‘The legacy we are creating is not only for our students but for the entire county’

Opening the doors of the beautiful new €10million building for St Mary's Special School to pupils for the first time last week after 50 year of fighting for the purpose built premises was a "historic" moment according to the principal.

The split-level two-storey school boasts facilities comprising of 14 classrooms for its 80 students, a large assembly hall a home economics room, library, nurture room, roof top terrace, sensory room, outdoor playground as well as well as a large assembly hall with stage and full kitchen and dining facilities.

St Mary’s Special school is 48 years in existence and came from small humble beginnings with less that a dozen students and two classrooms to over 90 pupils, 12 classrooms, a special care unit and an Autistic Learning Centre.

The new multi million euro development is situated on the educational campus site in Johnstown which already houses St Stephen’s NS and Coláiste na Mí.

The keys were handed over on March 11th, which coincided with National Dream Day—a perfect celebration for this significant achievement according to principal Maria Corredor.

"After a month of preparation, we proudly welcomed our first students on April 11th," she said.

"Since its establishment in 1977 with a single classroom, Saint Mary’s has seen remarkable growth, now offering 14 classrooms. The school is committed to supporting children with intellectual disabilities, including those with moderate, severe, and profound challenges, alongside students on the autism spectrum," added Maria.

"Our curriculum now includes both primary and post-primary education.

"This is a historic moment for the school, as it is the first time that children needing specialised care, including nursing services, will be under one roof.

"This forward-thinking initiative emphasises our dedication to integration and inclusivity, a sentiment shared by the board of management, parents, staff, and, most importantly, the children themselves.

"We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our architect and builder for their careful consideration of our needs throughout this extensive journey. Over the years, the collaboration of three principals and various management teams has been instrumental in bringing this vision to life.

"The legacy we are creating is not only for our students but for the entire County Meath community and beyond. Our partnership with other schools on this educational campus will foster numerous integrated activities and collaborative opportunities, setting the stage for a brighter future.

"We are deeply grateful to the community for their warm welcome and to our fellow schools for their support as we embark on this exciting new chapter together!"

"It has been a wonderful week welcoming students into our brand new school," said deputy principal Jean-Marie Thompson.

"After battling for so many years, it's hard to put into words the joy and excitement felt by our team of staff at finally having a facility that will allow the children to thrive and reach their full potential," she added.

Bob Callaghan served four terms as chairperson of the board of management for St Mary's Special School stepping down in December 2024 after 16 years and has seen the project go from vision to reality.

"In those four year terms we were all focused on the one thing that was delivering a new school for St Mary's. And even though it took a long time, the prize was well worth waiting for, it is a truly fantastic building," said Bob.

The school was established in 1977 by Fr Andy Farrell and it was housed originally in premises provided by the Sisters of Mercy The first principal of the school was Maureen Hegarty.

"In the year, 2000 the premises in Athlumney became unsuitable and the old Primary School in Johnstown was available and then became the home of St Mary's special school," explains Bob.

"We were in temporary accommodation from 1977 up to 2025 so it's a bit of a contradiction, but we had a very happy environment in the old primary school there, even though the building was totally unsuitable, both from a pupil perspective and from the staff perspective nonetheless, the staff displayed the best of humanity in there to care for the children in less than satisfactory circumstances," he added.

After the school moved from the premises in Athlumney, the school was split between the school in Johnstown and the Special Care Unit in the Ballis Resource Centre as deputy principal Jean-Marie Thompson explains:

"It definitely was not purpose built for children in wheelchairs and with high medical needs. But for me, one of the things that has always been it doesn't matter where you are, is the love, the inclusion, the warmth, the commitment and dedication of our staff. So for me, this building is wonderful to be in but it's who you have in the building with you."

In 2011 land became available to the Council who decided to develop an educational campus on the site.

"When planning permission was granted in 2016 for us, we thought building would be more or less immediate, and then, of course, we ran into Covid, and then we ran into supply chain difficulties for the building contractors," said Bob." So all of that made it a very kind of prolonged but that's looking back, looking now we have an absolute beautiful, purpose built, state of the art Special School, which has captured all of the best elements of other schools that were built All around the country," he added.

"The architectural company that was appointed was MCOH Architects and the lead architect was Jackie Carroll and Jackie, together with the then principal of St Mary's, Ambrose Lowry And myself, travelled to various schools around the country looking at new builds and capturing some elements that we thought would be beneficial.

"Jackie's approach to the school was to make every opportunity a learning opportunity for the children. So in the bathrooms that the children use, we have three different types of taps, we have a press one, we have a lever one, and we have the usual twist, and that's sort of when the children won't leave here if they ever went out to a hotel or residence they would know how to use it.

"Everything is designed to be a learning experience for the children, to send them away from here as independent as we possibly can make them.

"A lot of people helped us achieve this over the years including the late Fine Gael TD Shane McEntee, former TDs Damien English and Shane Cassells as well as the Rotary Club in Navan so continue to support us as well as many other local businesses who have fundraised on our behalf."

"The children are amazing, and they surprise us every day. We're just ever so grateful for everyone who has participated in making this school phenomenal place," added Jean- Marie.