Green light for Kanturk unified school plans
THE NEW SCHOOL AT MILL ROAD WILL HAVE 16 CLASSROOMS
AFTER just shy of a two decade wait, the green light was granted this week for a new primary school in Kanturk which will finally see the amalgamation of St Colman’s Boys NS and the Convent of Mercy Girls NS.
The new state of the art 16 classroom school is set to be built at Mill Road and it is hoped that the tendering process will kick off shortly.
Canon Jackie Corkery told The Corkman that “Christmas has come early to the town”.
“So many people have hoped over the long years that this would happen. We are thrilled and delighted that this is now going ahead. A lot of hard work went into this on-going project over the years.” He said: “This new school will mean so much to the parish, in particular the autistic unit. We’re just thrilled.”
THE years of waiting and frustration has finally come to an end as the green light has been granted for the much longed for new primary school in Kanturk.
The amalgamation of St Colman’s Boys School and the Convent of Mercy Girls National School was first suggested by the Department of Education way back in 2001. However, since then, while there has been huge effort put in locally, the much longed for school did not materialise.
The waiting came to an end this week, as Cork County Council granted planning for the construction of a new two-storey primary school at Mill Road which will have 16 classrooms along with a hall, library and support accommodation. In addition, there will be three special needs classrooms and 37 car parking spaces.
Cllr Bernard Moynihan (FF) told The Corkman that at long last, there was “good and positive news for the town of Kanturk.”
“This is truly fantastic news as the facility will be top class not just for the children but equally so the staff. There has been so many meetings and work done to get this over the line. It is great news,” said Cllr Moynihan (FF).
Deputy Aine Collins (FG) said the hope of a new school in the town has been “circulating in Kanturk for over 18 years.”
“There has been many ups and downs along the way. Last year, there was an issue with an access route which was owned by a private company,” she said which was resolved.
“Now that we have planning, it’s important to keep up the momentum” she said.
The Convent of Mercy Girls NS was built in 1936 and St Colman’s was built in 1956.
Canon Jackie Corkery told The Corkman that Christmas has come early to Kanturk as so many people had hoped and dreamed that a new school would materialise.
“We are just delighted and hopefully the tendering process will take place soon. The site at Mill Road has proven to be very suitable. A lot of hard work went into this on-going project over the years. Parents are particularly happy about this news, especially parents who have children who are currently two and three years old as they will have a new school to go to,” he said.
Canon Corkery said: “This new school will mean so much for the parish, particularly the autistic unit and in addition the location is very good particularly the entrance and exit routes. We are just thrilled with this good news.”
Derval Fitzpatrick, principal of the Convent of Mercy Girls NS told The Corkman that they are “thrilled” at the great news.
Ms Fitzpatrick is a former past pupil of the school and she said everyone is looking forward to beginning a new chapter.
“We are all especially happy that we will have an autistic unit. It’s great news for the town of Kanturk,” she said.