St Mary's Secondary School
Offaly
Key facts
- Mixed
- Pupils enrolled
- 1,035 larger than the median Irish post-primary school (585 pupils)
- Girls and boys
- 498 girls, 537 boys
- Ethos
- Catholic
- Teaching through Irish
- No subjects taught through Irish
- Roll number
- 65582Q the Department of Education reference for this school
School details
About
Edenderry, Co. Offaly is home to St Mary's Secondary School, a mixed Catholic post-primary school with an enrolment of about 1,035 students. Teacher numbers reached 62 in 2019, alongside part-time teachers, special needs assistants and support staff. Students follow the Junior Cycle, with classroom-based assessments in subjects including English, Gaeilge, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography and Business. Senior students sit the Leaving Certificate and the Leaving Certificate Applied, and a Transition Year programme runs between the two cycles, with trips including a stay at Coláiste Acla on Achill Island. The buildings include a gymnasium added in a 2002 extension, a woodwork room and four classrooms added in 2011, and a further extension containing a science lab, a DCG room, a technology room and additional classrooms. There is an all-weather pitch on the grounds. The school has been named an ADHD Friendly School by ADHD Ireland and was among the first post-primary schools in the country to receive the Active School Flag. Adult English (EAL) classes are also run on site. A five-year strategy plan was published in December 2019.
History
Secondary education arrived in Edenderry in 1939, when Sr. Laserian Hasset of the Order of St John of God set up a school so that girls could sit public examinations. Thirty-five pupils enrolled in the first year, and in 1943 two girls became the first to take the Leaving Certificate. Provision for boys began on 2 September 1960, when 25 boys started in a borrowed room at the boys' national school before moving the following year to St Joseph's Hall. The first five boys sat the Leaving Certificate in 1969. Rising numbers through the 1960s and 1970s led to 23 prefab rooms being put in place. The two schools began sharing a timetable and amalgamated in 1982, opening on a site of ten and a half acres with 560 students that September.
Applying to St Mary's Secondary School
For a September 2027 place, a school's formal admissions process cannot begin before 1 October 2026. The school sets its own opening and closing dates in its annual admission notice.
National term dates 2026/27
Irish schools follow a standardised school year, so these nationwide post-primary school dates apply broadly to St Mary's Secondary School. Individual schools set their own discretionary closure days, confirm exact dates with the school.
- October Mid-Term Break: Mon 26 Oct – Fri 30 Oct 2026
- Christmas Holidays: Wed 23 Dec 2026 – Tue 5 Jan 2027
- February Mid-Term Break: Mon 15 Feb – Fri 19 Feb 2027 (primary schools: Thu 18 Feb – Fri 19 Feb 2027)
- Easter Holidays: Mon 22 Mar – Sun 4 Apr 2027
Primary schools close for the last two days of the February mid-term week and may use discretionary days to take the full week, so their break can be shorter than post-primary schools'.
Frequently asked questions about St Mary's Secondary School
How many pupils attend St Mary's Secondary School?
St Mary's Secondary School has 1,035 pupils enrolled, 498 girls and 537 boys. That makes it larger than the median Irish post-primary school, which has 585 pupils.
Is St Mary's Secondary School a DEIS school?
No. St Mary's Secondary School is not part of DEIS, the Department of Education programme of additional supports for schools serving communities at risk of educational disadvantage. Not holding DEIS status says nothing about how good a school is, only about the profile of the community it serves.
What is the ethos of St Mary's Secondary School?
St Mary's Secondary School has a Catholic ethos. It is a mixed post-primary school.