Taoiseach officially opens new building for Tyrrelstown gaelscoil

AN TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar cut the ribbon at Gaelscoil an Chuilinn, Tyrrelstown, last month on what was a very special day for the school.

The students and staff moved into their new building last May after years spent between prefabs and sharing overcrowded buildings.

But on October 6, local TD, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, made time to do the honours and officially open the building, which is the end result of years of dedication from parents, teachers, staff and pupils.

Gaelscoil an Chuilinn opened in temporary accommodation to just 12 students back in 2012 after years of hard work and campaigning by local parents for a second gaelscoil in the area.

The school is now teaching 170 pupils from Naí Bheaga to Rang a Ceathair and is going from strength to strength.

School secretary, Emma Uí Chonaill, says the school’s growth is testimony to the hard work by everybody involved at Gaelscoil an Chuilinn.

“There really is a very special atmosphere in gaelscoils,” she said. “The teachers are hugely dedicated to their jobs.

“I think a lot of people want this sort of thing in their area but they don’t know how to go about applying for it or asking for it.

“I think it’s not necessarily a case of more people wanting it now, but more that they saw someone started the process.

“There is an Aonad, which is like a unit for a secondary school that is going to open in 2018 – that’s how strong the demand is here.”

The Aonad, part of a local community college and also the result of parental petitioning, will hopefully in future grow into its own space, eventually providing a place for Gaelscoil an Chuilinn’s graduates to continue on to secondary education through Irish without leaving the area.