We are an EU Green School
Mission Statement
St. Mary's School is a community which is proud of its Catholic tradition
and is committed to developing each person's full potential in positive,
supportive and Christian environment. We invite everyone to participate and we
urge everyone to contribute.
"Ní neart go cur le chéile"
A view of the school via the archway entrance
The Story of St. Mary’s
Our school is under the Trusteeship of the Sisters of
Mercy. Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, was a
pioneer in Irish Education. Her primary objective was the relief, education
and protection of the poor.
The Sisters of Mercy took up residence in New Ross is
1853, initially in Priory Street, and from 1856 in South Street. The move to
South Street made it possible for the Sisters to become involved in the
provision of education at Primary and Secondary level (Junior and Senior
Departments).
The Senior Department began in 1856 as a private day
secondary school teaching English, Arithmetic, needlework, knitting,
lace-making, deportment, elocution and Religion. It was known as St. Mary’s,
an "Academy for Young Ladies" and had about 6-7 pupils in each class. In
1917 it became a secondary school for the first time by entering the
examination system of the then Intermediate Board prior to the foundation of
the Irish Free State when all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom.
Curriculum: Irish, English, Maths, History, Geography, Home Economics,
Crafts, Art, Music, Religion, Commerce and Typing. It continued as a
secondary school under the Department of Education after the founding of the
State and in 1926 opened as a Boarding School to complement the Day School.
Sr. Mary Antonia Doyle, a native of Wexford town, was
the first Principal of this school. The first lay teachers to join the
secondary staff were Miss Frances[Fran] Riordan in 1927 and Miss Kay Bolger
in 1932.
Throughout the nineteen-thirties, forties and fifties
the number of pupils steadily increased necessitating a move to the premises
of the old St. Joseph National School in Michael Street from 1945. The
introduction in 1967 of Free Secondary Education for day pupils by the then
Minister for Education, Donagh O’Malley, was adopted by the Mercy Sisters
which resulted in a dramatic increase in pupil numbers and the need to find
more extensive premises. At that time the former Good Shepherd Convent in
the Irishtown came on the market and was purchased by the Sisters. The
school premises were transferred to the Irishtown in 1968. The first male
teacher, Mr. Seamus Dolye, was appointed at this time.
Occupying at first part of the original Good Shepherd
Convent premises (the Old School) the school soon needed additional
accommodation due to the continued increase in pupil numbers. The Boarding
School closed in 1977 and its premises were used for a time by the extending
day school. In 1981 an extension to the school premises (the New School) was
blessed and opened. This extension consisted of a number of general
classrooms and specialist rooms for Science, Home Economics, Art, Music and
Drama.
The nineteen-eighties saw a continued increase in
student numbers. Two new classrooms – "the Bungalow" – were built in 1984.
In 1993 an international-size Sports Hall with changing rooms, showers,
toilets and dining area was blessed and opened. In addition, some new
classrooms and a second science room were built. In the summer of 1994 the
Old Assembly Hall was converted into four classrooms and another classroom
was converted into a Technology and Technical Graphic room.
In the summer of 2003 a new Administration Suite was
developed to afford Parents and Visitors a spacious reception area. The
school library was relocated to a central position in the school and adapted
to the needs of a modern progressive school. In 2005 a new entrance lobby
was opened alongside a student social area. Throughout the school a number
of Pastoral Care/Learning support rooms have been developed in accordance
with the Mercy Philosophy of Education.
In 2006, to mark the 150 years of St. Mary’s, a
beautiful Commemorative Garden was established along the Sports Hall Avenue
and a major redecoration of the whole school is underway as well as phased
improvement of the existing facilities.
The various previous School premises, continue to be
used for community needs. The South Street building has been replaced by the
offices of the Credit Union (opened 1994) and the Michael Street premises by
a terrace of new houses (1994). The Boarding School had been converted into
the New Ross Training and Education Centre, managed by FAS and was
officially opened in the spring of 1993. The Sisters of Mercy moved
residence form the Convent building in the summer of 1993 and the Voluntary
Housing Organisation "Respond" converted it into premises adapted for its
work.
Originally known as the Senior Department, then as St
Mary’s an "Academy for Young Ladies", the school name, Scoil Mhuire, was
adapted in 1945, since then both names, St. Mary’s and Scoil Mhuire have
been in use. However, to it’s students past and present and to its
associates, the school is more popularly known simply as "the Mercy" – an
appropriate title for an establishment that owes its existence and
extraordinary development to the Sisters of Mercy, New Ross.
Principals of St. Mary’s:
Sister Mary Antonia Doyle : 1919-1930 approx.
Sister Mary Josephine Conway : 1930 approx. –1959
Sister Mary Oliver Asper : 1959-1971
Sister Mary Perpetua Kilroy : 1971-1976
Sister Mary Hartley (formerly de Lourdes) : 1976-1982
Sister Maureen Freyne : 1982-1987
Sister Margaret Quike, F.C.J. : 1987-1992
Sister Mary Clancy S.S.L : 1992-2001
Mr. Gerard Watchorn : 2001-2003 (Currently on
secondment to School Dev. Planning)
