*Photograph: Tom Micks
ENNISTYMON National School is welcoming members of the community to visit their state-of-the-art facility which opened to pupils in September.
Based on a shared campus with Ennistymon Community School, the primary school will open its doors on Wednesday, November 26 from 5-7pm.
Principal of Ennistymon National School, Noreen Murphy told The Clare Echo, “It’s for the whole community. The school is at the heart of that so we want to invite the community in. We’re going to have tours, teas & coffees, meet the staff, and visitors can see what we have to offer. We’re looking forward to that.”
When children returned to school in September, parents were invited in to see first hand the new state-of-the-art, two-storey facility which is a huge step to delivering top class primary education in Ennistymon and its surrounding areas. Noreen notes, “They were struck by the warmth, the light, the space, the comfort their kids will have now.”
An Edmund Rice School under the catholic ethos, the school is served by a teaching staff of seven along with five SNAs. The new development heralds a landmark moment in the history of the school which was established as a Convent of Mercy primary school in 1915, before amalgamating with the local CBS primary school in 2007.
The fully air-conditioned building is a beacon of modern architecture, with light and space flooding every room in the picturesque location overlooking the Falls Hotel and the River Inagh.
The new school boasts five spacious classrooms, a beautiful library, a modern PE hall, fully equipped staff room, a special autism class and two sensory rooms and a sensory garden which are awaiting sanctioning.
Noreen stresses that the new development means children who attend Ennistymon NS have it “all on our doorstep now”. Prior to the facility’s completion, staff and pupils spent almost four years in a prefabricated facility from 2021 after planning was initially granted in 2018. “We couldn’t all be together anywhere. Now we can do activities together in the hall rather than going to the community centre; previously we’d have to walk down in any weather conditions, it’s all here on our doorstep now. Even in the morning parents can drop the kids to the door, before they had to drop them to the church carpark and they had to walk up that hill every morning no matter the weather. It’s all so much easier now.”
Currently, there are three classrooms in use to facilitate their 60 pupils, with long-term plans to expand numbers in the school to meet the pupil threshold for five classrooms.
IMPACT ON MORALE
“If you ask the kids their favourite place, it’s the library. It’s bright, it’s carpeted so it’s cosy, it’s a really nice calming atmosphere,” explains Noreen, noting that both pupil and staff morale are at an all-time high following the move. “The children and the staff are great here, now we have the building to match that. Coming in in the dark mornings to this warmth and light. It’s a calm space.”
Noreen, herself an Ennistymon native who attended the school as a child, reflected on the changes since her childhood. “The education is still excellent, I loved my time when I was in primary school. It has become more multicultural, but it’s still the same at the heart of it. The kids’ learning is the most important thing, now we’re lucky with the facilities. With this modern building, what we can offer them is amazing.
“The other big positive has been the addition of SNAs. We didn’t have them when we were in school, the special needs assistants. We’re so lucky here, we’d be lost without them. There’s also a brilliant parents association in place now.”
Noreen also works as SET teacher in the school, admitting, “The best part of the day is when you have the kids. They keep you grounded.”
Acting Vice Principal Deirdre Walsh has been at the school for nine years, witnessing the many changes that have happened in that timeframe including an influx of Ukrainian students, many who have since departed the school. She tells The Clare Echo that due to a lack of space previously, classes had to stagger breaks but now they can all be together during breaktime, ”It’s fantastic to move to this fabulous facility. It’s such a diverse and inclusive school, welcoming everybody.
“It’s great that the kids see each other. There’s much more connectivity between the classes and the children, we can go into the library, do assembly together in the halla, the possibilities are endless.
“We have it all now, there is space, there are facilities everywhere you look.
The Tipperary native adds that it will have a positive impact on their children’s development. Speaking about life in Clare, she adds, “I love Ennistymon. As towns go, my God it is fantastic. People are so welcoming and inclusive and the school represents that too, it’s all part and parcel of the community.”
