Former Primary School, St Dympna's RC Church, St Dympna's Road, Dromore, Co Tyrone, BT78 3JG

A detached multi-bay two-storey former primary school built around 1890 and located on the south side of St Dympna's Road in Dromore. This building is unusual for its two-storey design, departing from the conventional pattern of National schools of the period. It forms a group with the adjacent St Dympna's RC Church and bell tower, though these structures are not contemporary.

The school is rectangular in plan, aligned east-west, with natural slate roofs topped with blue and black ridge tiles. The eaves are corbelled and support replacement uPVC rainwater goods in u-profile. The walls are smooth rendered with stepped tooled quoins and a projecting plinth.

The principal elevation faces south and is seven windows wide. It contains two ground floor windows followed by a door, then three further windows and another door; both doors are replacement uPVC with transom lights over them. Seven windows occupy the first floor. The ground floor windows are square-headed replacements in uPVC and are protected by metal grilles. The first floor retains original 3/6 timber casements with projecting stone cills. The west gable is blank. The rear elevation contains four ground floor windows, with two at the right divided by a stairwell with wrought-iron railing, and three first floor windows (the central one diminished). A square-headed timber sheeted door is located at the right. The east gable is abutted by an enclosed masonry stairwell with stone steps and wrought-iron railing, which provides access to a square-headed timber sheeted door at first floor level. This door bears metal signage reading "ST MACARTAN'S / CO-OPERATIVE / HOME INDUSTRIES SOCIETY, / LTD."

The building is set adjacent to St Dympna's RC Church to the west and is enclosed to the north by high random rubble walling with gates at the east gable. Access to the site is via an adjacent car park reached from St Dympna's Road through wrought-iron gates supported by square smooth rendered piers with pyramidal coping.

The school first appears on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1905-6, captioned "Dromore School" within the grounds of St Dympna's RC Church. On the fourth edition of 1938, it is captioned "Dromore P.E. School". Historical records note the building in 1889 as a "National School House" valued at £16, with an estimated construction cost of £800. It is possible the school was constructed around the same time as St Dympna's Church, which was built in 1883. By 1933, the building's value had increased to £40 and it was described as "Aghadarragh Public Elementary School" with accommodation for 140 pupils and 119 on roll.