Our School
Scoil Mhuire / St. Mary's Boys' National School Monaghan is a senior boys' primary school with standards from second class to sixth class. Our pupils are aged from approximately seven year's old to around thirteen year's old. Most of our pupils begin their education journey in St Louis Infant School directly across the road. Many other pupils join us from schools throughout Ireland and abroad. We are well used to welcoming new entrants.
We have a proud academic tradition and have educated the boys of Monaghan Town and its hinterland since 1867. Our past pupils have gone on to great things in the local, national and international arena. From architects and ambassadors to barristers and brain surgeons and everything in between, boys have left St. Mary's Hill with the fundamentals necessary to take on the world.
Since the beginning of this century, we have welcomed boys from all over the world and we celebrate being part of the Global Village. Our school population is a clear reflection of the new dynamic of Modern Ireland. We all have so much to offer each other as we all learn together.
All of work is underpinned by our Catholic ethos, our ethos welcomes all children of all faiths to learn together. Our ethos directs us to strive for excellence in all that we do.
Our Catholic ethos by definition encourages us to have a universal outlook. We maintain our strong ethos while celebrating great diversity and we aim to follow the example of Christ in all that we do
Seán Mc Cague RIP was the first lay principal to be appointed to our school. He also served as the 33rd President of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) from 2000 to 2003
St. Mary's, Our School, Our Story
Our Mission
Our longstanding mission statement is for all pupils in our care to reach their maximum potential academically and personally. To this end, our enduring operating process is to use all the available resources at our disposal in a creative manner
Bishop Larry Duffy, Bishop of Clogher, is our patron. St. Mary's was founded in July 1867 by the Christian Brothers became a parish school in 1981. Our school's history has been recorded in four publications: Centenary Souvenir (1967), Monaghan Images (1981), Monaghan Memories (1984) and to celebrate one hundred and fifty years Sesquicentenary Souvenir - A Monaghan Story (2017)
Bishop Larry Duffy was also Chairperson of our Board of Management for a term in the 1990s
St. Mary's, Our School, Our Story
Timeline A short history of St. Mary's
1867 Scoil Mhuire founded at Lakeview
1901 Brother Pascal Higgins, 11th Superior purchases 'The Hill'
1902 Move to St. Mary's Hill
1902 First Agricultural College on island of Ireland founded on the site
1931 The 'Brothers' Steps' are opened
1935 MacRory Cup Final defeat to St. Pat's Cavan
1938 New primary school built at top of hill
1967 Centenary celebrations
1969 New secondary school built to meet new demand of free secondary education, opens in 1970
1981 St. Mary's becomes a parish school Monaghan Images published
1983 Secondary school closes
1984 Monaghan Memories published
1989 Primary school moves into secondary school building
2017 St Mary's celebrates 150 years Sesquicentenary Souvenir published
2022 Energy Pathfinder Pilot School Pilot Entire school building renovated to meet new energy goals
2023 Exterior works to school grounds including development of all weather court
2023 Erasmus+ Scoil Mhuire staff visit Gabijos Progiminazija in Vilnius, Lietuva and host Collegio de Sevilla, Espana.
Learning since 1826
St. Mary's Hill, Mullaghmonaghan has been a seat of learning for almost two hundred years. A Diocesan School of the established church was founded here and a schoolhouse was built in 1826. Monaghan Collegiate School was located in the Diocesan School for a time
We have a map of Monaghan in 1835 in our school, it shows the old Diocesan School building. This 1835 map is notable for the absence of the yet to be founded St. Macartan's Cathedral and St. Macartan's College while St Louis Convent was yet to develop, Spark's Brewery being located there
The Christian Brothers purchased the school buildings on St. Mary's Hill in 1901 and moved the school from Lakeview in 1902
St. Mary's, Our School, Our Story
