A Brief History ~ Then and Now

Scoil Mhuire, Machaire Áirne  is located  1 km from the village of Smithborough just off the N54 and 300m from Saint Mary’s, our local church. Machaire Áirne, meaning ‘the plain of the sloes’, is located in the Parish of Roslea.

A new school building, consisting of two bright airy classrooms, was opened on this present site in 1965. It replaced the old building of beautiful cut stone which is located opposite Saint Mary’s Church in Magherarney. 

Some years later the number of children attending the school increased greatly due to amalgamation with Aughnashalvey N.S. This move was in line with political thinking at the time. Children from townlands such as Derryartery, Killcreen, Derrintoney and Roughill travelled to the school by bus each day. Two pre-fabs were added to accommodate two extra teachers and their classes. A fifth teacher was housed for a while in a classroom in the old school at the church.         

With its growing numbers it was time to work on an extension to the existing school. Four extra classrooms, an all-purpose room, a staff room and a kitchen were built. These were connected to the original building by a flat-roofed corridor. This project came to it's completion in the eighties.

At present Scoil Mhuire has six full-time teachers in total, four Classroom Teachers and two Special Education Teachers. A very successful Playschool and After School Club is provided by Magherarney Community Childcare Service and is located close to the school building. All inquiries re services provided by Magherarney Community Childcare can be made to 047 57917.     

The current Board of Management has been working on behalf of the school since its election. The Board is ever positive and supportive and works diligently with its education partners to continually promote the development of the school.

The school is also very fortunate to have a very active and hard-working Parents’ Association. Their annual fund raising event provides much needed funding for the school. This event is successful due to the planning, dedication and tenacity of the members of the Association. This combined with the support of the wider parental body and local businesses has a hugely valuable impact upon the school's dedication to development. The contribution of the Association to the purchase of books, educational equipment and the subsidising of school trips all serve to enrich the school lives of the children at Scoil Mhuire, Machaire Áirne.                                               

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                         Ethos Statement

Scoil Mhuire, Machaire Áirne is a primary school under the patronage of Bishop Lawrence Duffy. Our school is committed to the following aims:

·        To enable each child to live a full life and to realise his or her full potential as a unique individual
·        To enable each child to develop socially through living and cooperating with others  
·        To prepare each child for further education, work and lifelong learning  
·        To create an atmosphere conducive to the development of the child  
·        To foster, develop and maintain a good home/school relationship.

Our school celebrates the uniqueness of each child as expressed in each child’s personality, intelligence and potential for development. Our school seeks to nurture the children in all dimensions of their lives. We aim to provide quality learning experiences through a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum.

Scoil Mhuire is an integral part of the parish and we seek to provide a religious education in accordance with the doctrines and traditions of the Catholic Church and to ensure that the children are properly prepared for in the Sacraments. A spirit of mutual respect is promoted within our school for everyone, including those of different religious affiliations and of different nationalities.

We maintain a close relationship with the parents and the local community and we encourage our pupils to participate in parish activities where appropriate.

We promote the value of ‘learning’ in our school and provide an environment where our pupils can learn safely and happily at all times.

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Partners in Education

Our School Staff

2025-2026
Na Naíonáin: 
Múinteoir Valerie

Rang 1 & Rang 2
Múinteoir Kathleen

Rang 3 & Rang 4:    
Múinteoir Shauna

Rang 5 & Rang 6:   
Múinteoir Dónal

Support Teachers:
Múinteoir Nicola
Múinteoir Claire (Principal)
   
SNAs
Ms Lucy Kelly
Ms Rachael Reilly & Ms Karen Flynn
{Job-Share Arrangement}

Secretary:
     Ms Aisling Donnelly 
        
      Cleaner:         
Ms Monica Murtagh

Care Taker:
Mr David McCarville 

Our Parents' Association

Chairperson:
Ms Síle McDonagh
Vice-Chairperson:
Ms Anne Flynn
Secretary:
Ms Sandra McGorman
Treasurer:
Ms Lorraine Aughey
Vice-Treasurer:
Ms Olivia Cadden
School/PA Liaison
Mr Sarah-Jane Reilly

Our Board of Management

Patron Nominees:
Declan McElroy
Fr John Chester

Parent Nominees:
Margaret Murphy
Jonathan McDonagh

Community Nominees:
Ms Anita Corley
Ms Brigid Connolly

Teacher Nominees:
Ms Shauna Mulligan
Ms Nicola Fahy