The school's foundation dates to 1884 when a friary was formed by the Franciscan Order.

[5] In the 1870s the Capuchin (Franciscan) order of friars opened a church and monastery on the Rochestown-Monkstown road near Cork city.

[6] In the 1880s, a school for novitiates (those seeking to join the order) was opened on the site.

[7] In the late 1960s and early 1970s, coinciding with a move to free education in the state, the college expanded into the friary itself, and "dormitories were converted into classrooms".

[8] Sporting and extra-curricular activities in the school include debating, Gaelic football, hurling, soccer, basketball, badminton, debating and chess.