Scoil Mhuire gan Smál is a co-educational vertical primary school situated in the town of Ballymote, Co.Sligo. It is under the patronage of the Catholic Bishop of Achonry. Presently we have approx. 230 pupils on roll.
The present school was opened in 1992 when the girls’ school and boys’ school amalgamated. All the Catholic schools of the parish of Emlaghfad : Emlaghnaughton NS (1963), Carrigans NS (1963), Ballymote B.N.S. (1992), Carnaree N.S. (1969) and the Convent of Mercy Girls’ School are incorporated in Scoil Mhuire gan Smál.
In the last decade of the 19th century, there appears to have been an Infants’ school, with boys and girls in Ballymote, Records show the existence of a girls’ school also. The girls’ school shared the Loftus Hall, formerly a Catholic Chapel with the boys’ school. The infants’ school may have been located to the rear of the building.
In 1907 the Sisters of Mercy arrived and set up a private school at Castle Lodge. By 1904 they had acquired the Infants’ school and in 1918 they had taken charge of the girls’ national school. It was then that the present school was built in order to accommodate both schools. The building was extended initially in 1951 and then in 1991 in preparation for amalgamation with the boy’s school. The school became known then as Scoil Mhuire gan Smál. A further extension was added in 2013. Improvements continue to this day with the addition of an outdoor classroom and staff car park in 2021.
Source: ‘National Schools of Co.Sligo’