The college was founded in 1860 by Father (Père) Jules Leman, a French missionary with the Congregation of the Holy Ghost, and was the first of the Order's five schools in Ireland. Leman had a dual aim, namely to train personnel for missionary service in the Third World and to provide a first class Roman Catholic education for Irish boys. It was originally known as the "French College" by the locals. A civil service training and university department (where students were examined and had degrees conferred by the Royal University of Ireland) was later added and operated for over forty years, until University College Dublin grew, and the school focused more on the secondary curriculum.