placenamesMagherafelt
Machaire Fíolta
Saint Mary’s and Saint Pius X record the work of parish clergy and teaching sisters in expanding local secondary education.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Machaire Fíolta · Irish · main form
- Magherafelt · English · main form
Place & story
Monsignor Ward and the first pupils
Monsignor John Ward founded Saint Mary's in 1927 to provide secondary education for Catholic girls around Magherafelt, under the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux. The school's own history names Sister Cassian Tracey as its first principal. Only one pupil attended during the first month, but ten enrolled during the first year. The institution began on a modest scale before its later expansion. [2]
Growth and coeducation
Saint Mary's added its first extension in 1954 after growth during the preceding decade. In September 1978, it admitted boys for the first time: thirty-seven joined 587 girls. Another substantial building programme followed, supported by the Friends of Saint Mary's under Sister Immaculata O'Connor. Cardinal Daly formally opened the resulting £6 million extension in December 1994, marking a further stage in the school's development. [2]
The foundation of Saint Pius X
Canon Mark Quinn purchased six acres for a new school in 1960 at a cost of £5,000. Construction began in 1962, and Saint Pius X opened to three hundred pupils in September 1964. The parish's history distinguishes that first intake from the official opening by Cardinal Conway in June 1965. Edward Quinn was the first principal, assisted by Sister Immaculata Quinn as vice-principal. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Civil parish
- County
- Derry
- Barony
- Loughinsholin
- Coordinates
- 54.78998, -6.57742 (approximate)
- Mapped area
- 33.34 km²
- Logainm ID
- 2912 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Magherafelt. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Saint Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt: Our History · Saint Mary’s Grammar School
- Schools in Magherafelt Parish: Saint Pius X College history · Magherafelt Parish
- Saint Mary's Grammar School at Magherafelt, as photographed in April 2006 illustration: based on a St Mary's Grammar School, Magherafelt by Kenneth Allen. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2011-08-23. How this page was prepared.