrees (Rural Enterprise & Agribusiness or Agriculture & Environmental Management).
[citation needed] These students spend time between the Mountbellew and Galway campuses.
[2] Former Galway West Fine Gael TD Paul Connaughton Jnr attended Mountbellew qualifying with a degree in business from GMIT.