St. Mary’s Nursery was founded in 1922 by the Daughters of Charity in Henrietta Street, Dublin 1.  The nursery was established to respond to the significant problem of child poverty which was then very prevalent in the tenement housing conditions of the local area.

Following the redevelopment of the buildings of the Daughters of Charity Community Services in 2001, the nursery relocated its premises from no.8 Henrietta Street to a purpose-built facility at the rear of the no. 9 building.  It was also at this time that the nursery developed into a full preschool service through the incorporation and expansion of the crèche facility which was up to then part of the Community Training Centre service of the Daughters of Charity Community Services. With the redevelopment programme, the numbers of children catered for by the nursery increased from 28 to 52, thanks to increased staffing investment by our sponsoring government agencies.  In 2009, in answer to an identified need, the nursery launched a pilot Afterschool Programme catering for the 5 - 7 age group, while maintaining an overall capacity of 52 childcare places.

St. Mary’s Nursery receives referrals of young children primarily from the public health and social work teams of the Local Health Office Dublin North West of the Health Service Executive Northern Area.  Children for the crèche facility of the Nursery are referred through the Community Training Centre of The Daughters of Charity Community Services, so as to enable young mothers to participate in that service’s various training programmes. In September 2010 the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs introduced a new Childhood Education Training and Support scheme which now funds 4 full time and 8 part time places for parents who qualify under their FAS training scheme. These places are available for the duration of their training course. In general, the children come from families or care situations affected by social vulnerability and / or low income. 

The Nursery provides early education and child development activities for the following four distinct age groups of children:

Babies Group:  3 – 15 months.
Wobblers Group: 15 months – 2 years.
Toddler Group: 2 - 3 years.
Pre-School Group: 3 - 4 years.
After School Group: 5-7 years. 

The Nursery service aims to provide a progressive and supportive environment which encourages the early education and development of children in its care, so that they can develop their individual personality, gifts and communication skills to better equip them for family and social life, and for entry into primary school.  This involves a participative and collaborative approach with the parents / carers and families of the children.