Refurbished water fountain 'gifted' to pupils and teachers at school in Limerick village

A REBURBISHED water fountain has been gifted to one school in County Limerick to mark National Reuse Month.

The water fountain was purchased in an auction in County Meath for €280 with a view to installing it in Castleconnell as part of a Tidy Towns project.

The fountain subsequently turned out to be just a shell as there was no internal plumbing.

However due to the ingenuity and persistence the Tidy Towns team in Castleconnell, lead by former chairman Vincent Warfield, a new plumbing system was built including a very clever auto-off feature.

The end result saw a cast iron shell being converted into a functional water fountain for future generations.

The fountain has now been installed outside the classrooms at Castleconnell National School meaning students and pupils can avail of drinking water at any time.

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Commenting following the installation of the fountain, John Hardiman of Castleconnell Tidy Towns said: “We are delighted to provide this refurbished water fountain to our local national school along with reusable water bottles. As a Tidy Towns group, it is very important to us to link with our community and our local green school is a continuous source of biodiversity and sustainability thought leadership."

Mr Hardiman went on to thank principal Richie Ryan and vice principal Grainne Greene for their support and assistance with the project.

Limerick City and County Council is reminding members of the public that National Reuse Month is about shining a spotlight valuing our ‘stuff’, by repairing and reusing it for as long and as often as possible.

"This means rethinking the way we use things and avoids the need to extract raw materials, manufacture and distribute new stuff, and avoids waste, all of which cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions. The idea is to bring people beyond the idea of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ towards a focus on the prevention of waste in the first place," said a spokesperson.

Sinead McDonnell, Environment Awareness Officer with the local authority commented. “It’s wonderful to see the enthusiasm in Castleconnell. I would like to congratulate the Tidy Towns volunteers for bringing the water fountain back to use and providing it to the local national school. It is a win for the school, a super project under the sustainability category for Castleconnell’s 2023 Tidy Towns application and a win for the environment.”