As noted in ‘The Founding of the Christian Brothers’, schools started to open nationwide in Ireland under the guidance of the Christian Brothers. The fifth Christian Brother’s school to open in Ireland was located in Dublin in the Parish of Saint Andrew’s in 1812, ten years after the founding of the Christian Brothers. It might be noted that an argument can be made that the school on Hanover Street did not open until 1814 rather than 1812. [11] The Centenary of St Andrews Parish was celebrated in 1964 as well as the opening of the first Christian Brothers school located on Hanover Street.

Note the stars in the map above. The yellow star represents CBS Westland Row’s current location, now on Cumberland Street. The orange star represents where the CBS was originally located on Hanover Street. The blue star represents where the clergy resided when the school first opened in 1814, on Townsend Street. When the Brothers were invited back to teach in Westland Row, they returned to Townsend Street to reside until the accommodation in  Saint Andrew’s Church  was complete.

Please find below, a video of the footage of the 1864-1964 Centenary celebrations at Saint Andrew’s Church and CBS Westland Row. [13] This video highlights the huge emphasis that was placed on the church in the late 1800s and 1900s. The Parish recently held its 150th anniversary in 2014 also. The school and the parish also took part in these celebrations.

The school building was located on the cross roads of Hanover Street and Lime Street, a stone’s throw from Westland Row. In the year 1844, Brother Edmund Rice died. To add to the Brothers disheartenment, they faced another dilemma. The lease holder of the building of the school building on Hanover Street declared bankruptcy. The school was forced to close and the Brothers, as well as the 400 students enrolled, had to leave.

During the school’s occupation on Hanover Street, a church was built nearby to accommodate the every growing Catholic community. Following the Catholic Emancipation, there was a surge of churches being built. Saint Andrew’s, Westland Row being one of them. They opened their gates to the local community in 1834. Following the closing of the school in Hanover Street in 1844, new parish schools for boys and girls were built behind St Andrews Church on Westland Row. They were governed by the National Board. It was not until 1864 that the Christian Brothers were invited back to the school the rear of St Andrew’s church by the Cardinal Cullen, whom I previously mentioned, to pick up where they left off. The Brothers returned to 9 Townsend Street (where the clergy originally resided) to live in until their monastery was completed in Westland Row in 1868.