History
The school buildings have been extended many times over the years. In the 1920’s the Superior at the time, Mother Albertus Culligan, an Australian, built a spacious Refectory for the Boarders in the old 54 garden. Over it she erected a beautiful Library. She also built a Lunch Room for the Day Pupils where the terrace of no. 53 used to be. The next extension came in 1956, when the old music cells were demolished and, on the site, a four-storey building was erected. This comprised a shoe room and a new Laundry on the ground floor; four new class rooms on the next floor; an Art Room and another class room and new Music Rooms on the third floor, and on top a large airy dormitory with separate cubicles and hot and cold running water in each. At this time, too, the Concert Hall was enlarged. The last extension (to date) was made when St. Vincent’s Hospital was transferred to Elm Park. It then became possible to buy No. 55, newly repaired, carpeted and decorated by the developers. This is now the “Senior House”, sacred to the Leaving Certificate students.
A sad development remains to be reported; the phasing out of the Boarding school, which has flourished for more than 140 years, and has catered for girls from all over the country, North, South, East and West, as well as many from abroad. Sic transit Gloria mundi!
(The information provided here on the history of Loreto College is an abridged version of an article written by Sister Mary Evangeline McDonald in 1983).
Further to this in 1986 a fire partially destroyed the College and Convent tragically claiming the lives of six Loreto Sisters. A decision was taken to move the school temporarily to Harcourt Street where a new office block at number 79 was leased for two years. In 1988 “The Green” was reopened with entire new sections added to the original building.
In May 2006 the twentieth anniversary of the 1986 fire was commemorated by a mass and reception in Loreto College.