Notable Alumni

Sir Henry Pottinger negotiated the Treaty of Nanking by which Hong Kong was ceded to Britain. He was the first Governor of Hong Kong then later The Governor of Cape Colony and Governor of Madras.

Sir Hugh McCalmont Cairns studied Classics at Trinity College Dublin after school, before being called to the Bar to start his legal career. In 1852 he entered Parliament as a member for Belfast and became a QC in 1858. He was a senior Conservative in the House of Lords then went on to be appointed Solicitor-General and was knighted in 1858. In 1868 he was made Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.

Robert Young was the famous architect who founded Young and MacKenzie. He designed the Anderson and McAuley building, Robinson and Cleavers, the Scottish Provident building and the main Crombie Building of BRA.

Jack McCleery was one of the world’s first aircraft carrier pilots during World War 1. After school he joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916 and was posted to the new Aircraft carrier HMS Furious where he flew a vast array of different planes. He witnessed much of the First World War conflict and took part in many major missions across Europe. He was promoted to Captain in the RAF and also acted as CO of F Squadron after the war. During World War 2 he was OC in the Home Guard in Holywood, County Down before retiring in 1969.

Sir Francis Evans was a soldier, civil servant and diplomat. He served in World War 2, then became a civil servant. He was Ambassador to Israel, then Ambassador to Argentina and was Chairman of the Northern Ireland Development Council 1962-66.

Mercy Hunter was an Artist and President of the Royal Ulster Academy (1976-77). She received the MBE in 1970 for her services to art and education and was best known for calligraphy and for creating costume designs for theatre and ballet productions.

Jack Kyle was a celebrated rugby union player. He played for Ulster, Ireland, the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians during the 1940s and 50s. He is best known for leading Ireland to a Grand Slam in the 1948 Five Nations Championship. He is a member of the International Rugby Hall of Fame and in 2002, was named as Ireland’s greatest ever rugby player. He studied medicine at Queen’s University in Belfast and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement in 2007 by the Irish Journal of Medical Science and Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

Lord Robin Eames an Anglican Bishop and peer. He studied Law at Queen’s University before taking a Ph.D. in ecclesiastical law and history. He went on to take a three year course in the divinity school of Trinity College Dublin before returning to become a curate in Bangor. He held various positions as Rector and then Bishop before being elected Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006 and Primate of All Ireland.

Author and peace builder. His debut, the critically acclaimed memoir, Paper Boy, reflected his experiences growing up on the Shankill Road during the early days of the troubles. His three subsequent books followed his development and involvement in projects aimed at supporting young people to reject sectarianism and violence. In 2019 he published his first work of fiction Belfast Gate which deals with the lasting impact of the troubles on modern day Belfast.

BBC journalist and broadcaster. Studied philosophy at Queen’s University before reading theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and was also awarded Ph.D. from Queen’s. He initially worked as a university lecturer before being ordained as a Presbyterian Minister and then serving in churches in New York and Belfast. He resigned from ministry before beginning his career as a journalist with the BBC. He is now presenter of Talkback, the daily radio phone-in show on BBC Radio Ulster and is presenter of Sunday on BBC Radio 4.

The first woman to be appointed Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in 2009. In 2020 she was appointed as the Independent Chair on an Inter Departmental Working Group, looking into allegations of historical child abuse. Subsequently she served on the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland, the Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Garda Policing Authority.

After graduation she was appointed to Cleaver, Rankin and Fulton before joining the litigation department of McCann Fitzgerald, a famous Dublin law firm. Karyn became an equity partner in 2005, specialising in complex commercial litigation and is also a member of the firm’s Policy Committee.

Broadcaster and journalist. Graduated with an MA from the University of Dundee. She began her career in broadcasting with Macmillan Media in 1997 and also worked as a researcher for CNN and as a newsreader on Downtown Radio. She joined UTV in 2000 as a news and sports presenter. A freelance journalist since 2009, she now works with BBC Northern Ireland and has been a presenter of BBC’s Songs of Praise since 2014.

Psychologist, author and broadcaster. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (Trinity College) and is now Professor of Psychology at Edge Hill University. He was awarded the Spearman Medal by the British Psychological Society and the Mouton d'Or for his outstanding work in semiotics. He is a Fellow of the B.P.S., the Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal Society of Arts, and the author of twenty-six books - several of which have won or been shortlisted for national and international prizes. He has also presented a number of psychology-related television series on BBC1, ITV and Channel 4. A major Hollywood Studio has recently optioned one of his books ‘On the Ropes: Boxing as a Way of Life’ to be made into a film.