About Us > History and Tradition

History and Tradition

St. Dominic’s was founded by the Dominican Order in 1870 at the invitation of the Most Reverend Dr. Dorrian, Bishop of Down and Connor. It was originally named St. Mary’s Dominican Convent. When it opened on April 25 1870, there were four pupils enrolled. The Boarding School opened on April 29th with one pupil and the Study Hall Block was built in 1897. The school has grown significantly over the years with the addition of the St. Margaret’s Wing in 1950’s, St. Thomas’s Building in 1960s and the erection of St. Ita’s and St.Raymond’s in the 1970’s.

The school has been at the forefront of education in Belfast since 1870 and continues to grow in strength providing first class education for girls from the Belfast and greater Belfast area. It remains under the trusteeship of the Dominican order. Mrs Anne O’Neill was the school’s first lay principal and she led the school between 2001 and 2007 when she took over from Sr Lucina Montague O.P.

We are proud of our long tradition of excellence and of our many famous past pupils who continue to play leading roles in society.

The school is currently undergoing a major rebuild and refurbishment programme. We believe that this will leave St. Dominic’s well placed to prepare our students for life in the 21st Century. The first phase of the new building was completed in March 2008 and included state-of-the-art specialist rooms for Science, Home Economics and Humanities. The second phase opened in January and provides specialist accommodation for Languages, Religious Education, English and Drarma as well as a new Library. The Sixth Form Centre, Study Hall, Sports Hall, Music Suite and dining facilities will be complete by Autumn 2009.