Celebrating a Legacy of Learning: Scoil Bhríde Marks 50 Years in Its Current Home
- Online Journalist
- Dec 17, 2025
- 4 min read
By Tara Maher
As Scoil Bhríde celebrates 50 years in its present building, the Crosshaven community is looking back with pride on nearly 150 years of education, dedication, and service inspired by the Presentation Order and its remarkable foundresses.
Today, Scoil Bhríde is home to 191 students, with eight classrooms, two support rooms, eight class teachers, two support teachers, three SNAs, a principal and school secretary.
The Presentation Order was founded in 1775 by Honora “Nano” Nagle in Cork, with a mission to educate and uplift those most in need. From the beginning, the Sisters focused their work on providing schooling for young people, particularly young women who otherwise had little opportunity for education. The congregation officially began on Christmas Eve, 1775, and would eventually shape the educational landscape of communities across Ireland, including Crosshaven.
Following the construction of St. Brigid’s Church in 1869, the need for a school in Crosshaven grew increasingly urgent. Canon McSwiney sought assistance from the Presentation Order, and two sisters volunteered to begin a new foundation.
On November 27th, 1876, the pioneering Sisters, Mother Teresa Tynan, Mother Ignatius Ryan, and Mother de Pazzi Gubbins all travelled to Crosshaven with Canon McSwiney. Despite a bitterly cold night, local parishioners walked out the Carrigaline Road to welcome the Sisters with cheers, a rosary in St. Brigid’s Church, and a torchlit procession to their temporary home at Westbourne Terrace.
The Sisters rented three houses one as their convent and two as classrooms at a cost of £120 per year.
The school officially opened on January 11th, 1877, to 64 pupils. Numbers quickly grew to 230, forcing the construction of a makeshift shed to serve as an infant classroom.
By April 1878, the first portion of the convent was complete. For many children who travelled long distances, the Sisters provided soup and bread daily in an area known affectionately as the “flag passage.” The Sisters also offered Sunday religious instruction and maintained a much-loved library for local young women.
A one-storey primary school was built and opened in 1891. A boarding school soon followed, giving more children access to education. In 1959–1960, the original school was expanded with a second storey, allowing the Secondary Top to operate and enabling students to continue to Inter Cert (now Junior Cert).
Between 1965 and 1972, the convent farmyard was cleared and a new primary school, Scoil Bhríde was constructed on the former orchard site. It opened on March 18th, 1975.
Over the decades, Presentation Sisters dedicated themselves to the education of generations of Crosshaven children. Lay staff gradually joined the teaching team, and in 2002, Ms Anne Ward became the first lay principal following the retirement of Sr Noreen Foster, followed by Mr. Seamus O’Connor and the current principal Ms. Katie Ryan.
In 2007, the last teaching Presentation Sister, Sr Margaret Coleman, retired after 36 years of service. The Crosshaven convent itself closed in 2015, bringing to an end almost 140 years of Presentation presence in the village.
Scoil Bhríde is known for its warm, vibrant atmosphere—quite literally, as the building itself is famously pink. Every child is welcomed and celebrated for who they are.
The school is proud to be a Green School, an Autism and ADHD-friendly school, and an active participant in initiatives such as the Amber Flag and the Junior Entrepreneur Programme. Academic excellence is paired with a strong emphasis on wellbeing, creativity, and holistic development.
Friendships flourish, kindness is nurtured, and pupils are encouraged to become the best version of themselves. The staff, families, Parents’ Association, Board of Management, and the broader Crosshaven community play an essential role in maintaining the school’s supportive culture.
As locals often say, “It takes a village”—and there is no village quite like Crosshaven, nor a school quite like Scoil Bhríde.
A love connection
An unexpected story of devotion lies behind the early funding of the Crosshaven foundation. In 1874, Emil Fred Lieber, a wealthy German-Jewish man living in New York, fell in love with Irish Catholic Teresa Saurney. After converting to Catholicism, the couple visited Ireland on their honeymoon, stopping at Teresa’s former school, South Presentation.
There, they learned of the proposed new foundation in Crosshaven. Emil immediately offered to finance the project, provided that his wife’s former teacher, Sister M. Teresa Tynan, would be among the founding Sisters. His generosity, combined with contributions from Thurles and local subscriptions, enabled construction to begin in June 1877.
Today, the convent cemetery holds the graves of foundresses Mother Ignatius Ryan and Mother Teresa Tynan, as well as Mrs. Teresa Lieber, whose family played such an important role in the school’s history.
In Loving Memory of our dear friend and colleague, Sr. Anne Coffey.
We remember with deep gratitude and affection, Sr Anne Coffey, a cherished member of thePresentation Sisters, whose life was one of faith, service and dedication to education.
Sister Anne devoted many years to Scoil Bhríde, first as a teacher, later as Principal and in more recent years as Chairperson of the Board of Management.
Throughout her life, she embodied the Presentation spirit of care, generosity and compassion. She filled every room with light and laughter. Her warmth, wisdom and compassion touched the lives of students, staff, and parents alike, and her legacy continues to inspire all who were fortunate to know her.
Education was her true passion. She believed deeply in the power of learning to transform lives, and she worked tirelessly to ensure that every pupil had the opportunity to grow and flourish. Her leadership guided our school through many important milestones, always rooted in kindness and faith.
Even in her passing, Sister Anne continued to show her love for our school. Through her generous bequest, she enabled much-needed building works that will benefit generations of students to come– a lasting testament to her vision and devotion.
Scoil Bhríde always held a special place in her heart, just as she will always hold a special place in ours.
May her gentle soul rest in peace.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.
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