Brief School History
School History
In September 2019 past pupil, and Deputy Principal, Mona Hynes was appointed Principal of Mary Immaculate Secondary School. She is the first female lay Principal of the school. Shaped by a Mercy education, she continues to carry on the Faith Leadership and ensure a holistic education for all. Her hope is that every student feels safe and has a sense of belonging in Mary Immaculate and achieves their full potential in a happy nurturing environment.
The beginning of the school can be traced back to 1947 when the late Judge Comyn invited the Sisters of Mercy, Ennistymon, to spend their first holiday at his newly erected residence at the end of St. Brendan’s Road, about one mile from Lisdoonvarna. The Sisters saw that no post-primary education was available to many of the children in the area. Parents requested the Sisters open a school in Lisdoonvarna to serve the wider Burren Region of North Clare. Prompted by this request Mother Kevin O’Carroll and her sisters set about undertaking this work of mercy, opening a secondary school in Lisdoonvarna.
In September 1949, a school for girls was opened in Tivoli House. In 1955 at the request of Dr. Browne, boys were admitted to the school, making Mary Immaculate one of the first co-educational voluntary secondary school in the country. In 1993, Mr. John O’Loughlin was appointed first lay principal. John also a past pupil of the school, served as Principal for twenty-six years, navigating the school through many transformative moments of educational change. As Mary Immaculate approaches its 75th year, Principal Mona Hynes continues to lead a school which is progressive, and responsive to the changing needs of its evolving community which it continues to serve in the Mercy tradition.