St Finian's Primary School (1901 - 1989) ( Irish: ''Bunscoil Naomh Fionán'') was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

primary school located in the Falls Road area of West

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

near Dunville Park. It was named after Saint

Finnian of Clonard Finnian of Clonard ('Cluain Eraird') – also Finian, Fionán or Fionnán in Irish; or Finianus and Finanus in its Latinised form (470–549) – was one of the early Irish monastic saints, who founded Clonard Abbey in modern-day County Meath ...

and was run by the

De La Salle Christian Brothers The De La Salle Brothers, officially named the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (; ; ) abbreviated FSC, is a Catholic lay religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in France by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle ( ...

. The school was formally known as ''St Finian's Monastery Public Elementary School'', which was the name over the school gate. Until the fifties, pupils would often leave school at 14 years, or even earlier. In the sixties, with the raising of the

school-leaving age The school leaving age is the minimum age a person is legally allowed to cease attendance at an institute of compulsory secondary education. Most countries have their school leaving age set the same as their minimum full-time employment age, thus ...

pupils would usually leave at 11/12 years and proceed to a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

or a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

elsewhere in the city. Due to falling student numbers the school closed in the 1980s. Since 2004 the building has been occupied by the Irish-language primary school ''Gaelscoil an Lonnáin''. There is also a ''Naíscoil an Lonnáin'' located in the facility for pre-school children. In 2016, the Board of Governors proposed that it relocate to the former site of ''St Comgall's School'' in ''Divis Street'' but this was not approved. Nearby, located behind

Clonard Monastery Clonard Monastery is a Catholic church located off the Falls Road (Belfast), Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and home to a community of the Redemptorists Religious order (Catholic), religious order. History In late 19th century Belfast, ...

, was ''St Gall's Primary School'' which was also run by the De La Salle Brothers. The school is now closed but is remembered in the name of the local sports club

St Gall's GAC St Gall's Gaelic Athletic Club is a sports club based in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It competes in the Antrim leagues and championships of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in Gaelic football and ladies' Gaelic football. Football ...

and in the name of the street St Gall's Avenue.

Notable alumni

Former pupils of St. Finian's include: *

James Joseph Magennis James Joseph Magennis, VC (27 October 1919 – 12 February 1986) was a Belfast-born sailor and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

(1919 - 1986), who served on midget submarines in WW2, disabled the battle ship

Tirpitz Tirpitz may refer to: People * Alfred von Tirpitz (1849–1930), German admiral ** Tirpitz Plan, a plan for Germany to achieve world power status through naval power Ships * German battleship ''Tirpitz'', a World War II-era Bismarck-class ...

and subsequently won the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* John Loughlin (born 1948), Fellow of St Edmund's College,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and formerly Professor of European Politics at

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...

(born 1948),

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

politician (president of the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

political party, and a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

for

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia ** Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

from

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

to 2020) *

Martin Dillon Martin Dillon (born 2 June 1949) is an Irish author, journalist, and broadcaster. He has won international acclaim for his investigative reporting and non-fiction works on the Troubles, including his bestselling trilogy, ''The Shankill Butcher ...

(b. 1949) - author *

Gerry Kelly Gerard Kelly (; born 5 April 1953) is an Irish republican politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer who played a leading role in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998. He is cur ...

, (born 1953) Irish republican politician and former

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

, member of

's Ard Chomhairle (National Executive) and MLA for North Belfast Former pupils of St. Gall's include: *

Ciaran Carson Ciaran Gerard Carson ( Irish: ''Ciarán Gearóid Mac Carráin''; 9 October 1948 – 6 October 2019) was a Northern Ireland-born poet and novelist. Early life and education Ciaran Carson was born on 9 October 1948 in Belfast Belfast ...

(1948-2019): poet and academic *

Michael McLaverty Michael McLaverty (5 July 1904 – 22 March 1992) was an Irish literature, Irish writer of novels and short stories.Primary schools in Belfast Catholic primary schools in Northern Ireland

Defunct schools in Northern Ireland Defunct Catholic schools in Northern Ireland {{NorthernIreland-school-stub