Brief History
A Brief History of Scoil Mhuire na nAingealThe Sisters came to Clonmel at the invitation of the parish priest of SS.Peter and Paul’s, Fr. Michael Burke. Bishop Foran had given his approval and Fr. Michael Burke had rented a large house for the Sisters in Gladstone Street (this was the convent house until 2002). The convent was opened on the Feast of the Guardian Angels, 2nd October 1845. Clonmel was the sister’s tenth foundation and Mother M.A. Aikenhead sent four Sisters from Dublin to form the new community. The Morton Street Convent The second half of the 18th century and the first twenty years of the 19th century had been periods of great industrial expansion in Clonmel. By the 1840s, however, the population had expanded to about 18,000 and this was in a town less than half the size of Clonmel today. It was a period of economic depression and a time of famine in the surrounding countryside. There was an epidemic of cholera in the town. In to this environment came the Sisters of Charity nuns – an environment they would consider ideal to go about their charitable works. The town of Clonmel was about to be made richer by their presence.
The Sisters immediately began their work in Clonmel. True to their name, they visited the sick, attended the workhouse and instructed both children and adults. There was much work to be done – the poorhouse in Irishtown (Master Meat Packers) had to be visited. It is recorded that the standard of care, food, hygiene and maintenance in this institute immediately improved once the nuns took up duty. The sisters also visited the prisoners in the borstal. This was located in Richmond Street, now Emmet Street.
In 1848 the sisters took charge of a new school erected by Dr. Burke on Morton Street. This was the very beginning of our Scoil Mhuire na nAingeal.This school was put under the direction of the Board of National Education in 1882.
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The school was initially a large day school but the Sisters were nothing if not adaptable and in 1866 they established a night school for girls who were unable to attend the day school. These girls were employed during the day in the Malcolmson cotton mill on Suir Island. To facilitate them the school operated in one of the day schoolrooms. Attendance varied from eighty to one hundred until the closing of the factory many years later.
The Lace School children
1926 saw an interesting development in the history of the school. An Intermediate Class was established in the National School as a substitute for the 7th and 8th grades. This was the start of the Secondary Top, which was designed to give further education. No fees were charged. Up to this point only private schools had educated girls this far and charged for this education. The object in making this change was to help poor girls who had a high level of intelligence. As the fruits of the first Intermediate class, four students were presented for inter cert in June. They were successful and the four got honours.
The 1930s brought terrible epidemics of diphtheria to Clonmel and the nuns had once again to extend their work. Several of the school children contracted the disease and some very promising little pupils died.
In the early 1930s, the orphanage was altered into a Domestic Science College. This college, St. Michaels, functioned up to 1970. In 1979 it was demolished and Marian Court now stands on its site – an attractive residence for senior citizens – supervised by the nuns for many years, now under the management of the Health Board.
Marian Court, Morton Street, 2008
Our Lady’s Hall was built after the second World War. The nuns used this building for both educational and recreational purposes. Ever resourceful, when not using the hall for teaching, they were known to hold concerts, dances and ceilis. The Sisters served tea and biscuits at these functions. They perhaps served too as useful guardians of the attendants!
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Examination of the roll books 1911 – 1927 shows that the majority of parents of children attending the Sisters of Charity School were labourers or soldiers (indeed some of the addresses are listed as the “barracks”). These occupations are intermingled with a selection of others e.g. shoe-maker, book binder and coach man. Some children are listed as orphans.
Today the roll books do not record the occupation of children’s parents. Children come from a wide variety of backgrounds and we cater for the children of all families with dedication and enthusiasm. |
A Flavour of the School 1950 – 1980s
(as recounted from an interview by 6th class with past teacher Mrs. Noreen Geary)
When the Sisters arrived in Clonmel, the parents of the children that they taught would mainly have been workers in the Malcolmson cotton mills, unemployed or engaged in various trades
Mrs Noreen Geary started teaching in Scoil Mhuire na nAingeal in 1950. Unlike the lengthy process today, there was no interview, only a recommendation from the Parish Priest and the Training College.
The old school in Morton Street in 1950 did not require its pupils to wear uniforms. The average amount of pupils per class would have been 35 – 40. One colleague of Mrs. Geary recalls having 74 junior infants!
The subjects
At this time there was a great emphasis on English, Irish and Maths. This was mainly because of the compulsory written exam which the children sat at the end of 6th class – The Primary Cert. General co
nversation between teachers and pupils, greetings, orders, messages to other classrooms etc… were all done through Irish and many children became fluent speakers at a young age. Unfortunately there were many students who found it too difficult. “Chalk and talk” methods were mainly employed as there were no workbooks, dvds etc…
Catechism (religion) was the most important subject and was taught every day. Every pupil had a red catechism full of very difficult questions and answers which had to be learned by heart. Prayers were also learned by heart. Assembly was held every morning with prayers led by the principal teacher. After this a hymn was sung and the classes (2nd – 6th) marched to their respective classrooms to the strains of a march played on the piano.
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The “New School” Approaching the 1960s it was clear that the building in Morton Street was unsuitable as a school building. It was quite old and had become overcrowded. Entrance was through a dark, narrow passageway between the school and the convent chapel. Infants were taught on the ground floor and 3rd – 6th class were taught on the second floor – accessed by a narrow staircase. The stairs was apparently one cause for concern. Past teachers and pupils recall that it appeared to visibly tremble when classes of girls were on the way up or down! Two and sometimes three classes were taught across the road in the “Lace School”. It was definitely time for more space. |
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Around the corner from the school stood Glebe house, owned by the rector of nearby St. Mary’s Church. The land on which this house stood would be eminently suitable for a new Sisters of Charity primary school. The Sisters, true to their faith, spent much time in prayer, hoping for land to become available to build a school. A past teacher tells that the nuns said the Rosary along the wall that bordered the land of Glebe house in the hope that it would become available. They are said to have tossed miraculous medals over the wall into the rectory to aid their cause. And it may just have worked. The nuns, hearing a rumour that the rector was about to move, rushed to the solicitor and offered money for the land. In 1962 – 1963 Fr. Meehan, a curate from the Parish ran “Bingo” once a week to raise money for the new school. In 1964 a new school stood on the grounds in Mary Street. This was due in no small part to the zealous fund raising by Sr. Margaret Veronica. She had organised draws and concerts etc… to raise necessary funds for the school. Unfortunately, and very sadly, Sr. Margaret Veronica was left incapacitated by a sudden viral infection and never returned to the school she had worked so hard to set up. The new school was solemnly blessed on 8th October 1964 by Very Rev. Canon O’Gorman The outline plan made provision for an assembly hall to be added in later years and this was duly done in 1977. A kitchen and store room were also added. Past pupils of the school at the time of the addition of the assembly hall can recall with excitement sitting on scaffolds and assisting in the painting of a mural on the wall of the new hall. |
Music and DramaMusic was well taught and the school had choirs, percussion bands and later tin-whistle and recorder bands.
Nature Study was not taught in the 1950s. It was informally discussed if it came up in a reading lesson. It became a subject in the 1970s curriculum. Every class had a nature table. Trips to gardens and nature walks up to the foothills of the Comeraghs became part of school life. A wonderful change for both teachers and pupils.
Until the 1970s curriculum, needlework was the only aspect of arts and crafts taught in most of the classrooms. Sewing was very important. Stitches such as hemming, running etc… were taught with fine needles on fine materials and these samples were displayed in special sewing books that were kept in the teacher’s press to be seen by the sewing inspector. In the 5th and 6th classes, these stitches were put into practical use when pupils made aprons and knickers etc… by hand. Knitting was also taught and pupils made scarves and socks. “Turning the heel” was quite an art – and apparently one many children found difficult to master! Some teachers did teach art, but it was not obligatory. |
Speech and Drama was also taught in the school. The school had many fine verse choirs in those early years and the choirs won numerous cups and prizes in Feile Chluain Meala – the yearly Feis. Pupils also excelled in Drama and teachers who had a special aptitude for drama won many prizes in the local Feile. They then took their young actresses to Dublin and won first place in Ireland (several times) for drama in Irish.
There was no playing field and no playground in the old school so P.E. was taught in the classroom. It was called “drill” and was quite a formal affair with bending and stretching etc… done without music.
Some Past Pupils
John Keating
Artist. Born in 1953 in Tipperary, John Keating studied at the Crawford College of Art, Cork, Trinity College, Dublin, Loughborough University, Leicestershire and the Arts Student League of New York. He has exhibited nationally and internationally.
Frank Patterson
Frank Patterson was a world famous Irish tenor. Patterson’s repertoire was wide covering Lieder, Oratorio, Hymns, Ballads and traditional songs as well as a few popular songs. He appeared in two films and died in New York at age sixty one.
Mary Cahill
Curator of the National Museum
Vincent Hanley
RTE presenter
Sean Treacy
Ceann Comhairle
Mary Heffernan
OPW – in charge of restoration of Farmleigh House, Kilkenny Castle and Castletown House
Mary Sutton
Mary Sutton studied economics at UCD and McMaster University in Canada. She worked in the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace, the Overseas Development Institute in London and Trocaire, in various research and management roles and most recently as Deputy Director of Trocaire until 2006.