St. Anne’s N.S. was built in 1887 -1888. In 1887, seven Sisters of Mercy came from Sligo at the invitation of Bishop Gillooly and Monsignor Patrick Hanly.
In 1886, Fr. Neary who was parish priest of Castlerea at that time, applied to the National Commission of Education for a grant to build a new school. The cost of the school was estimated at €1125 and a grant of €750 was given. The land for the school was purchased from the Sandford Family for the sum of 200 gold sovereigns. The land also provided sites for the church, the convent and with extra space for later development.
The school building was complete in 1888 and the Sisters of Mercy began teaching on the 19th march of that year. The teachers and pupils from the old school, located near Clonalis House, moved over to the new school. Within a few months 120-180 infants had enrolled in the school, some of them as young as 3 years of age. The subjects taught in the school were Reading, Writing, Maths, Spelling, Grammar, Geography, Book keeping, Needlework, Music, French, Drawing, P.E., Science, piano and instrumental music.
The occupations of the parents were:- Traders, Shepherds, Bakers, Publicans, Shopkeepers, Tailors, Merchants, Policemen, Farmers, Peddlers, Cattle/sheep dealers, Herds, Blacksmiths, Stonemasons and Builders.
2009 saw the retirement of the last Sister of Mercy teaching in St. Anne’s N.S., Sr. Catherina, retired in this year. It was the end of an era. In the summer of 2010 the Sisters of Mercy handed over the trusteeship of the school to the Diocese of Elphin.
St. Anne’s now has an enrolment of approx 115 pupils which fluctuates annually. Boys attend St. Anne’s N.S. until they have completed 1st Class and then continue on to St. Paul’s Boys N.S. In September 2022, St Anne’s established two Autism Spectrum (A.S) Classes- Autism Early Intervention class and School Age Autism class. In 2022, St. Anne’s had also been given the upgraded status of a DEIS School in Urban Band 1 from Band 2. As a result of these latest developments, the Principal will take up an administrative role within the school from September 2022. The school will continue to receive extra support in the areas of literacy, numeracy, school completion and home school community liaison, free school meals (hot lunches), and some funding to provide extra support to underprivileged children and their families. St. Anne’s will now employ 6 mainstream teachers, 2 Special Education Teachers (SET), 1 EAL Teacher, 2 ASD Teachers, 6 full time and 1 half SNA posts. St. Anne’s N.S. has also established an After School Club as of September 2022.