ST Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School is celebrating nearly 90 years of school history with the launch of the digital archive of their school magazine.
The Simmarian is the annual school magazine, documenting events and celebrations which take place across the school and is eagerly anticipated in the homes of parents and pupils every year.
At a special launch event at the school, 54 editions of The Simmarian went live on the school website, marking 87 years of history from 1936 to 2023. The event was attended by past pupils, parents and former staff.
BBC broadcaster Mark Sidebottom also chaired a panel discussion featuring Dermot Diamond (past pupil and Director of Sensor Science at Dublin City University), Jim McClean (last teacher in charge at former Barrack Street school site), Paul Clarke (past pupil and broadcaster) and Chris Donnelly (past pupil and current Principal of St John the Baptist PS).
Principal of St Mary’s, Brendan McComb said he expects the launch of the digital archive to generate interest within and beyond the school community.
“Our Simmarian magazine is a school tradition and is valued in that it enables us to capture all that goes on in our school throughout the year," he said.
"It includes samples of work, records of academic and extra-curricular successes, individual and class photographs, religious gatherings and journals from school trips but it also includes advertisements from our local business sponsors over the years and captures the changing nature of our local West Belfast community.
"We know already of people local and far afield, who are keen to access our archives.
"This has taken a huge investment of time from school staff, and we are genuinely excited by the end result. The assistance of the local community and past pupils has been invaluable in helping us source some elusive editions of the magazine.
"This is an opportunity for us to connect with our alumni and celebrate the great tradition of St Mary’s Grammar School in West Belfast.”
Senior teacher Raymond Herron explained more about how the project came about.
"The journey began about five years ago when I was tasked with building a new school website," he added. "As part of that, I thought it would be great to have all our Simmarian magazines available digitally and this adventure was born.
"The hard copies were found in rooms, drawers and cupboards all over the school and started the lengthy process of turning every copy into digital format. We then appealed to the public for help to find editions we were missing. As word travelled, various editions started to appear at the school.
"The 1958 edition was tracked down on Ebay by a past pupil.
"This valuable resource will undoubtedly light the flames of conversation across the globe. I hope they will reignite memories of life in West Belfast for people too. The legacy of our past pupils will take on a new energy wherever they may be across the globe."
The full range of The Simmarian magazines is now available to download via the St Mary's CBGS website here.
