New gate for disused CBS on Main Street

THE disused former Christian Brothers School at Main Street has been given a new gate and two panels depicting prominent dates in the course of the town’s and the school history.

The new panels now adorn the side railings of the entrance to the building, which is itself now derelict. The improvements to the perimeter were undertaken by Charleville Tidy Towns Committee.

First opened in 1866 by the Irish Christian Brothers who were invited to Charleville by Fr. Thomas Croke, P.P., who was parish priest in the town for 47 years and was also responsible for inviting Catherine McAuley to bring the nuns of her them fledgling Mercy Order to open a school for the girls of the town and area some 30 years previously in 1836.

Down through the years many prominent students have passed through the hallowed portals of the school, like a young Eamon de Valera, Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne, Bishop Henry Murphy of Limerick, Senator Professor Patrick Quinlan, Professor Michael Mortell, past President of University College Cork, are numbered among its past alumni.

Following the building of a new C.B.S. at Baker’s Road in the early ’70s the former school was used as a community centre but it fell into disrepair and costs of repairs and insurance issues led to its abandonment some years ago.

The building, which is on a prime site in the middle of the Charleville, is now up for sale and has been for some years. However, the present climate is not very conducive even for saleable properties.