‘DO NOT BUILD NEW GAELSCOIL HERE’
ST COEN’S SITE IN RATHNEW ‘TOO CRAMPED’ FOR SECOND SCHOOL
PARENTS and pupils of St Coen’s National School in Rathnew are protesting against plans to move Gaelscoil Chill Mhantáin onto the site. Parents and the children lined up outside the school gates on Friday morning to voice their opposition to plans to construct the gaelscoil on the 2.7 acre site. They argue that St Coen’s pupils already don’t have a proper playground and that the site isn’t big enough to accommodate two schools.
PARENTS and pupils of St Coen’s National School in Rathnew held a protest on Friday against plans to move Gaelscoil Chill Mhantáin onto the site.
Protesters claim the 2.7 acres site isn’t big enough for both schools to share. Parents complain that pupils attending St Coen’s already have to make do without a proper playground and conditions will end up too cramped if the gaelscoil moves in.
The contract to construct the new gaelscoil has already gone out to tender with the Department intending to start construction in July or September of this year.
Parents and their offspring lined up outside the school gates on Friday morning to voice their opposition to plans to construct the gaelscoil on the site and received plenty of support from passing motorists who beeped their horns as signs of encouragement.
Larry Ellis doesn’t feel the site has enough capacity to cope with two schools.
‘When planning permission was first granted, the bottom portion of the site was meant to be a playground. Then that all changed when the Department bought the site in 2011. At the moment, our kids attending St Coen’s don’t even have a proper
playground to use. Instead, they have to play on tarmacadam with part of the car park cordoned off,’ he said.
‘We have 280 kids attending this school. The gaelscoil has 350 kids. St Coen’s is a 16-class school and was built for 460 pupils. The gaelscoil is being built for 460 as well. That will mean you could have 920 pupils with no play area. €7.5 million has already been spent on St Coen’s and another €6 million is meant to go toward the gaelscoil and yet there won’t be any play area. There are plenty of green field sites in the area so the Department’s plans makes no sense whatsoever,’ said Mr Ellis.
Protesters have contacted Wicklow’s TDs for their support and Deputy Pat Casey was present at Friday’s protest, as was Cllr John Snell.
Deputy Casey doesn’t believe either school will benefit from sharing the site at Merrymeeting.
‘To put a second school here would be an injustice to both schools. The site was initially purchased for a new Rathnew school, not for a dual school,’ said Deputy Casey.
‘The Department refused to fund the gaelscoil when they had a site near to Wicklow Hospital because they said it wasn’t big enough. Now they are willing to move the gaelscoil onto a much smaller site. There is a complete lack of a play area or open space so questions have to be asked over the Department’s motives. I have been asking questions about this for over a year in the Dail but the Department seem determined to go ahead.’
Some parents of pupils attending Gaelscoil Chill Mhantáin also don’t support the move and would prefer to remain at their current site at the former Abbey Community College grounds in Wicklow town.
‘Over 70 per cent of the students attending the gaelscoil come from Wicklow town so remaining where they are would be more suitable to parents,’ said Mr Ellis.
In three weeks time, parents intend to bring their protest to the Dail. They are also seeking a meeting with Deputy John McGuinness about a potential Public Accounts Committee investigation into the whole planning process involving the two schools.