The name of the school is linked to the name of our local church, St. Patrick’s Church, Rochestown. The church was built in 1991. The church was named after St. Patrick’s Missionary Society, which was based in Windsor on the Rochestown Road which is now the Rochestown Park Hotel. The headquarters of the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society is in Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow, hence the many place names referring to Kiltegan in the Rochestown area.

The local community in Rochestown had been looking for a school for over 20 years before Scoil Phádraig Naofa was built. In the years 2000-2008, almost 2000 new homes were built in the vicinity of the school and the children in these homes would need access to a school in Rochestown. Therefore, a school was urgently needed. Also, many parents made it known that they wanted their children to come to a local school and would always support a local school.

However, it was only in 2006/2007 that a dedicated local start-up group pursued the establishment of a school and everything began to move in 2007 with a view to opening a school in September 2008. The school opened in temporary accommodation in Douglas Hall with two teachers and 34 Junior Infants.

The Foxwood location was reserved for a school for many years but it was only purchased for the construction of our school in August 2008. While there was a short delay in the building, everything moved smoothly and Phase One of the school commenced construction on 5th January 2009. Phase one of the school was designed and built by BAM construction. It was completed on 24th June 2009. Our then Junior Infants moved into the new building for two days before their summer holidays in June 2009. They moved into rooms 1 & 2 near the main entrance.

The original plan for the school was to accommodate eight classrooms and to see how quickly the number of pupils would grow. The school was already too small in 2011 which meant a return to Douglas Hall in 2012 while the design of Phase Two was completed and construction completed. Phase two of the school was built between 5th February 2013 and 30th August 2013. The main contractor was Western Building Systems who designed and built the school.

Both building contractors were expert in their work and completed their work on time for both phases. They sorted out all the difficulties and ensured that we all have a modern, bright, economical and fit for purpose school building at the heart of our community.

The school was built as part of a ‘rapid build’ in order to accommodate the many children in the Rochestown area. We also needed a school hall which was included in Phase Two of the school.

Our school blossomed because of the loyalty of so many families in our area. The excellent school we are now in is because of all the hard work of so many people. We look forward to the coming years educating the young minds of Rochestown and helping them to reach their full potential.