History

This school was officially opened in 1958 to cater for the expanding population of the village of Lanesborough. The expansion was mainly due to a workforce that was attracted to the area to take up employment in both Bórd na Móna and the ESB Power Station.

The original school building was situated beside the Church in Lanesborough but did not have the capacity to cater for the expanding population.

The Mercy Sisters had arrived in Lanesborough in 1953 and were providing secondary education to all young girls locally. They were invited by the then bishop to take charge of the girl’s primary education. The Sisters purchased the site and donated it to the parish.

Lanesborough Primary School celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2008. However primary education in the parish of Rathcline was well-established even before this school was built.
Before the establishment of the National Board of Education in 1831, most Catholic children, as well as many Protestant children, received their education in the hedge school, so called because of the practice of holding school in a remote place, sometimes under the sunny side of a hedge. Even as far back as 1826 when the Penal system relaxed, there was evidence of some seven different buildings around the parish used for educational purposes, although some were described as 'a wretched hovel' or 'built for a barn' of 'built for a stable'. Never-the-less a grand total of 684 pupils were being catered for locally.
The Board of Education was set up in Ireland in 1831 to make available a national education system for children of all denominations. This brought great changes to education nationally. Parallel to this development, Catherine McAuley, professed her vows as the first Sister of Mercy, on December 12th, 1831 in Dublin. This new congregation would have a huge influence on the education of the children of Lanesborough more than a century later.

By 1840 the school house in Tullyvrane, built by the local landlord, Luke White, was given approval to accept pupils. The parish priest, Fr Dawson became its first manager with Mr White being the first patron.

By 1841 Rathcline School, as it was known, had 318 pupils on roll, with one teacher, James Potter, age 22. From 1841 to 1848 as a result of the famine, Rathcline's school doors remained closed. When records began again, a new teacher was in situ, David Sheehan. However he died in 1850 aged just 23 years.

By 1852 Bernard McKenna was Principal teacher with his sister Barbara being appointed in 1854. The school was divided in 1861, establishing Rathcline Female School under the care of Margaret McKenna, wife of Bernard. However this female school was suppressed and amalgamated again with the general school by 1867. Records for the next 20 years are scant. According to the Board of Education records, the year of 1886 marked the beginning of a very turbulent time in the history of the school. Fr J. K. McGivney was School Manager and he and Bernard McKenna, school principal, were locked in an ongoing and bitter row. This row, never being resolved, had repercussions locally right into the new century.

The row resulted in the school being closed by Bernard McKenna and the Manager leasing a house in Lisduff to open a school there. However, according to Board of Education reports, this school in Lisduff was deemed 'unsuitable with inadequate furniture'. From April 1889, Rathcline School, again recognised, reverted to the Tullyvrane name, and was under the of Margaret McKenna(wife of Bernard ). Eventually in 1888 the Board of Education sanctioned Rathcline School (Roll#5559) in an apartment in the Parochial House and had to be restricted to 34 pupils. Lizzie Woods was the Principal of Rathcline School and records reflect a growth in the school with a gradual decline in the Tullyvrane School.

In March 1889 a grant was sanctioned for the building of a new school in the grounds of Lanesborough Church. However according to a memo from the new school principal, Timothy Kelly, the school was not fully sanctioned until March 18th, 1890. As early as 1891, due to increasing numbers, a grant was sought and received to build an extra classroom. The population of Lanesborough continued to increase and the school had 123 pupils on roll with 5 teachers. Tullyvrane school was still in the care of Margaret McKenna and her sister-in-law, Elizabeth. All grants were cancelled from December 1896 onwards, restored for another three years but eventually in June 1897, Tullyvrane School closed its doors permanently.

It was this increase in the local population which prompted Fr Goodwin, Parish Priest, ably assisted by Fr. Laurence O'Grady to begin negotiations with the Department of Education, demanding better primary education facilities in Lanesborough. The Sisters of Mercy had come to Lanesborough in 1953 and were providing secondary education to all young girls locally. They were invited by Bishop McNamee to take charge of the girls' primary education. The Sisters purchased the site and donated it to the parish. It was decide by those who were negotiating with the Department that two new schools be built, St Mary's Boys' National School and Scoil Mhuire gan Smál, which in 2007 became Lanesborough Primary School.