St David's Holy Faith Secondary School, Greystones

Saint David's Holy Faith Secondary School
Address
Kimberley Road Greystones , County Wicklow Ireland
Coordinates	53.1467°N 6.0611°W / 53.1467; -6.0611
Information
School type	Voluntary secondary (Roman Catholic)[1]
Patron saint(s)	Le Chéile Schools Trust[3]
Founded	1906[2]
Principal	Simon Carey (as of 2024)[1]
Years	First through sixth
Gender	Co-educational
Enrollment	753 (2024[1])
Website	www.stdavids.ie

Saint David's Holy Faith Secondary School is a co-educational secondary school in Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland. Originally established in 1906 as an all-girls boarding school by the Holy Faith Sisters,[2] it was the only secondary school in Greystones until 2014.[4] By 2015, Saint David's school was operating under the patronage of the Le Chéile Schools Trust.[5] As of December 2024, the school had an enrollment of approximately 750 pupils.[1]

In 2024, a new school building was opened.[6] This development project, which included a new sports hall and library,[7] involved a "retrofit of the [original] 1950s and 1970s school building".[8] The new building received a "Public Buildings and Infrastructure Award" from the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI).[9]

Extra-curricular activities

In 2009, a team representing the school became the first Irish team to win the F1 in Schools world championship competition.[10][11] A team from the school also won a "best engineered car" award at the 2013 world championship event.[12]

Notable past pupils

• Paul McShane, footballer[13]
• Maria Doyle Kennedy, singer, songwriter, and television/film actress^[citation needed]
• Simon Harris, 16th Taoiseach[14]
• Stephen Donnelly, Minister for Health 2020–2025[15]

References

1. "Directory Page - St David's Holy Faith Secondary". gov.ie. Department of Education. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
2. "Home - St David's". stdavids.ie. Retrieved 25 January 2025. St. David's Holy Faith Secondary School, Greystones, was founded in 1906 by the Holy Faith Sisters
3. "School forced to drop €250 'admin fee' as part of enrolment application". Irish Independent. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
4. "Is Greystones at capacity? 'There is a genuine concern that the town can't cope'". Irish Times. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2025. Until 2014, St David's was the only secondary school in Greystones. Nine years on, even with two extra schools, talk has already emerged of the potential need for more schools
5. "Whole-School Evaluation Report - St David's Holy Faith Secondary School" (PDF). gov.ie. Department of Education. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
6. "New School Building Opens At St David's Holy Faith In Greystones" (Press release). 11 October 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2025 – via eastcoast.fm.
7. "Projects - St. David's Holy Faith Secondary School". mcculloughmulvin.com. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
8. "St. David's Holy Faith Secondary School, Greystones". riai.ie. Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
9. "Official Opening of St. David's Holy Faith Secondary School, Greystones". mcculloughmulvin.com. October 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
10. "Wicklow students to head to Texas for F1 in Schools world championships". siliconrepublic.com. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2025. Bardahl Racing will hope to emulate the success of the only Irish team to ever win the F1 in Schools world finals – Koni Kats [St David's Secondary] – which took home the top accolade in 2009
11. "Irish World Champions Crowned". f1inschools.com. 18 September 2009. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. The Koni Kats team from St. David's Secondary School in Greystones, County Wicklow took the top honours at the fifth Formula One in Schools Technology Challenge World Championships held this week in London
12. "Irish team races to victory at world finals of F1 in Schools". engineersireland.ie. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2025. Bardahl Racing from St David's Holy Faith Secondary School in Greystones, Co Wicklow, has won the Best Engineered Car Award at the recent F1 in Schools World Finals held in Austin, Texas
13. "President in town for Holy Faith 100th anniversary celebrations". Bray People. 19 October 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
14. "Minister Simon Harris brings good news to his old school in Greystones". Bray People. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
15. "Stephen Donnelly: will the taekwondo black belt be good for our health?". Irish Independent. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2025.