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, five Classroom Teachers and a Special Education Teacher. We also have part-time SET and EAL teachers who are shared with other schools. A very successful Playschool and After School Club is provided by Magherarney Community Childcare Service and is located at the front of 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 work of the Parents' Association over the past number of years has seen the installation of an interactive white board in every classroom and the development of a computer suite. 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.