Reception honours St Mary’s top brass following retirement

TWO of Strabane’s long-standing educators, both of whom recently announced their retirement, were honoured by the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council at a reception in the Guildhall.

Therese Flanagan and Sandra O‘Doherty, vice principal and principal of St Mary’s Primary School respectively, stood down at Christmas after years of dedicating their working lives to enriching the minds of young people. The recent mayoral reception was organised by Sinn Féin’s Paul Boggs.

One of the ladies, Sandra O’Doherty, has been involved in education for just over 31 years, initially reaching in what was St Mary’s Boy’s from 1995 until 2007. A brief stint in St Columba’s in New Buildings followed before returning to St Mary’s as principal two years later. Mrs O’Doherty says she was ‘honoured’ to have been chosen as the first female principal of the school before becoming taking the on role of headmistress for the amalgamated entity of St Mary’s School in 2012.

Speaking of her time as principal, Mrs O’Doherty said, “This (amalgamation) was a huge step in the right direction for the parish, providing coeducation with boys and girls, following in the footsteps of the then newly-formed Holy Cross College. The amalgamation was one of my biggest career challenges and one of the most successful outcomes, thanks to the hard working staff, parents and pupils, the board of governors and the wider community; echoing the school motto, ‘Together we achieve’

“I felt honoured to be put forward by Cllr Paul Boggs to attend a reception, along with my family and members of the board of governors, with the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Patricia Logue, to mark my retirement from St Mary’s Primary School and my commitment and service to Education.”

Cllr Boggs praised both women for their service to the community, saying, “I was delighted to request the reception for Sandra and Therese. Both have contributed significantly to the education of our young people in Strabane town.”