It serves as a local church and a priory housing a community of Dominican friars, and a novitiate for the order.

From 2020 until 2022, the Dominicans at St. Mary's hosted and supported an independent private secondary school, Mater Dei Academy.

[5] St Mary's, hosts talks and the order runs and members of the community lecture on a number of short courses in theology, philosophy, and Christology.

St. Mary's Cork serves as the Novitiate for the Dominicans' Province of Ireland, where a novice would spend a year, studying philosophy.

After completing a year Novices make their first simple profession,[6] before progressing to the Studium (St. Saviour’s Priory, Dublin) for further study in philosophy and theology and taking vows.