New era heralded for St John’s and St Paul’s national schools
ST JOHN’S AND ST PAUL’S HAVE COME OF AGE WITH THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF BOTH NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS. HUBERT MURPHY WENT ALONG TO HAVE A LOOK
IT’S NOT too often you attend the official opening a new school complex and find that the person most amazed by the people that sparked the dream and kept with it - through thick and thin - is the architect! But that was the scenario as St John’s Junior School and St Patrick’s SNS opened their doors to the community to celebrate a remarkable achievement.
The architect, from Coady’s, was Ann Fletcher, and as she revealed to the many guests last Friday, she is a Drogheda native so knew all about the town.
She said she has spent her life designing schools with the Department of Education but revealed ‘ this place is special’.
She feels what has been achieved at the Rathmullen complex is ‘ astounding’ and that ‘ there isn’t a group of people anywhere like this.’
As she looked around, she saw the likes of leaders, such as the school principals, Dympna MacKenna and Mary Stephenson, Fr David Bradley and Seamus Lynch.
But as Dympna revealed, the team effort runs deep in this community, from parents to the staff, who show ‘passion and commitment on a daily basis.’
As he looked around the remarkable new premises, former principal Seamus Lynch could hardly believe the transformation.
He started in two prefabs - in the summer they used to sweat and in the winter, they’d freeze.
‘Kids today are 18 degrees, morning, noon and night,’ he exclaimed, heralding the arrival of the air conditioning era.
The dream began in 1974 in Ballsgrove and Fr Peter Farrelly and the parents did great work, with Mary Fairclough, ‘ a remarkable woman.’
In 1979, they moved to the first school at Rathmullen - equipment brought in a tractor - and three years later, St Paul’s SNS opened.
The famed Breakfast club opened in 1997 and these days 850 meals a day are provided by the service.
As the days moved on, the need for a new school building loomed and it was 2003 when the first letters were sent to the department.
By 2009, a design was being plotted and recent years has seen the dream established.
Fr David Bradley has been another anchor in the success story.
Seamus stated that providing the foundation for young students, in terms of their working environment is crucial.
‘ The children are the future and they can hold their heads high in Ireland and Europe,’ he remarked.
Mayor Frank Godfrey said the opening of the schools was a ‘great day for education’ in Drogheda.
He said he was even there in 1974 when the campaign began for the new school.
‘ This is a tribute to the teachers and their trojan work,’ he added.
He spoke of his admiration for Fr David Bradley and the ‘great ambassador’ for the school, Seamus Lynch.
‘ This is a new beginning and this is one of the greatest achievements in this city of Drogheda,’ the mayor remarked.
Bishop Smith blessed the new building and as part of the occasion, a number of the students performed, from singers to dancers and musicians.
Even the teachers showed off their dancing skills!
The relationship with the Music Generation was obvious as students from 1st class performed under the watchful eye of Deirdre O’Hare.
With Ben Corcoran on hand to record the day’s proceedings, there was also a chance to hear a former pupil perform.
Drogheda’s world class singer, Amie Dyer, was, as usual, awesome.
Dympna MacKenna said she could remember the first time she heard Amie sing, as a four year old in a raincoat in the PE hall at St John’s school.
Today, she is an accomplished performer and everybody is justly proud of her.