Delight at county Tipperary gaelscoil at approval for work to begin on new school

Education Minister Norma Foley gave the green light last week for construction to start on a new eight classroom Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire on the site of the town’s former St Joseph’s Technical College.

A delighted Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire principal Linda Nic an Bháird said they were “absolutely thrilled” to hear this long awaited news.

“It’s so exciting to share the news with the pupils, parents and the whole school community,” she told The Nationalist.

“The waiting is finally over. There has been a lot of activity on the site over the past few weeks with investigation works being carried out on behalf of the contractors, who are anxious to begin.”

The 117-pupil Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire has been located in temporary, rented accommodation since its foundation 25 years ago. Carrick-on-Suir United AFC’s grounds at Coolnamuck Road, Carrick has been the school’s home for the past 22 years.

Ms Nic an Bháird paid tribute to Carrick United for its support over the past two decades.

“We have a wonderful relationship with Carrick United and we thank them most sincerely for their hospitality and for the relationship we have had with them. The club has been so accommodating.”

The school’s first home was a former school building on Greystone Street opposite Super Valu that Carrick Carpets was subsequently based in for many years. It’s only a short distance across the street from where the new Gaelscoil will be built.

The project will involve the demolition of the former St Joseph’s College building on Carrick’s Clonmel Road and its replacment with the new state-of-the-art Gaelscoil, designed by Atkins Architects.

The new school will comprise eight teaching classrooms, a library, general purpose hall, support teaching rooms, outdoor play and nature areas.

Tipperary County Council granted planning permission for the new gaelscoil in December 2021 but the subsequent progress of the project was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and rising building costs.

The new gaelscoil is part of the Project Nore bundle of seven school building projects worth €250m that Minister Foley gave the go ahead to commence construction last Thursday. The other schools are in Kilkenny, Kildare and Westmeath.

The seven schools are being built by the National Development Finance Agency for the Department of Education.

The contract for the construction of the schools has been awarded to a joint venture partnership between JJ Rhatigan and Co. and ABM Design and Build Ltd.

Minister Foley said the new school buildings will include heat pump technologies for heating and solar panels as part of future proofing the schools from a climate perspective.

Ms Nic an Bháird hopes this will be the last full academic year the school’s staff and pupils will spend working in temporary accommodation, which she points out has “been extremely challenging”.

She expects the new school will be ready for them to move into during the 2024/2025 academic year.

The commencement of work on the new school is not the only good news Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire has received.

Ms Nic an Bháird revealed the school received approval to open a second class for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) next September.

The school opened its first ASD class for children from the town in September after much campaigning by the school and local parents.

She paid tribute to the school’s Board of Management members for their hard work, perseverance and commitment in getting a permanent home for the school and these ASD classes.

She particularly paid tribute to Bríd de Paor, who has served as the Board’s chairperson for the past 25 years and whose daughter Eileen was one of the gaelscoil’s first six pupils.

Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill issued a statement welcoming Minister Foley’s decision to give the go ahead for construction of the new Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire to proceed. He said the new school will benefit generations of students in Carrick-on-Suir.

“We faced a number of hurdles along the way in getting this project over the line, and I would like to acknowledge the hard work of school management and the dedicated Board of Management for the work they have put in over many years in finally getting this fantastic addition to local education to this stage,” he added.