In search of the idea of a Catholic university

Aim: The author hereof pursued two goals. In the first part, the history of founding a Catholic university in Dublin in the mid-nineteenth century by John Henry Newman was presented, while in the second part the author presented two key issues taken up by Newman in his well-known and respected work entitled The Idea of a University – the question of the value of, firstly, liberal education and, secondly, denominational education. Methods: The methods used by the author are situated in the field of the history and philosophy of education. The historical dimension is the reconstruction of the facts accompanying Newman’s activity in Dublin, while the philosophical dimension – the analysis of selected threads of the paper entitled: The Idea of a University and the reflection on their relevance in modern times. Results: As a result of the conducted research, the complexity of the social and religious situation in which the English clergyman operated, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments included in above-mentioned paper were clearly revealed.