Gaelscoil fury over size of proposed site

February 2008

A PROPOSAL to relocate Gaelscoil Chill Mhantáin to the existing St. Ernan’s NS building in Rathnew has been met with disbelief by the school committee, who have deemed the idea ‘mad.’

Under the Wicklow Environs and Rathnew Draft Local Area Plan, it is now proposed to move the Gaelscoil to the one-acre St Ernan’s site. This comes despite the fact that a larger 1.7 acre site at Crinnion Park, bought for the school by the Department of Education nearly ten years ago, was considered too small by the same Department in 2004.

‘We are furious,’ said Cian Molloy, the Gaelscoil chairperson. ‘Who came up with this mad proposal? Anyone who spent even a moment looking at our needs would know the St Ernan’s site can’t accommodate us,’ he raged.

‘Additionally, anyone who examined our current enrolment would see that we now have more pupils than St Ernan’s. It’s long been argued that the existing St Ernan’s site is too small for that school, so who had this foolish notion that it’s big enough for Irish language speakers?’ Mr Molloy added.

At the moment the school has an enrolment of 178 pupils, which is expected to increase this year to 200. St Ernan’s currently has 171 students and will soon amalgamate with the girls school in Rathnew at a site at Meerymeeting.

Mr. Molloy also feels the existing building stock at St Ernan’s isn’t suitable in terms of size and require renovation or replacing. The close proximity to the main Wicklow to Dublin road is also regarded as unsafe.