Our History
History
The District includes religious communities and educational ministries in Ireland, Great Britain and Malta dating back to the end of the 19th Century.
History
The District includes religious communities and educational ministries in Ireland, Great Britain and Malta dating back to the end of the 19th Century. Brothers first arrived in, England in 1855, Ireland in 1880, Malta in 1903. During the 20th Century there were various separations and amalgamations that culminated 2015 in the formation of our present District (Province) of Ireland, Great Britain and Malta.
Ireland
The De La Salle Brothers first came to Ireland in 1880 and since then have involved in 64 schools, both Primary and Secondary, as well as three children’s residential centres, a teacher training college and three Pastoral Centres – in Ballyfermot, Co. Dublin; Castletown, Co. Laois; and Glen Road, Belfast.
The Provincial organisation of the congregation has changed over the years to take account of numbers and local needs. Up until 1947, England and Ireland operated as one Province, but in that year the Irish Province, made up of Brothers in both the Republic and the North, was formed.
This remained in place until the 2015 reorganisation that has seen the Irish Province re-amalgamated with Great Britain and Malta.
The De La Salle Brothers first came to Britain from France in 1854 and established a school in South London, which was the forerunner of St Joseph’s College Beulah Hill. In those early days, the initial French foundation was quickly joined by Brothers from North America, many of whom had family in Ireland, and by new recruits from England. From this small beginning, the Brothers opened educational establishments throughout Great Britain and Ireland.
During the 20th Century the Brothers were organised into various Provinces, with the Brothers from Malta joining them in 1945. Today the Lasallian presence in Britain, Ireland and Malta is under one administrative Province, known as the District of Ireland, Malta and Great Britain.
Great Britain
Malta
Although several attempts were made during the 19th Century to establish the Institute of the Christian Brothers in Malta, it was mainly as a result of the Cambes Law (on the separation of the Church and State) in France that the Brothers actually came to Malta. Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Malta (1903-1907), authorised Bro. Arbon François to open a Lasallian school on the island. In 1903, De La Salle College opened at Cospicua, and a second school was inaugurated in Sliema in 1904.
From 1915 to 1918, the first scholarships at De La Salle College were launched and successful candidates joined the Dockyard course. Several of these workmen became the backbone of the foremost industrial enterprise on the island. The need for new premises was soon felt and in March 29th, 1937, the foundation stone of the new De La Salle College was laid in Vittoriosa.
The Sliema school also grew in number and was transferred to Gzira in 1938 under the name Stella Maris College. A sixth form was opened in 1966 in a joint venture between the two colleges.
Until the Second World War the two Maltese Brothers’ communities and their schools formed part of the District of Algiers. However, because the Brothers’ International Headquarters were in Rome, the British government wanted the Brothers closer to Britain in their administrative affairs. Thus from August 1st 1945 the Brothers’ schools in Malta fell under the jurisdiction of Brother Visitor of the London District.
The Brothers were often at the forefront and played key roles in the history of education in Malta. They were entrusted with the teaching of male teachers-to-be in State schools (1947 – 1973) at St Michael’s Training College. They were also among the first schools to be inclusive and welcome children with special needs in the last decade of the 20th Century.