Catherine McAuley School

Catherine McAuley School was founded in 1961 by the Mercy Sisters in Limerick to address the needs of a small group of students facing challenges in mainstream education. The inaugural class consisted of twelve students who were instructed in a single room at St. John’s Primary School. As enrollment increased in the initial years, the school relocated to a classroom block at Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Rosbrien, Limerick. By the 1970s, the institution was serving both primary and secondary school students, which necessitated an expansion of the staff. A purpose-built facility was constructed on the picturesque grounds of Westbourne Convent and was inaugurated in 1979. By the mid-1980s, the school had grown to accommodate over two hundred students.