It was a memorable, marvellous, historic day for all the students and guests, who were present for the official opening of the new, state of the art St. Mary’s Secondary School in Ballina on May 19th. The Minister for Education, Ms. Norma Foley, assisted by Minister Dara Calleary opened the building.   It is built on a site donated by the Sisters of Mercy, adjacent to St. Patrick’s Church. This long awaited building was a joy to see, now that it was up and running!

Careful planning was obvious when we looked around at all the former and present teachers of St. Mary’s; the huge number of Principals and representatives of Boards of Management from Secondary and local Primary Schools. Well done to the organisers.

Ballina Convent

The Sisters of Mercy came from Sligo to Ballina on 14th October, 1851. On 8th December the Sisters of Mercy took charge of the female National School where four Sisters were teaching 330 pupils. It took some time to find suitable accommodation.  The foundation stone of the Convent was laid on 13th September, 1863 and the Sisters moved into this building on 3rd May, 1867. In 1868 following the tradition of Catherine McAuley, who believed in educating young girls, a room in the new Convent was used for this purpose. This was the forerunner of St. Mary’s.

The first St. Mary’s Secondary School, built close to the back of the Convent was opened in 1880. A second floor was added in the 1950s and other necessary buildings were added across the years. As the numbers of students increased, a new building was opened in 1987.

The Community in Ballina built the Convent Hall for the use of all the schools on the campus in the 1970’s and St. Mary’s used this building right up to September 2022 when they moved into the new St. Mary’s. What a gift! All now under one roof.

The speeches, followed by the official opening and blessing were in the school’s magnificent Hall. Mass celebrated by Bishop John Fleming and concelebrants, was beautifully prepared by the religion teachers and pupils. The music and choir under the direction of Ms. Regina Deacy was a joy. After these celebrations some food was very welcome and enjoyed by all.

 

Nancy Clarke rsm
Western Province