St. Mel's College
St. Mel's College is a school in Longford, Ireland. It opened in September 1865 with 48 boarders and 25 dayboys. Fr. James Reynolds was the first president. Previously he had been Superior of St. Mel's Day School in the Market Square. The school shares its name with St. Mel's Cathedral in Longford and it is situated to the rear of the cathedral.
St. Mel's was originally a boarding school since its foundation, later becoming a day school. Due to financial implications and the ever decreasing demand for boarding schools it stopped taking in boarders in the early 2000s.
St. Mel's won its first All Ireland Senior Final, beating St. Patrick's College, Cavan in Croke Park by 4-7 to 3-3. The college has won the gaelic football championship Hogan Cup in 1948, 1962, 1963 and 1987.
There are a number of local myths about the college, the most famous being of a student, "Spike", who was brutally murdered in the early 1900s. The current principal is Declan Rowley.