COVID-19 closures have been longest in history of Blackrock School

WITH local schools set to re-open in the coming weeks, it has emerged that the en-forced closures triggered by COVID-19 have been the longest in the history of Blackrock’s St Oliver Plunkett NS.

Schoolchildren have missed more actual class time now than at any time since the school opened in 1899, spanning two World Wars.

The excellent publication ‘ To School Through the Rock’, written and compiled by former teacher Pat Mulligan, reveals that the longest period the school was closed for medical or sickness reasons was three weeks until the coronavirus hit the country a year ago.

The first time that occurred was 1918 for what was termed an ‘epidemic’, most likely the Spanish Flu.

There were two closures lasting a fortnight, and another of a week over roughly the span of the Second World War (1939 -1945). The first closure for two weeks was in 1938, the year before the outbreak of the War. It was caused by a flu epidemic, and the second for the same duration in 1940 was again due to a flu.

An outbreak of measles resulted in the school closing for a week in 1943.

Then there was another three-week shutdown in 1947, again because of a flu epidemic, coupled with heavy snowfall and lack of coal. Central heating was still a long way off back then.

The pupils again had to stay at home for a fortnight in February 1951 and also 1961 in January/February because of flu.

Central heating had been installed by 1979, but a big freeze resulted in a boiler failure, and a 14 day stay at home for the children between January 8 and 22, extending their Christmas holidays.

The Blackrock Races, an intermittent feature in the village in the early part of the last century, used to provide the pupils with a day off. The races were staged on the strand opposite the Main Street.

During the Second World War, the pupils were given ‘Emergency Days’ in August, October and November in 1944.

However, school or life in general was not upset anything like today.

So the fervent wish for an end to today’s crisis is perfectly understandable.