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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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The old schoolhouse on Gola as depicted in Enda O'Flaherty's book 'Deserted Schoolhouses of Ireland'
There are plans to refurbish the old schoolhouse on Gola Island - almost 60 years after its closure.
The school on Gola closed in 1966 after the population on the island, off the west Donegal coast, diminished.
Now, though, Sonia Gillespie is planning to restore the building.
A planning application has been submitted to Donegal County Council in the name of Ms Gillespie.
The application is seeking the green light for restoration work to restore the school, re-roof the building to provide one residential unit. The application, submitted to the local authority last week, provides for all site works.
Gola National School was a two-room schoolhouse originally built in 1846 that had a population of 169 back in 1911. As of the last census, there were 15 registered residents on Gola.
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