An explanation of its origin and meaning

Symbols are important in Irish society so long as they have meaning. They remind people they are part of a group and also they give people a sense of belonging to that group. In the same way the school crest, which is the main symbol of the school, must have meaning if students are to have a sense of belonging to the school.

Br. Conran, the first principal of Moyle Park 1957-64, pictured left, went to the Heraldic Office in Dublin Castle to devise a new school crest. The crest consists of a tower which indicates the area of Clondalkin, a book which indicates the educational purpose, the haloed ‘M’ symbolising the Marist name and also Mary, the Mother of God. The banner contains the name of the school.

Do these symbols have meaning for the students of Moyle Park? In our Political Studies class we wrote on this subject and my opinion was as follows:

“I relate to the school crest in the way that it distinguishes me as being from Moyle Park College”

Not everybody felt as I did, so a survey was conducted among the students in my class. Most of my fellow students related to the crest in some way; some, however, did not relate to it at all. Most people recognised the fact that the crest identified the school. The tower was also well commented on as an identifying symbol of the local area where the students live. Some people thought that the M stood for Moyle while others wrote that it stood for Marist, the latter being more correct. A small number said they would not have been able to describe the crest until they had a look at it in detail.

Most people could not understand the Latin words ‘Respice Finem’ which means ‘Behold the End’, meaning reflect on the purpose of your education and indeed, some people thought it had something to do with sport. These were the main findings of the survey and they show that in general most students relate to the school crest in one way or another.

-Martin McNally (Past Pupil)

School Colours

The school colours are yellow and blue, the colour of this web site. These colours are used on the jumper of the grey school uniform along the V of the neckline. They are also used on the sports jerseys for the various teams in badminton, basketball, Gaelic football, rugby and soccer.

Metal, stone and flowers - the school crest on the school wall.