The Board of Management of St Louis Dundalk is pleased to announce the appointment of Mary Gilmore as permanent Deputy Principal after three years in an acting role.
Mary has been a permanent teacher of English, History and more recently Philosophy in St Louis Dundalk since 1991, having worked part-time in the school since 1988. Mary also taught in St Vincent’s Secondary School, Dundalk, Our Lady’s College Greenhills Drogheda and St Louis Secondary School Carrickmacross.
Mary, a native of Dundalk is a past pupil of St Vincent’s Secondary School. Mary graduated from UCD with a BA Honours Degree in English, History and Philosophy and attended NUI Maynooth for her Higher Diploma in Education. She also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Educational Leadership from Maynooth University since 2010. She held a number of Middle Leadership roles in St Louis over the years including Transition Year Co ordinator, Year Head in an Assistant Principal Post holder role as well as serving over 10 years on the Board of Management of St Louis.
In 2013, Mary was seconded to the Department of Education to work as an English Subject Advisor for the then newly formed Junior Cycle for Teachers Support Service. She worked with a small team of 7 led by Dr Padraig Kirk on the introduction of the New Junior Cycle curriculum, supporting and working with teachers and secondary schools across the country. This involved close collaboration with the DES Inspectorate and NCCA. Mary recalls this as a challenging yet rewarding time in her career as major and significant changes in curriculum and assessment were being introduced into the Irish Education system and she was part of a team at the forefront of this at the time. This experience supported her well on her return to St Louis in September 2017 when she took up the role, initially as Year Head and shortly after as Acting Deputy Principal working closely with the Acting Principal Michelle Dolan. In the years following the school experienced many challenges and hurdles including, a fire, a Whole School Evaluation and of course the introduction of the New Junior Cycle curriculum.
Mary brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role of Deputy Principal and is proud to live the ethos of St Louis in her interactions with all. She believes with support and commitment anything is possible for the student and this is demonstrated on a daily basis in St Louis with its characteristic ethos of inclusion and its mission to provide a holistic education for all students.
‘There is something very special about St Louis Dundalk, it is palpable from the moment you walk through the doors, it’s down to the dedication and kindness of the staff, the warmth of the girls and the commitment of all in our community who together make anything possible. I am very proud to work with Ms Dolan, our staff and the Board of Management to continue to lead our wonderful school towards a very promising future’
Ms Dolan, Principal, congratulated Mary on her permanent appointment as Deputy Principal ‘I want to thank Mary for all her hard work and support over the past three and a half arduous years on the management team. We are delighted to have such a wonderfully experienced, energetic and committed Deputy Principal in the school’
