The Riverton Parish Priest, Fr Murphy, wanted to set up a Catholic primary school for all the local Catholic children.

He asked the Sisters of Mercy if they would help him. The Sisters were happy to help Fr Murphy, and they set up a new convent in Riverton so they could live and work in the community. In 1913 St Columba’s School in Riverton was opened.

The Sisters spent many wonderful years teaching the local children and working in the Riverton community. However, by 1973 there were only a very small number of children at the school, and so the school was closed.