Alliance for Catholic Education
ACE Ireland
History
The Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) has been engaged and active in Ireland since 2003, when ACE began recruiting in Ireland for the ACE Teaching Fellows program. The mission over time expanded to a broad movement of leaders committed to enhancing the character of Catholic education in Ireland.
In partnership with the Catholic Church in Ireland, ACE Ireland has been instrumental in celebrating, sustaining, and revitalizing Catholic education in Ireland. Although ACE made the difficult decision to discontinue its Ireland program in 2025, we celebrate the impact ACE Ireland has had on the Irish Catholic Education landscape and know that the work will continue in new ways under the direction of Church and educational leaders in Ireland.
Success Built on Partnership, Commitment & Leadership
Thank you to all of our local partners in Ireland for the warm welcome our programs received at the Newman Center for Faith and Reason, Notre Dame Global Centre at Kylemore Abbey and the Notre Dame Global Gateway in Dublin.
Thank you as well to ACE Ireland’s three directors, John O’Malley (2005-2016), Jonathan Tiernan (2016-2020), and Angela Mitchell (2020-2025), whose dedication has left a lasting impact on the Irish Catholic education system for many years to come.
Impact
Through the collective efforts of many people, the ACE Ireland program has helped grow and strengthen Catholic school education in Ireland. Key accomplishments include:
Emerging Leaders Fellowship, The CROÍ Project, School Culture Initiative, ACE Advocates, Irish ACE Teaching Fellows, and Irish Remick Leaders
Emerging Leaders Fellowship
The ACE Ireland Emerging Leaders Fellowship has formed 78 school leaders since its inception in 2019. ACE Ireland recruited talented, mission-driven Catholic school leaders into a one-year fellowship based upon the three pillars of ACE—professional education, spiritual formation, and community. The Fellowship yielded transformational effects on the personal and professional identity of participants and has become a vital source of talent and energy for renewal within the Catholic education system. This work contributed to the revitalization of Catholic schools all over Ireland and Scotland, welcoming 24 participants annually.
System Leadership Formation and Partnership
Over the years, ACE Ireland has brought together leaders from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales with leaders from the US through conferences, summits, exchanges and retreats in Ireland and on campus at the University of Notre Dame. ACE Ireland has formed many partnerships to support the formation of system leaders including a partnership with St. Patrick’s College Maynooth on a Diploma in Catholic Education, and more recently, with Australian Catholic University on a Formation Experience in Rome for System leaders in 2023.
The CROÍ Project
ACE Ireland partnered with Mary Immaculate College, Limerick (part of the GRACE Project), to form the CROÍ (Heart) project, an effort to support the newly formed Catholic Education Partnership (CEP) in its mission to bring unity to the Catholic Education System in Ireland. Through participation in the GRACE Conference at Notre Dame University Australia, and an extended program designed by ACE Ireland in partnership with CEWA (Catholic Education Western Australia) and Notre Dame University Australia, 26 system leaders from key organizations and schools engaged in a comparative learning experience that stimulated deep reflection and the creation of a new vision for systemic leadership in Irish Catholic education. The CROÍ project continues, under the leadership of the Catholic Education Partnership, with working groups developing a new shared vision and framework for Catholic education, a shared approach to formation and changes to the existing structures to further support collaboration.
School Culture Initiative
Since 2015, ACE Ireland has supported the mission and vitality of the ethos and culture of over 40 Catholic schools in Ireland, based on the culture-work at ACE Academies, but designed for an Irish audience. ACE Ireland has formed leadership teams and whole school communities and facilitated their articulation and implementation of a strong, shared, vibrant Catholic school culture.
ACE Advocates
ACE Ireland has fostered a vibrant community and fellowship for returning ACE graduates and the wider education community through monthly ACE Advocates gatherings, annual retreats at Kylemore Abbey and professional growth opportunities such as attending the ACE Leadership Conference at Notre Dame. In recent years, ACE Advocates gathered in Dublin, Cork and Galway providing an opportunity for Catholic school leaders and teachers to meet regularly for fellowship, prayer and professional development.
ACE Ireland Teaching Fellows
For the last 20 years, recent Irish college graduates have embarked on a journey across the Atlantic to serve as members of the ACE Teaching Fellows cohort. More than 30 young people from Ireland have participated in the ACE Teaching Fellows program. These zealous teachers (affectionately known as Irish ACErs) have brought a valuable perspective to their schools, communities, and the ACE program.
Irish Remick Leaders
The Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program has partnered with ACE Ireland’s Emerging Leaders Fellowship since its inception, aligning programming and welcoming emerging leaders to continue their study in educational leadership. Two Irish Remick Leaders have received the Lead with Zeal Award on graduation (Angela Mitchell and Kieran Kelly).
