Gusserane

GUSSERANE SCHOOL

With little current news to report it may be of interest to some to delve back into the archives to learn a little about the area that we live in. The school has been an integral part of Gusserane for over 120 years at this stage so let’s look at how it came to be.

The previous school had been built in the 1830s once Penal Laws were relaxed and it was located in Dunmain, on the road to Nash. As the end of the nineteenth century approached however, the general feeling was that it had served its purpose and needed to be replaced. It was located on land owned by the Annesley Estate but was located very much to the north of the curacy. With the church now located in Gusserane, the logical location for a new school would also be Gusserane.

In 1894 a field near the chapel was “presented freely” by the Hanlon family for the purpose of building a new school, along with nearby accommodation for the teachers. In effect, two schools were to be built–one for the girls and one for the boys. There seemed to have been quite an amount of government funding available at the time as Ballycullane was getting a new church built and the church in Gusserane was also undergoing renovations.

The school project also benefitted hugely from a local benefactor who bequeathed money towards the new building. The benefactor in question was the previous schoolmaster in Dunmain, Michael Whitty. Mr Whitty had passed away in April 1894 and had the foresight to recognise that the school that he and his family had served in for so many years needed to be upgraded to serve future generations.

A building contractor called Rochford from Bannow was appointed to the project. Any remaining shortfall in funding was to be provided by the parish over the coming years. Many of the current parishioners who remember their days in the school might dispute the following fact, but it was apparently a state of the art building at the time, complete with heating and toilet facilities!

Work started in late 1894 and was completed in 1898 as can be seen today from the plaque on the wall. By then, Fr O’Connor, had been appointed parish priest in Ballycullane and it fell to the Nash native to appoint the teaching staff. The teacher for the girls’ school was a simple appointment. Miss Mackessy just made the move from the old school to the new one. The headmaster’s position had to be advertised and the post went to a young teacher, Thomas Fitzgibbon, who made the seismic move from Aughrim Street in Dublin city to Gusserane.

The twin schools of Gusserane opened for business on 9th January 1899 and with various changes in teaching staff continued to serve to children of the area for seventy years until the new school was built across the road and opened in 1968.

Work immediately started on converting the “old school” to a community hall. By April 1970 it was ready to be opened and it has continued to serve the Gusserane area well in that respect ever since. For the record, the first hall committee consisted of Ml Barron (chairman), Martin Foley (secretary), Watty Byrne (treasurer), Tom Curtis, Martin Doyle, Willie Bradley, Mick Murray, Tim Foran, Ned Power, Mrs T Murray and Miss C O’Brien.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

The following items appeared in the local notes of April 1975.

ON COUNTY TEAMS - The Gussserane club were well represented on the Wexford football teams which scored wins over Carlow in Leinster senior and minor championships games at Kilkenny on Sunday last. Brendan Duffin, Liam Fardy, John Dunphy and John Fitzharris figured with the seniors while John Cullen, Kevin Kehoe and John Culleton were with the minors. All acquitted themselves with distinction.

DUMPING BAN - An order prohibiting dumping on the Bog Cush has been made by Wexford County Council and No Dumping signs have been erected. This decision has been hailed with satisfaction in the area as over the past year and a half an enormous amount of refuse of all sorts, including old motor cars and quite recently even the carcasses of dead animals have been dumped along a stretch of the Bog Cush road. The result is that this beautiful stretch of country has become very unsightly and a definite health hazard.