Temporary home found for new Gaelcholáiste
Meán Fómhair 24, 2014
A temporary home has been found for a new Gaelcholáiste before its pupils move into a three-school €19m campus in a Cork suburb.
The Cork Education and Training Board has announced that it has found a temporary premises for the new Gaelcholáiste in Carrigaline.
Cork ETB chief executive Ted Owens said that Waterpark House would act as the interim Gaelcholáiste building and will open to pupils next September.
He said enrolment was now taking place for 500 students and the Department of Education and Skills wants the new campus built by September 2016.
“The Department of Education and Skills has given the go-ahead for a lease on Waterpark House,” said Mr Owens. “This is an absolutely perfect building and location for our temporary Gaelcholáiste. We have put extensive work into finding a suitable location and I believe that this is perfect for our needs.”
Mr Owens said Cork ETB would hold a public meeting in Carrigaline Court Hotel on Monday, September 29, at 7.30pm to inform the local community of its new plans for the Gaelcholáiste.
Mr Owens also confirmed that the Department of Education had made a grant available to carry out the small remedial works necessary to make Waterpark House fit for purpose for the entry of first-year students in September 2015.
Cork ETB announced last June that it would build three new schools in Carrigaline by 2017.
The schools — which will include a Gael- scoil, Gael-choláiste and a SONAS junior primary school for autistic children — will accommodate more than 1,000 pupils when completed with a total investment of €19m.
Cork ETB will be patron of the second level Gaelcholáiste, which will be 4,800 square metres in size and will accommodate up to 500 pupils.
The building will include 24 general classrooms, as well as specialist accommodation and a state-of-the-art PE Hall. The consultants for the project are Cork architectural company, Kelly Barry O’Brien Whelan.
Irish Examiner
