Opposition mounts to sale of school lands

OPPOSITION is mounting to the sale of lands at Our Lady’s Grove Primary School and Jesus and Mary Secondary School in Goatstown.

The Sisters of Jesus and Mary are reportedly selling the 5.4 acres of land for €13 million. 

Furious parents say this is some of the last green space available to the schools.

A public meeting on Tuesday, May 30, in the upstairs function room of the Goat Grill was attended by approximately 120 people. Attendees held a “robust discussion” of concerns while they started to work out a plan of action for the coming months. 

A concerned parents’ group has been set up by those with children in the school and they have begun to mobilise other parents and local residents around the issue. 

“We are working out a plan of action and set up a blog and a petition and have also just started a Facebook group,” one parent wrote. “We strongly feel that either the Department of Education should purchase the land – it is a public school after all – or the nuns should not sell it, as they were given the land for educational purposes in the first instance, not for residential development.

“This is a very serious issue for our school as it means that there will be no green space attached to the schools and no room for expansion in the future,” the parents’ representative added. “The secondary school will be particularly at a disadvantage as it is the only public girls’ secondary school in the area and is surrounded by private girls’ schools with wonderful facilities.”

Another parent wrote: “The primary school already has so little recreational space that children are required for safety reasons to take turns running in the yard at break time.

“The Montessori school that has been located on the grounds for 20 years has been forced to relocate and the future of the afterschool care is also in question due to this sale.”

Campaigners are now encouraging parents and residents to contact Dún Laoghaire Rathdown county councillors in time for the next council meeting on June 12 and encourage them to vote to rezone the land.

The Sisters of Jesus and Mary were unavailable for comment at time of going to press.

The development follows the recent revelation that the Congregation of the Christian Brothers is selling 7.5 acres to the rear of Clonkeen College in Deansgrange.

The Catholic religious order said that as part of the development it was also proposing to transfer approximately 3.5 acres of land bordering the college to the Edmund Rice School’s Trust (ERST) “for the permanent use and benefit of Clonkeen College”.

The order said it would also donate €1.3 million cash (inclusive of a €300,000 contribution for school works) to Clonkeen College.

However, the decision is continuing to attract criticism locally and parents, students and teachers voiced their concern at a recent public meeting

Cllr Cormac Devlin, the cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council said it was “completely unacceptable” that the Christian Brothers would attempt to sell the land to pay their debts.”

“We should be very concerned that any local Christian Brothers’ school may be viewed as an asset to be disposed of to pay for their debts,” he said.