Scoil Mhuire gets two prefab classrooms – but overcrowding fight is far from over

Scoil Mhuire in Carrick-on-Shannon is set to receive two prefabricated classrooms to address immediate overcrowding — but school leaders say the move falls far short of what’s really needed.

With nearly 500 pupils now enrolled — almost double the number from a decade ago — the school has long been operating across two separate campuses, both of which are in poor condition. Many classrooms no longer meet basic size or safety standards, according to Louise Murray, who sits on the school’s Board of Management and the New School Committee.

“This makes absolutely no difference to our fight,” she told the Leitrim Observer. “These are prefabs we were always going to get due to capacity issues. It’s not a new announcement, it’s just something being spun to look like progress.”

The Department of Education is obliged to provide temporary classrooms where needed, but Murray was clear: “A few prefabs are not a long-term solution for the children of Carrick-on-Shannon.”

She added that finding space for the new prefabs will likely mean losing existing play areas.

Calls for a new, purpose-built primary school have been growing since the 2013 amalgamation of the town’s boys’ and girls’ schools. Despite that merger, pupils remain split across two locations — something Murray said contributes to daily challenges for staff and students.

Over the past few years, the school community has been actively campaigning for a new building, gaining support from all local TDs, including Frank Feighan, Marian Harkin, and Martin Kenny. The group is hoping that Minister for Education Helen McEntee will visit the school soon to see the situation firsthand.

The good news: zoning for a new school campus is included in Carrick-on-Shannon’s upcoming Local Area Plan. A greenfield site has been earmarked at Summerhill, which both the school and Department have already assessed as viable.

“We’ve had all our ducks in a row for years now,” Murray said. “We’re not starting from scratch. What we need now is a firm commitment.”

For Murray and others on the ground, the message is clear: Carrick-on-Shannon’s growing school community needs more than stopgap solutions.

“These classrooms are a drop in the ocean,” she said. “The real fight is still ahead.”

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