1962 – Our Lady’s Bower Boarding School, Athlone, Co. Westmeath

Architect: Mary Joan Trimble

0080

0081

Our Lady’s Bower was established by the sisters of La Sainte Union des Sacre Coeurs in 1884 and operated until June 2014 as a boarding and day school. Boarders were accepted from the age of twelve and the convent had accommodation for 130 girls. The original Gothic revival-style, H-shaped convent and boarding school was extended in the early 1960s to provide improved dormitory and extra-curricular facilities for the boarding students. A large L-shaped block with a hipped roof, with two projecting flat roofed blocks with brick end walls and external concrete and steel circular staircases. The school, now a day school only, operates from a modern building nearby. After sitting empty awaiting a new use for years, it is now Bower Hall Student Campus an accommodation option for students studying in the Technological University of the Shannon.

Published July 26, 2024 | Last Updated January 24, 2026