All change as St Mary’s College amalgamates with Our Lady’s

The amalgamation of three of Galway’s oldest educational establishments will create a new second-level school in the heart of the city with the capacity to cater for up to 1,000.

The merger of St Mary’s College with Our Lady’s College – itself the result of an alliance between the former Presentation and Mercy Convent less than three years ago – will see the opening of the new school as a co-ed in September 2021.

It marks a new era in secondary education in Galway, with all three schools boasting a distinguished history.

St Mary’s College celebrated its centenary in 2012, having been established as a Diocesan boarding school for boys shortly after the turn of the century.

The Presentation Sisters have been to the forefront of education in Galway for almost 250 and their Presentation Road school has been part of the city’s fabric since 1815. The Mercy Convent in Newtownsmyth was established in 1935.

The two girls’ school joined forces in 2016 and plans were afoot to redevelop the Presentation School site on Presentation Road – before Bishop of Galway, Dr Brendan Kelly, approached CEIST, the Irish Catholic Schools Trust, on a possible amalgamation with St Mary’s.

Initial talks proved successful, and staff and boards of management at both schools were informed of the news this week. It is not anticipated that there will be any reduction in teacher numbers from its current combined total of close to 80.

All three schools had seen a decline in numbers in recent years but the merger is seen as a chance to grow student numbers again.

St Mary’s College current boasts a student population in the region of 400 while Our Lady’s College has around 250 female pupils; the aim now is to grow that to around 1,000 students on the St Mary’s Road campus.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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