One of Galway's oldest and best-known schools has opened its doors to female pupils for the first time in its 223-year history.
St Jarlath's College in Tuam is one of a number of schools to amalgamate, bringing an end single-sex education in the town.
For the first time, there will be 30 girls enrolled at St Jarlath's College amongst this year's intake of first year students.
School President John Kelly says the move follows extensive studies carried out in the town and surrounding areas, with an 'overwhelming' majority of parents and pupils opting for mixed schools.
"The numbers in the school have increased over the last number of years. We have experienced an increase consistently, so opening up the school to co-ed is not an exercise in increasing numbers in the school," Mr Kelly said.
"Rather, it is a case of providing the community with what it wants and what they look for in a school. The trustees of the school ran a survey in the local area for all schools and the feedback from parents, from the primary schools, from our existing students and teachers is that co-ed is what is wanted.
"That drove our decision, the board of management, and the trustees based on that decision that we would open up as a co-ed school."
Mr Kelly became the first layman to be appointed when he became the 32nd president of the college in 2013.
The north Galway school is the most successful gaelic football nursery for boys in the country, capturing the All-Ireland senior football title a dozen times and the Connacht crown on 49 occasions - three more than the combined total of the other eight schools who have won it.
St Jarlath’s have appeared in 27 of the 66 All-Ireland finals and over the decades have produced hundreds of GAA stars, not just for Galway.
And with Galway stars such as Michael Meehan and Róisín Leonard on the teaching staff, the boys and girls of St Jarlath's College will not lack direction on the football fields in the years ahead, as a new era dawns for the famed Tuam nursery.
Mr Kelly says plans are already under way to enter girls' teams in as many sports as possible as well as to continue the high academic achievements of the school since it opened its doors for the first time in 1800.
There are over 600 students in St Jarlath's, with around 60 staff.
Initially, it was a boarding school when it was opened by the Tuam Archdiocese.
Day pupils boosted numbers at the school over the decades and in 2006, boarding ceased at the school.
