Irish medium schools’ patron campaigns for multi-denominational schools in Cork and Dublin
December 5, 2016
The largest patron of Irish medium schools in the country, An Foras Pátrúnachta, has today (05.12.16) announced its intention to submit an application for patronage of four new schools in Cork and Dublin.
The campaign is well underway to establish multi-denominational Irish speaking primary schools in the following areas: Ballincollig, Co. Cork (opening September 2017); Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin (opening September 2017); Navan Road West, Dublin (opening September 2017) and in Dublin 2, 4 & 6 (opening September 2018).
Following Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD’s announcement last week, patrons will be invited to submit their application for new primary schools in Dublin and Cork by Friday 6th January 2017. An Foras Pátrúnachta will be applying to the Department of Education and Skills for the four schools to be designated as multi-denominational Irish-medium schools.
Commenting today, Caoimhín Ó hEaghra, General Secretary of An Foras Pátrúnachta said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to provide excellent education and diversity of choice to communities in Cork and Dublin. We are the largest patron of Irish-medium schools at both primary and secondary level in Ireland, and our schools are open to all children, offering a range of spiritual ethos.
“Our aim is to provide an excellent education through the Irish language to every child in Ireland who wants it. We already know that there is huge demand for Irish-medium education in these areas, with hundreds of children turned away every year from Gaeilscoileanna in certain catchments due to capacity issues. We are calling on all parents to register their interest today to ensure your choice and your voice is heard.”
The patron opened its 69th school earlier this year in South Dublin, and is now educating 15,000 students per annum. Schools under the patronage of An Foras Pátrúnachta are located in 22 counties around Ireland.
Caoimhín Ó hEaghra continued: “We meet families around the country on a day-to-day basis who are telling us that they want to provide their children with the extra benefits that Gaelscoileanna provide.
“Our schools follow the immersion education model, which helps pupils to become fluent in the language naturally by giving them daily experience of an Irish-speaking environment.
“The benefits of an education through the medium of Irish and bilingual schooling are well documented – students perform better academically, find it easier to learn a third and fourth language and also recent research indicates that students learning through Irish are achieving higher scores in English and Maths. Simply put – immersion education is excellent education.”
Interested parents are asked to register their interest at http://www.gaelscoileanna.ie/scoileanna-nua/. The closing date for submitting applications, including evidence of parental preference, is Friday 6th January 2017.
