Traditions

• Dominican High School (established in 1882) was an all-girls school owned and operated by Dominican Sisters.
• Kirwin High School (founded in 1927) was an all-boys school owned by the Diocese of Galveston-Houston.
• Ursuline Academy (organized in 1847) was an all-girls elementary and high school, owned and operated by Ursuline Nuns.

In the Autumn of 1967, the religious orders operating the three schools agreed on consolidation as a means of continuing Catholic secondary education in Galveston, offering a broader curriculum than was possible in any of the three smaller high schools.The board named the newly consolidated school after the Right Rev. Monsignor Daniel P. O'Connell, P.A., pastor of St. Mary's Cathedral in Galveston from 1933 until his passing in 1966. 

Our Crest 

• The symbols of the seal stand for the name of the school: the Shield, as an adaptation of the coat of arms of the Dominican Order of Preachers, the Bible, representing the Sacred Tradition of handing on to God's Word, and the Chalise, representing the Church as the Body and Sacrament of Christ.  Thus, they represent the consolidation of Kirwin, Dominican, Ursuline, and O'Connell College Preparatory School.