About Our School

Our Principal's Welcome

Here in St Mary’s we believe that every child is unique and that it is our task to foster the development of each individual student. As a Catholic secondary school that was founded by Catherine McAuley, St Mary’s has been providing excellence in education since 1838. We are proud of our school’s heritage and with the guidance of CEIST we continue to uphold a Catholic ethos in our school that is welcoming and supportive to all.

Some of our core values are:

Promoting Spiritual and Human Development
Achieving Quality in Teaching and Learning
Showing Respect for Every Person
Creating Community and
Being Just and Responsible

We hold a strong holistic view of learning and the learner as our students are encouraged to give of their best, and in doing so, to reach their potential in a caring and nurturing environment. We empathise the need for pupils to develop a range of skills and values that enable their personal well-being, active citizenship and lifelong learning. With our student-centred approach, we aim to build pupils’ self-confidence so that they have the courage to attempt and overcome new challenges. Our students have made us very proud; their talents and initiative have astounded us as teachers and parents.

As principal of St Mary’s, I invite you to explore our website and if you would like to learn more about the school, or arrange a visit, please find our contact details below. I look forward to seeing you in the next academic year.

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Maighréad Finn

Leadership Team

Our Staff

Ms M. Finn

Ms Y. O’Keeffe

Ms M. Anglim

Ms S. Barrett

Mr M. Browne

Ms G. Barrett Cahalane

Ms O. Brennan

Ms R. Cole

Ms L. Crowley

Ms M. Duggan

Ms P. Farrell

Ms M. Fearne

Ms V. Keane

Ms D. Kelly

Ms C. Kelleher

Ms L. Maher

Ms M. Mahon

Ms B. Mulcahy

Ms M. Noonan

Ms S. O’Connor

Ms V. O’Connor

Ms M. O’Driscoll

Ms M. O’Dwyer

Mr G. O’Donovan

Ms R. O’Gorman

Ms A. O’Keeffe

Mr R. O’Suilleabhain

Ms G. Regan

Ms N. Sheehan

Ms M. Tuohy

Ms L. Walsh

Ms L. Waters

Our Founder and Ethos

Our Foundress

Catherine McAuley

Born near Dublin on September 29, 1778

After the death of both her parents, Catherine went to live with relatives who embodied the strong anti-Catholic atmosphere of the times. This was a difficult trial for Catherine, but through it she developed a spirituality based on God’s Mercy. She found “peace in the Cross, joy in suffering, prayer in action and action in prayer” (Bolster, “Catherine McAuley”). Catherine sought to provide solace to sick and needy families, to train young girls for employment and to instruct poor children.

When Catherine was twenty-five, a retired Quaker couple invited her to live with them. Catherine proved to be a loving companion and holy example to them. On their death beds, they converted to Catholicism, and bequeathed their estate to her. With this inheritance, Catherine built a house on Baggot Street in Dublin as a home for poor girls. This first Home of Mercy opened on September 24, 1827, the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy. Her work with the poor and destitute led Catherine to desire a life of total consecration to Our Lord. Encouraged by the Archbishop, Catherine and two other women professed vows on December 12, 1831, and began the Religious Institute of the Sisters of Mercy. Often seen walking the streets to serve the sick and the poor, the “walking nuns” inspired many women to dedicate themselves to Christ and to the service of the Church, causing the Institute to spread rapidly.

By the time of Mother Catherine’s death in 1841, there were 100 Sisters of Mercy in ten foundations. In April of 1990, in completion of one stage of the process by which the Catholic Church defines sainthood, Pope John Paul II declared Catherine McAuley “Venerable”. The legacy of union and charity and tender mercy to Christ’s poor left by Mother Catherine to her daughters was kept alive through the Constitutions she wrote, her letters, her poetry, and most of all her prayers. Mother Catherine was gifted with a profound love of God, expressed in a deep love for her Sisters, and a tremendous sense of humour able to help sustain others through difficult times.

Our Mission Statement

The aim of St. Mary’s Secondary School is to provide holistic education, in the Catholic tradition for all our students. We are committed to the academic, creative, emotional, spiritual and physical development of each student, in a caring and safe environment.

Aims of the School

To enable the students to become fully developed and integrated persons. To prepare the students by academic and practical training for adult living and to promote in them a co-operative spirit so that they can make a constructive contribution to society.

To enable the students to live in reverent relationship with all of creation and to nurture in them a respect for life and a care for the earth.

To enable the students to develop a healthy self-image with the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing world and to live at peace within.

To nurture in the students’ a sense of their cultural identity and an appreciation of the diversity of cultures.

To assist in the moral, social, cultural and political growth of the students.

School Facilities

We have the best quality facilities here at St Mary’s. Our school facilities are constantly being developed to meet the ever changing needs of our student body.

Specialist Rooms

Music

Home Economics

Religion

Computer

Meditation

Science Laboratory

Art

Woodwork

Additional Rooms

Canteen

Library

Study Hall

Demonstration Theatre

Sports Facilities

Basketball Courts

Tennis Courts

Gymnasium

Camogie Pitch

Well maintained picturesque grounds.

School Trustees

St Mary’s is a CEIST School

Five Catholic Religious Congregations have been engaged in post primary education for over three and a half centuries – Daughters of Charity, Presentation Sisters, Sisters of the Christian Retreat, Sisters of Mercy, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. They have, in the spirit of their Founders, together established CEIST – Catholic Education, an Irish Schools Trust, thus providing a new moral and legal trustee framework enabling their schools to continue to offer post-primary Catholic education into the future as a viable option and as an integral part of the Irish school system.

CEIST is built on the founding vision of the five Congregations, emphasising the dignity and rights of the human person, empowering the most vulnerable in society and enabling young people to become catalysts for social transformation throughout the world.
CEIST is committed to honouring this rich heritage, promoting inclusion, hospitality, excellence and compassion in a teaching and learning environment inspired by the Gospel and by the unique wisdom of its respective Founders.
CEIST aims, in a spirit of collaboration, to continually invite its members to reach their potential, in the context of a school faith community which seeks to consciously embody a true expression of the Reign of God as announced by Jesus Christ.

CEIST is committed to building school faith communities where good personal relationships are fostered, where the staff are supported and facilitated in their vital role within the school.
CEIST schools endeavour to work closely with members of other Christian traditions in a spirit of ecumenical dialogue, emphasising what is held in common while valuing their own unique Catholic identity and Church community.
CEIST engages with all people of good will to promote a preferential option for those made poor, to take action for justice, and to exercise care of the earth in a spirit of respect and welcome for diversity.

Excellence in Education since 1832

Learn With Us

If you would like to know more about our school you can contact us using the link below. We look forward to hearing from you!