Our History

 St. Mary's College of Trincomalee, planted merely as a seedling in 1864 by an Irish woman named Mary Ann Flannagan, has now spread its roots not only in Sri Lanka, but worldwide. Marians are now found in every corner of the world, a proud family which consists of Marians who had crafted stories that lives and breathes through those who succeed them, and also Marians who still continue to leave their marks on earth, in little and magnificent ways. 

But, it wasn't always this successful.

The start of such miraculous history was possible because of Mrs. Mary Ann Flannagan on the 4th of April, 1864, who started two schools under this name, for Tamil medium and English medium. The school was tucked under the plumage of the Holy Family Sisters from Jaffna Diocese in 1882, whose legacy continued until the Cluny sisters took the reins in 1899. Finally, in 1922, the sisters of Apostolic Carmel took up the school, where Sr. Lourdes became the principal. The school continued to grow, especially when the Tamil school was amalgamated with the English school, collectively becoming known to the world as St. Mary's College.

In 1964, the school celebrated its hundred years jubilee with the commencement of Sinhala stream, which helped greatly to develop the school. The values of a true Marian were truly expressed in 1965, when the coat of arms for the college was introduced for the first time. The school was built brick by brick, sealed by the blood, sweat and tears of every principal, every teacher and every student who ever stepped foot in the school grounds. The college, which had initially begun with one Head mistress, one teacher and 53 students has now spanned to over two thousand brilliant students and ninety hardworking teachers, lead by the Principal, Sr. Nirosha AC. 

St. Mary's College has been and will always be one of the most notable schools in the history of Sri Lanka, and it still has a long way to go. 

You can find a brief sketch of the history of our school here.