St. Louis Community School

St. Louis Secondary School is a state owned Community School (picture opposite). The school has approximately 560 pupils and 40 teachers.

In September, 1897, six Sisters of the St. Louis Order, arrived from their Convent in Monaghan to Kiltimagh, on the invitation of the Parish Priest Fr. Denis O'Hara.

They set up a technical school for the children of the Parish, followed by a school for young ladies. In 1908, the school became, primarily, a boarding school for girls. The school prospered with students winning prizes on a national scale for lace-making and proficiency in the Irish language.

Gradually, throughout the century, St. Louis Convent Secondary School, Kiltimagh, became famous throughout the country for academic and cultural endeavours. In 1973, boys enrolled in the school for the first time and the boarding school was phased out. In 1992, the Sisters moved out of the school, and into a private residence in the town.

A year later, St. Louis Secondary School amalgamated with Coláiste Rafteirí, the Vocational School, and it became known as St. Louis Community School.  The St. Louis Sisters celebrated their centenary this year, and although there is only one Sister still teaching in the school, the St. Louis legacy remains.  

In 2000, two Junior Certificate students, Katharine Harkin and Elaine Mears, were runners-up in the Young Scientist Exhibition. This was the second time in two years that students of St Louis Community School have taken this Young Scientist award.

In other areas, the boys Senior and Cadet Volleyball teams took their respective All-Ireland titles in 2000. The school has now been represented in ten Volleyball All-Ireland Finals between boys and girls in recent years. We are rightly proud of these achievements, knowing that they cannot happen in isolation. They demand a commitment to a progressive education from all involved.