Meánscoil Muire gan Smál, Convent of Mercy, Roscommon

Mission Statement

“In our school we wish to provide a caring environment for all students and staff, in which every student is helped towards her fullest spiritual, educational, social, cultural and physical development”.

Aims & Objectives

We are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in all areas of education.
We aim to identify and develop the individual gifts of students and promote adequate life skills.
We endeavour to provide equal opportunity for all students.
We are committed to providing an environment within which the development of intellectual and spiritual values is of prime importance.
Our hope is that this mission will be fulfilled in co-operation and partnership with pupils, parents and the wider community.

School History

September 3rd 1929 was a very important day in the history of Roscommon town as it was on this day that the Secondary School was officially opened, with Mother M Clement Shannon as Principal. She was assisted by three teachers: Miss Una Kilroy, Miss Bridie Fitzpatrick and Miss Mae O’Dowd. Four rooms were occupied as classrooms on the top storey of the Primary School to cater for the students. Extra class rooms were provided by the Primary School until the new school on the Convent side of the road was opened.

The first entry for the Intermediate Certificate Examination was in 1932 and in 1934 the very first class sat for the Leaving Certificate Examination. Three students won University Scholarships while six got calls to training as Primary School teachers.

1934 also saw the first extension being undertaken when a new wing was built providing kitchen, pantries, infirmary, single rooms and an enlarged boarder’s dining room. For a number of years the Department of Education had considered renovating the Primary school and removing the top storey. When this work was undertaken it was decided to build a new secondary school on the site of the old St Mary’s Laundry. This was ready for occupation in September 1962.

In August 1971 work commenced on the new Sports Complex, which was to prove an invaluable asset to the school. It was officially opened by the Bishop of Elphin Dr. Conway D.D in the presence of Lord Killanin, Olympic President and Mr. O’Donnell, Minister for the Gaeltacht on April 5th 1973.

With the advent of ‘Free Education’ and the consequent increase in enrolment additional classrooms were needed. It was decided to phase out the boarding school and turn it into a day school for students. This was done in 1972.

In 1974 the school was one of the first secondary schools in the country to pioneer the new Transition Year programme. This proved most successful with the result that Transition Year is now an integral part of the school Curriculum with the vast majority of Junior Certificate students now proceeding to undertake it.

During 1991/1992 a refurbishment programme was begun in the school. This involved the renovation of part of the existing premises and the provision of some new specialist rooms. The project was part grant-aided by the government. A committee of parents and teachers organised a most successful raffle to help defray some of the expense involved, with the result that a cheque for £150,000 was presented to the school principal Sr. Catherine O’Rourke in May 1992.