History of Holy Family NS
Holy Family N.S. is not only an amalgamation of two schools, but of two historic teaching traditions in the town. When Our Lady of the Angels N.S. and St Joseph’s N.S. came together in 2001 the legacies of the De La Salle brothers and the Sisters of Mercy became one in the form of the newly named school. No one guessed that in the intervening years it would take fourteen years for the agreement to become a reality in the form of a brand new building. And when we look at the integrity of the new building, aspects of the architecture, the quality of the materials, the artistry of the design and the quality of the finish we should not forget the source from which the bricks and mortar took its shape. The source was the selfless dedication of the Sisters of Mercy on one hand and the De La Salle brothers on the other.
The Sisters of Mercy founded their convent, the convent of St Catherine in April 1867 on land given to them by the then Bishop of Raphoe, Daniel Mc Gettigan who resided in Ballyshannon at the time. An orphanage, primary school and a secondary school would eventually be built on the north side of the river. Records show that the Sisters of Mercy opened a girls school on the Rock called Carrickboy NS in 1875 which would find its permanent address at West Rock. Ninety years later in 1965, Our Lady of the Angels opened . Over the years it became a Junior school catering for boys as well as girls. This little school would continue to serve the community right up until 2015.
The De La Salle brothers opened their series of boys’ schools in 1912 and, having moved on more than one occasion, eventually found their space in the old Fever Hospital on the Rock-the present site of Saimer Childcare. They would incorporate a secondary school there on the site in 1948. In 1963 the brothers opened a primary school adjacent to the old building. The brothers would only teach there for ten years and left the town completely in 1973.
Apart from Our Lady of the Angels, all the schools were single sex schools until 1999 when a decision was made to have mixed schools. St Josephs accepted girls for the first time in that year. In 2001 an amalgamation was agreed and a new school building was promised. This came to fruition in 2014 when the diggers moved in and construction began.
Our new school extension comprising five state of the art classrooms with en-suite toilet facilities and a spacious PE hall was officially opened in October 2015 by Bishop Liam Mc Daid.
Our school now consists of 7 spacious classrooms, three learning support rooms, a PE hall, library, kitchenette, staffroom, principal’s office and administration office as well and several storage rooms and toilet facilities. Externally we have separate junior and senior playgrounds, a basketball court and a football field.
The Sisters of Mercy founded their convent, the convent of St Catherine in April 1867 on land given to them by the then Bishop of Raphoe, Daniel Mc Gettigan who resided in Ballyshannon at the time. An orphanage, primary school and a secondary school would eventually be built on the north side of the river. Records show that the Sisters of Mercy opened a girls school on the Rock called Carrickboy NS in 1875 which would find its permanent address at West Rock. Ninety years later in 1965, Our Lady of the Angels opened . Over the years it became a Junior school catering for boys as well as girls. This little school would continue to serve the community right up until 2015.
The De La Salle brothers opened their series of boys’ schools in 1912 and, having moved on more than one occasion, eventually found their space in the old Fever Hospital on the Rock-the present site of Saimer Childcare. They would incorporate a secondary school there on the site in 1948. In 1963 the brothers opened a primary school adjacent to the old building. The brothers would only teach there for ten years and left the town completely in 1973.
Apart from Our Lady of the Angels, all the schools were single sex schools until 1999 when a decision was made to have mixed schools. St Josephs accepted girls for the first time in that year. In 2001 an amalgamation was agreed and a new school building was promised. This came to fruition in 2014 when the diggers moved in and construction began.
Our new school extension comprising five state of the art classrooms with en-suite toilet facilities and a spacious PE hall was officially opened in October 2015 by Bishop Liam Mc Daid.
Our school now consists of 7 spacious classrooms, three learning support rooms, a PE hall, library, kitchenette, staffroom, principal’s office and administration office as well and several storage rooms and toilet facilities. Externally we have separate junior and senior playgrounds, a basketball court and a football field.
