Sancta Maria College is a Catholic secondary school located in

Louisburgh Louisburgh () is a small town on the southwest corner of Clew Bay in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is home to Sancta Maria College, Louisburgh, Sancta Maria College and the Gráinne O'Malley Interpretive Centre. Transport Road ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The school was Ireland's first Catholic co-educational secondary school.

History

In 1919, two

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

arrived in Louisburgh, and began the development of what would become the first Catholic co-educational secondary school in Ireland. The school was originally called Holy Rosary Secondary School, but more familiarly known as ‘The Convent’. When the school first opened there were only twenty pupils who had to pay a fee of £9 per student per school year. The school was extended several times during the 20th century, with significant works undertaken in the 1980s. By the early 21st century, the school was operated under the trusteeship of

Catholic Education an Irish Schools Trust Catholic Education, an Irish Schools Trust (CEIST) is the trustee body for 107 Catholic Voluntary Secondary Schools in Ireland. CEIST provides the moral and legal framework that enable its schools to offer second level Catholic education in Ire ...

(CEIST). In 2008, the school was ranked 15 (out of 28) in Mayo for third level attendance with 77% progressing to third level. The majority of students (27.5%) enrolled in

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

. In 2017, the school underwent an extension project which cost €7 million. The project continued for 20 months and included the construction of a new 2-storey extension comprising new main entrance, 12 specialist classrooms, general purpose/dining room and a kitchenette.

References

{{reflist Secondary schools in County Mayo Catholic secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland 1919 establishments in Ireland Educational institutions established in 1919