Loreto Abbey Dalkey is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

secondary school for girls, under the auspices of the

Sisters of Loreto The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The congr ...

. The school is owned by the board of trustees of the Sisters of Loreto. Adjoining is a Loreto Girls National School.

History

Loreto Abbey Dalkey opened as a school in 1843; it also has a member house of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), founded in the 17th century by

Mary Ward Mary Ward may refer to: Scientists and academics * Mary Ward (nurse) (1884–1972) English nurse to the boat people on the waterways * Mary Ward (scientist) (née King, 1827–1869) Irish amateur scientist, was killed by an experimental steam car ...

(1585 - 1645), a pioneer of education for Catholic women, today having establishments on five continents. The Irish branch of the institute was founded in 1821 by Frances Teresa Ball (1794 - 1861), a native of Dublin. Her first foundation was at

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...

and was called Loreto Abbey. When Loreto Abbey Dalkey was founded,

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is an affluent suburb of Dublin, and a seaside resort southeast of the city, and the town of Dún Laoghaire, in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in the historic County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement ...

was a small fishing village, though in earlier times it had been well known as one of the ports for Dublin. Along its rocky seashore lay a commons area which Frances Teresa Ball perceived to be an eminently suitable site for her foundation. While negotiating its purchase, she rented Bulloch Castle, opposite

Bulloch Harbour Bullock Harbour or Bulloch Harbour ( ga, Cuan Bhlóic) is a small working harbour located near the heritage town of Dalkey on the southeast coast of Dublin Bay in Ireland. The current harbour quay and walls were constructed of local granite in t ...

, where she operated a small boarding and day school from 1841 until 1843. In 1842 she succeeded in buying the site at Dalkey. Ball was her own architect and her castellated building of Dalkey granite was opened as a boarding and day school on 17 August 1843. In 1982, the boarding school closed.

Operations

Loreto Abbey Dalkey is a private, fee-paying school. There are about 40 rooms in the school. It has 630 pupils on its rolls today, and has 70 members of staff. The principal of the school is Mr Robert Dunne.

Notable past pupils

* Hilary Frayne Weston - 26th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario *

Joanne McNally Joanne McNally (born 7 May 1983) is an Irish stand-up comedian, writer and actress. She is a native of Killiney, County Dublin. McNally was the co-host of ''Republic of Telly'' for RTÉ and has also appeared on '' The Late Late Show'', ''The Af ...

- Comedian and Co-host of the ‘My Therapist Ghosted Me’ podcast

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 53.279778, N, 6.099972, W, type:landmark_region:IE, display=title Girls' schools in the Republic of Ireland Private schools in the Republic of Ireland Catholic secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland Loreto Secondary schools in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown

1843 establishments in Ireland Educational institutions established in 1843