St Mary's College, Dundalk

St Mary's College was the first foundation of the Society of Mary in Ireland and the first Secondary School for boys in Dundalk. Founded in 1861, 26 pupils enrolled on the first day.

The site for the new school was 'Church-Hill House', which was purchased in 1859 from Mr. Coleman for the sum of £2000. The priest responsible for the initial preparations of the new school was Fr Crouzet, a young French Marist Priest.

At one time the College consisted of a Primary School and a Secondary School for boys, which catered for both boarding and day pupils but many changes have taken place down through the years. In 1983 the boarding section of the College was closed, followed in 1987 by the closure of the Primary School. In 1989 the first lay principal was appointed and in 1990 the College opened its doors to girls.

Since its opening there have been many extensions to the original Church-Hill House and additions to the buildings to meet the changing needs of the student body.

There are 2 other Marist Schools in Ireland: Chanel College, Coolock and Catholic University School (CUS), Leeson Street.

The corridors in the College have been named after Marist Fathers or Seminaries.

In 2011 the College celebrated its 150th Anniversary. The celebrations began with a Mass for the student body, at which each student was presented with a special commerative badge and a prayer book. See photos here

The celebrations continued on the weekend of October 15th and 16th with an Open Day, a celebratory Mass and the Anniversary Dinner. Open Day photos can be viewed here