St Mary's CBS in Portlaoise is celebrating a major milestone in 2022 with a special set of events scheduled to mark 175 years of providing education in Laois.
St Mary’s CBS, has strong historical ties with Portlaoise town, the surrounding townlands and in particular, with the original school founded at the height of the famine in the heart of the town at Tower Hill during the Great Famine.
"1847 was a difficult time in the history of Ireland. Famine was looming and political, social, religious and agricultural unrest would mark the next few decades. Despite these upheavals, Edmund Rice founded a small school in our town, one of the first outside of Waterford and Dublin, which has continued to the 21st Century to educate the young men of our community," say the school.
While times have changed, and the school has changed, the ethos hasn't,
"In 2010, we opened the doors of the Borris Road site with 500 students. Since then we have steadily grown and have grown into our extensive building and school campus. Our facilities, which include the impressive Rice Nagle Sports Facility, soccer and GAA pitches and basketball hard courts, are among the best in the country and our students and staff enjoy state of the art facilities in which to learn and work.
"Since it's beginning, many students have passed through the doors of St. Mary's CBS has established a high reputation – both academically and on the sports field.
"Starting in the midst of the Famine, St. Mary’s has been a stronghold of teaching and learning for multiple generations of Laois men," says the school.
To mark the important milestone celebration is planned.
"We want to take the opportunity to celebrate the contribution the school has made to the local community, the lives of its past pupils while rededicating and reimagining our mission in the twenty first century.
"We are happy to invite you to attend one, or all of the events from Thursday, October 13 to Saturday, October 15. Our celebrations hope to combine the best of St. Mary’s from sport to music to art to history and beyond," says the school.
Events as follows:
Thursday -Liturgical celebration in SS Peter and Paul’s Church, Portlaoise at 12pm.
Friday - ‘Reeling In The Years’ with students on the school grounds from 10am until 12.15pm; 175th birthday from 12.15pm until 1.15pm; Launch of a new school crest at 6.30pm; From 7.30pm until later, celebrations in Kavanagh’s Pub in Portlaoise with music from The Jury, The Big Spoon and more.
Saturday -CBS Past Pupils Golf Society will hold their second event of the year in Mountrath with tee times from 9am until 1pm.
This golf event will be to celebrate their Captain’s Prize (Captain Kevin Sheehan) and to celebrate the 175th Anniversary of St. Mary’s CBS.
The society’s first outing, the John Duggan Memorial Cup was held earlier this year and was a huge success. 70 players participated for 11 prizes with Frank Sheehan winning the Memorial Cup.
The Society is looking forward to another successful outing. Please contact Kevin on 0861649066 to book a tee time. Past pupils, teachers, friends and visitors are all welcome.
