St. Augustine's Industrial School for Girls

The school was established on 20th August 1870 by the Sisters of Mercy who had opened a convent in Templemore in 1863.[4][5] The school accommodated up to 70 girls. In 1901, the school was discussed in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by John Cullinan, a Member of Parliament for South Tipperary. In 1919, the manager was noted as a Mrs. M. S. Heffernan.[6] The school closed in 1964 or 1965.[7][8][9]

The school had a choir which took part in the Loughmore Feis on 17th June 1935, singing songs in Irish.[10]

The school was mentioned in Mary Raftery's book Suffer the Little Children: The Inside Story of Ireland's Industrial Schools, referring to the physical abuse that girls endured in the school.[11] The school is included in the Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002.[12]

Situated on the corner of Mary Street and Templemore town square, the building was originally constructed around 1815. The front façade faces onto the square, with eight bays forming an L-shaped block and a porch entrance. A long two-storey and single-storey façade overlooks Mary Street. As of 2020 it is in use as a funeral home and auctioneer.[13][14] It is listed as 22308042 on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage register of protected structures and Tipperary County Council reference TMS11.[15][16]

• Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse