A Welcome from our Principal
On behalf of all the children and staff, I would like to warmly welcome you
to St. Mary’s Primary School and to extend you a Céad Míle Fáilte.
St. Mary's Primary School caters for Children, both boys and girls, in a co-ed
setting from Junior Infants to Sixth Class. St. Mary's is proud of its standing
among the fine schools of Edenderry.
St. Mary’s Primary School aims to create a happy and friendly school where
the focus is on children and their learning.
The heartbeat of our school is driven by the enthusiasm of our staff and a
desire for every pupil to achieve. St. Mary’s Primary School, our Catholic
ethos is characterised by our caring spirit, our commitment to pupil and
teacher learning, and the provision of a wide variety of curricular and extra-
curricular opportunities. Your child will be joining a school rich in tradition,
where the qualities of commitment, dedication, professionalism and
volunteerism are alive and well.
In St. Mary’s Primary School, we hope that your child will be excited and
stimulated by learning, will celebrate success, and will participate in many or
all of the following: school performances, school choir, school teams, school
gardening, school quizzes, games, art and more.
An essential ingredient for this to happen is teamwork. We view education
as a joint venture, involving everyone – children, parents, staff and the
wider community. We work closely with parents keeping you involved and
informed about our school. We hope that we will be able to depend on your
co-operation and support in this partnership, hoping that together we can
provide the best for every child.
We hope and expect that your child’s experience of our school will be an
enriching and rewarding one. We are always available to talk to you, answer
any questions you may have and give you a tour of our school if you wish.
Declan Downey
Principal
Declan Downey
Principal
Our History
In 1904 the Sisters of St. John of God were invited by Fr. Kinsella P.P. to take charge of the education of girls and infant boys in the parish of Edenderry. This decision was sanctioned by the bishop and the Board of Education. Five sisters, headed by Mother Aloysius, arrived from Wexford to teach in the building now known as St. Joseph’s Hall.
In time, St. Joseph’s Hall was found to be inadequate to cope with the increasing pupil numbers. In 1911, under the direction of Fr. Kearney, a new school capable of accommodating a large number of pupils was built. Fr. Kearney died before the building was complete and was succeeded by Fr. Paul Murphy who took a keen interest in the school.
Soon, the numbers increased so rapidly that further extensions were required. Four extra classrooms were erected in 1929. Three more rooms were added on in 1954. In 1965, six new classrooms, a kitchen and the assembly hall were built. The cost of the hall was borne by the St. John of God Sisters. Our school continued to grow and, in 2004, two new classrooms were added.
The people of Edenderry owe a debt of gratitude to the Sisters for their generosity and dedication to this school. Today, it is a landmark in the history of Edenderry. In 2017 major changes took place in St. Mary’s. Our school reconfigured to a co-educational school accepting boys from second to sixth class.
September 2021 saw another milestone for St. Mary’s with the opening of Realtaí Beaga, our Early Intervention Preschool Class for children with Autism.
Major plans have been sanctioned by the Department of Education & Skills for further development at St. Mary’s. A design team has been appointed to lead this new development
Our Ethos
We, in St. Mary’s School, see ourselves as attempting to cater for the total development of each individual child; spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, socially and physically, in an atmosphere of Christian love, acceptance, trust and compassion.
We endeavour to:
- Creating in our pupils a sense of wonder and awe at the presence of God in themselves, others and the world around them, which will find expression in formal and informal prayer and in class and school liturgies.
- Fostering in them an appreciation and awareness of themselves as persons and corresponding respect and appreciation of others and their property.
- Providing a school environment where individual talents, imagination, creativity, initiative and independence can blossom.
- Giving a solid foundation in all areas of the curriculum, so that the pupils leave our school, not only with an adequate grasp of literacy and numeracy but also with a love of learning, an esteem for our Irish culture and heritage, a concern for the environment and equipped with skills to make productive use of their leisure time.
As partners with parents in the education of their children, we wish to make every effort to forge strong home-school links and through these to help parents with the increasingly difficult tasks of rearing their children and handing on the faith to them.
As part of the total parish community, we welcome any opportunity to become involved in the life of the parish, and we seek the active interest of the clergy in the life of the school.
We desire, as far as possible, to work in co-operation and coordination with the staff and pupils of the other schools in the parish for the overall benefit of the young people of Edenderry.