The Chess club here at St. Mary's Academy CBS is organised by the Maths teacher Mr Coughlan. The club meet and play every every lunchtime in Room F12. The mission of our Chess Club is to help children develop the skills necessary for success in school and in life through learning chess. Chess teaches critical thinking, perseverance, and concentration among other skills.
Over the years our school has built a strong reputation in national secondary school chess competitions. The school's chess teams regularly compete in the Checkmate Secondary School Chess Finals, and recently captured third place in the All-Ireland Checkmate Secondary School Chess Finals in April 2026.
The members of this very successful team are Kevin Iwanik, Fahim Ahmed, Richard Jimoh and Rafael Renji.
Team member Rafael Renji scored an impressive 5.5/6, earning the second-best individual player prize overall in the country.
The school also maintains a fierce presence in local and regional circuits, taking part in annual invitationals against neighbouring schools.