The History of St. Mary’s Boys’ NS

The now St. Mary’s Band Hall on Pound Street was built in 1775 as a Roman Catholic church replacing the old church in Laraghbryan. The church came with a parish priest house attached. In 1840 a new church was built and completed across from Manor Mills Shopping Centre. The old church then became the Boys’ National School with the attached house as the headmaster’s home. Edward J. Browne and John Patrick Keys were the last two teachers in the old school in Pound Street.

Photo of Edward J. Brown and John Patrick Keys with their students taken outside the school in Pound Street in the early 1900.s
Photo of Edward J. Brown and John Patrick Keys with their students taken outside the school in Pound Street in the early 1900s.

In 1943, a new purpose built two room boys’ school was built across from the parish priest’s house on Moyglare Road. With a new school came a new principal, Mr Frank Walsh from Tuam, Co Galway.

In the late fifties the school opened as a lay ‘Secondary Top’, which meant that pupils could continue right through to Leaving Certificate. This continued until 1971.

In 1976 the school increased from five to sixteen classrooms to coincide with the rapid development of the town.

A further extension was built in 2010. In November 2022 we moved into a brand new, three storey school on a site just in front of the old building.