Message from the Principal December 2020

Wiktoria Kasprzak and Austin Stack from our very first co-educational class.

We can never say “it is enough”.

Venerable Catherine McAuley

In the last ten years Mercy Secondary School Inchicore has become synonymous with a culture of college progression and raising aspirations for each and every member of our school community.  Like the parable of the fig tree  (Luke 13:6–9) we believe in affording every student the possibility, dignity and chance of becoming all that they can become despite what people perceive as an impossible or challenging context. In its fullest scope Catholic leadership lives out the privilege of working with others, particularly our young. It holds the privileged task of developing each and every person not only for themselves but for the benefit of the community. It was in this context that we heard the voice of the community asking for the inclusion of boys in our vision for our school. As our founder Catherine McAuley said ‘it is not enough.’ It was not enough to hold these aspirations for one group only in our community and environs. In the words of Archbishop Dermot Martin we have an obligation to have an ‘examination of conscience and carry out an elitist check’ to ask what can we do better? To be truly inclusive and to take up the real challenge of mission we were absolutely delighted to be able to welcome boys into our school this year commencing with enrolment of first years. We wanted to become a school that cherished history, diversity, family, friendship, connections, shared dreams and hopes; and essentially we wanted those values to have an even greater ripple effect out to our whole  community by becoming a coeducational school. We are striving to become a school that the greater community identifies as their local school; one with a vibrant sense of identity, one that welcomes each and every person with dignity and a vision of all that they can become. Certainly as we welcomed our girls and boys into our school in late August for the first time, there was a sense of a true living community that values, honours and dignifies the gift of each and every student. We aspire to look beyond limits and recognise the need for vision and action for all young people in Inchicore and its environs. We hope in the echoes of our Mercy charism that our school becomes a shining light, offering even more light, hope and achievement to all within our community.

Catherine Kelly, Deputy Principal and  Michelle O’Kelly, Principal of Mercy Secondary School  Inchicore.