About Us

Here is a brief history of our building.

Model Schools were built and funded by the Government under the 1831 Board of National Education scheme to introduce primary education for all. The idea was that Model Schools would be examples to other schools, demonstrating the highest teaching standards across a wide curriculum, to children of all religions. These schools would also provide initial training for young people who wished to become teachers.

Monaghan Model School was opened on Wednesday the 9th of October, 1861, and looked much the same externally as it does today. The school had three departments: the Boys’ School (150 pupils), the Girls’ School (100 pupils) and the Infant School (a further 100 children). Today, “Boys’ School” and “Girls’ School” is still engraved in the stone arches above the two main entrances. The original classrooms have since been partitioned to suit today’s class groupings. For example, Mrs. Stewart’s room and Mrs Porter’s room were once one large hall in which the Boys’ School operated. The principal of the school used to live in the two-storey section joined onto the Girls’ School. This is now used for storage, offices and toilets.