In The Beginning

The story of our school began with a death. In Nov. 1867 a certain Mr. Michael Coleman died in Tipperary and left £500 in his will to the parish priest of the time, Rev. Dr. Howley, on condition that he establish a school within a year in the town, to be conducted by the Irish Christian Brothers.

Negotiations with the Superior General of the Irish Christian Brothers were completed within the required time frame and 3 teaching brothers and one lay brother arrived in the town early the following year.

The parish priest guaranteed the brothes an annual sum of £140 for their support.

The Early Years

A school was established in an old 3 storey building adjacent to St. John's Graveyard on the Tipperary Hills. This had previously served as a fever hospital and also, for a short period, as a school run by The Sisters of Mercy.

The ground floor of this cold, forbidding building housed the primary school. The secondary school was on the first floor while the brothers living quarters was on the top floor. The school initially catered for 240 boys but the accommodation was extented in 1860 to 300 pupils.

Moving with the Times

Mount Sion, the new home of the brothers, was formally opened in Dec. 1931. Work began on the building of a new primary school in 1939. This cost £13,727 to build and consisted of 8 classrooms catering for 384 pupils.

Pupils transferred from the "old" Mon on the hills to the brand new building in Murgasty in 1940. The building on the hills continued as a secondary school until the move to The Abbey in the autumn of 1941.

Due to an increase in numbers, an extra classroom was added in 1967 and the school was given a make-over.

More Recent Times

A new extension, consisting of 6 large classrooms, each with its own wet area and toilet facilities was built at a cost of £400,000 in 1986.

Into the Future

Since then, many other modernisations and renovations have been carried out on an on-going basis to keep our school a modern and pleasant environment, in which our pup[ils and staff can work effectively.