Offaly school rearing two calves for Midlands hospice fund-raising campaign

CLARA'S St Francis BNS received a letter from the Hooves 4 Hospice organisation early in May of this year seeking support towards the build of a hospice for the midlands. Letters often frequent the letter box of the school but something resonated with the school about the nature of this particular letter and before long the school was gripped in a farming frenzy. The usual supports of a no uniform day or every child bring in a euro just didn’t make the cut with last year’s sixth class students, the notion of rearing two calves on the school grounds quickly gathered momentum and became hard to extinguish. The unused acre of grass which was once synonymous with the Br Urban League made it difficult to ignore that this project had the hallmarks of something very unique and the potential to carry out an agriculture project that would be etched in the pupils memories for years to come.

The acre in question was probably last used for agriculture purposes in the 70s and was in need of a serious makeover. Staff member ‘Ciaran Maloney’ did considerable fencing to secure the existing boundaries but there was trojan work left to do to make the field safe to the adjoining staff car park. Grennan’s farm and agriculture shop were the driving force behind the completion of the field, they generously supplied the products needed to secure the field and are funding the meal for the rearing of the calves, the school cannot emphasise enough the how vital their input has been to this project.

Cathal Kinnarney, a dairy farmer from Durrow completed the fencing of the field and left it ready for the new arrivals, the schools neighbour ‘Rose Dolan’ allowed the school to tap in to her water as it was the closest source. Local farmer ‘Rory Robbins’ supplied an IBC tank before the school had any access to water in the field and Br Sean from the Franciscan Monastery and a well experienced farmer gave his knowledge on the condition of the grass and various plants that grew there.

Finally on a sunny day in June, the long wait was over and an air of excitement and giddiness came over the school. Lions club member ‘Pat Minnock’ arrived with two smashing Angus calves and the bovine duo took their place in the field that found a new purpose. Young boys gathered and lazily lay over the gates and fences that surrounded the new paddock and gazed with the curiosity and wonder that only children can. Since then, the sixth class students have fed and watered the new additions and have reaped the rewards of life long lessons in the school of responsibility. In a time of great technological advances, the boy’s of St Francis BNS found contentment and wonder in something so simple, natural and normal. On reflection, the power of a simple letter to the school has opened up the eyes and hearts of all things that are good in our communities and within ourselves and I have no doubt that the ripple effect of the Hooves 4 Hospice initiative have only just begun.