Our School is situated on the Dublin Rd, Carrick-on-Shannon. It has a staff of eight teachers and an enrolment of 180 pupils. Mrs Gately is the principal of the school. Fr Brennan is the chairperson of our Board of Management. We chose local history as our topic. Rinnneamar taighde ar stair an bhaile. Ta suil againn go mbainfidh gach duine taitneamh agus eolas as na scéalta go leir. Let us begin with the history of our school

Scoil na Maighdine Muire

Scoil na Maighdine Muire was built in 1953. The Department of Education leased land from the Marist Sisters on the Dublin Rd. and constructed a modern school. This event caught the headlines in the local press. In it's issue of 28th May 1953, the Leitrim Observer wrote: "The new building has been designed on most modern lines and cost £28,000. The Marist Sisters, assisted by a local committee, raised the local contribution of £3,700. The building is the last word in the matter of accommodation, healthful surroundings and the provision of facilities for a more advanced system of primary education for the girls who will be the future mothers and guardians of the nation in this part of South Leitrim"

Lá Speisialta a bhí ann.

On Sunday 31st 1953, the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Dr McNamee presided at mass in St Mary's Church at 11 ' o clock. At 1'o clock, a procession then walked from the church to the new school on the Dublin Rd. and the official opening ceremony and blessing of the school took place. Mr. Sean Moylan T.D, Minister of Education, opened the new school. It was a fine summers day and all the nuns and pupils of the school took part in the ceremony.

Past principals of the Marist Primary School (since 1953)-

• Sr. Philomena O'Halloran 1951-1954
• Sr. Mary de Chantal O'Halloran 1959-1971
• Sr. Ann McCormack 1971-1984
• Sr. Aideen O'Connor 1984-1997
• Mrs. K. Gately 1997-

The Marist Sisters have been involved in the education of the children of Carrick-on-Shannon for a long time. The story began for us when five sisters arrived at the railway station in July 1873, to establish a convent in the town. But where did the Marist Sisters come from?

Marist Sisters

In 1824, Fr Jean Claude Colin and Mother Jean Marie Chavoin founded the Marist Sisters in France. They said they would live a life like Mary. They promised to live a life of contemplation and action in the service of people. The Marist congregation spread to many countries. In 1873, Fr Peter Dawson P.P of the parish of Kiltoghert asked the bishop to allow the Marist Sisters to come to Carrick on Shannon. In July 1873, five nuns came to Carrick- on- Shannon. Canon Fitzgerald collected them from the railway station. They had to go to the sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Drumshanbo, as they had no accommodation in Carrick on Shannon. Petronella White, the local landlady, gave them the Convent house on Main St. In August 1873, a denominational school for girls and a kindergarten for boys were set up in this building. Some past pupils became nuns. Then in 1887, a primary school was built on Summer Hill. A convent was built beside it. It was the first Marist foundation in Ireland. The second was built in Tubbercurry in Sligo. The convent was a secondary school, a boarding school and a day school.

During World War 2, the Novitiate was transferred from London to Carrick on Shannon for safety. All nuns were trained in a red brick building called St.Brigids. It is now the education centre. In 1953, a new primary school was built on the Dublin road. It was for all girls and junior boys.

In the 1960's, there were four secondary schools in Carrick-on-Shannon, The Presentation Brothers, Rosary High School; Marist Secondary School and the Vocational School. The Presentation Brothers, Rosary High School and the Marist Secondary School amalgamated and became Marymount College in 1972. The Marist Sisters stopped keeping boarders. Then in1995, the Vocational School and Marymount College closed down and the Community School opened.

Clochar

Tá clochar sa bhaile. Tá na mná rialta ina gconaí sa chlochar. Tá an clochar ar an gcnoc.Ó 1873 anuas ,mhuin na mná rialta a gceachtanna dona páistí. Thug na mná rialta aire do na daoine bochta agus do na daoine a bhí tinn

Local memories of school days

• When I went to school, it was all nuns .I attended the Marist primary school. Some of my teachers were Sister De Chantal, Sister Anne, Sr Inez. Sister De Chantal was a French name but she was not French. She was Irish.
• 'I went to St. Mary's national school. The teachers were all nuns. We wore pleated skirt, a blue tie and a white blouse. I carried my books in a case. There was no heating in the classroom. We had to bring in two shillings and six pence for turf for the stove to keep the room warm. The country children used to bring a few bags of turf into school.
• School was hard .If you didn't do your homework, you would get a slap with a ruler
• I went boarding to secondary school in the Marist Convent in Carrick. The nuns were strict, but we got a good education. I remember going out for walks, walking in pairs in silence, in organised lines. I played tennis, which I enjoyed, and basketball .I made very good friends in this school. Sr Inez was in the Novitiate during these years. She taught us sewing and singing. She had a wonderful voice and all the girls liked her
• 'I attended Keshcarrigan N.S. In sixth class, I wrote an essay on the famine in Ireland. It was sent to the art gallery in Dublin and is kept in safe keeping there today.
• The most important day was my first Holy Communion because we went up to the nuns in the convent for boiled eggs for breakfast.
• I went to Woodbrook school and did my homework in my spare time at home. I had to bring firewood or turf to school for the fire.
• When I was doing my homework at night, I would have to use an oil lamp. At night I would knit with my four sisters and my mother.
• I went to Cormongon School, Drumshambo. My teacher was Mrs. Doyle. I brought homemade bread with cheese and milk in a glass sauce bottle that was washed out.
• It was the end of an era when the convent was sold. It was sad and disappointing.

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