Scoil Colmcille, Letterkenny

Scoil Colmcille
Location
Convent Road, Letterkenny, County Donegal

Ireland
Information
TypePrimary school
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic[1]
Established1974
GenderBoys
Enrollment342[1]
LanguageEnglish
Colour(s)  
NewspaperThe Green Eco
Websitescoilcolmcillelk.ie

Scoil Colmcille is a Roman Catholic[1] boys' primary school in County Donegal, Ireland, located on Letterkenny's Convent Road, across from the Loreto Convent.

History

The school stands on the site of the town's first Gaelic football playing field.[2] It was built in 1974. At the time of the new Scoil Colmcille's opening over 600 boys attended the school. By 1985 school numbers grew to over 700 and 23 teachers were employed.

Boys are housed at the rear end of the school and play in the back yard while girls are taught at the front entrance and play in the adjoining yard.

The school choir, led by Mr Frank Breslin, sang to a prime time national audience on The Late Late Toy Show in 1995.[3]

An event, held at the school in January 2020, was attended by past pupils and locals.[4] Among those in attendance were Leas-Cheann Comhairle Pat "the Cope" Gallagher (not a past pupil), Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh and former school principal Tom Redden. Those based abroad, such as Deputy Mayor of Islington Troy Gallagher and chef Conrad Gallagher delivered contributions by video.[4] The event was brought to a close by fiddler Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh.[4]

Environmental affairs

Plaque located on the wall of the old Scoil Colm Cille

The school has won the Green Flag award on a number of occasions.[citation needed] A school newspaper, The Green Eco, is produced irregularly.[5]

Sport

Gaelic footballers Rory Kavanagh and Kevin Rafferty are past pupils of the school, and visited the school in 2012 following victory in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.[6]

Staff

  • Rory Kavanagh — the All-Ireland winning Gaelic footballer teaches at the school[6]
  • Anne McGowan — the community activist, noted for, among other things, chairing the Tidy Towns Committee that brought the award to Letterkenny for the first time in 2015, taught at the school from 1974 to 2012.[7][8]

Notable past pupils

References

  1. ^ a b c "SCOIL CHOILMCILLE [sic]". Department of Education (Ireland).
  2. ^ "History of the GAA in Letterkenny and St. Eunan's GAA Club". St Eunan's GAA. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015.
  3. ^ "St. Colmcille Letterkenny on the Late Late Toy Show 1995". YouTube.
  4. ^ a b c Walsh, Paddy (23 January 2020). "The Past, the Present, the Future: Special day in Letterkenny school - What they did next". p. 29.
  5. ^ The Green Eco Archived 12 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b c d "Picture special: Rory Kavanagh returns to Scoil Cholmcille with Sam". Donegal Daily. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012. Both Kevin and Rory are also past pupils of the school.
  7. ^ McKinney, Seamus (29 September 2015). "Letterkenny cleans up in Tidy Towns awards". The Irish News. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Anne McGowan".
  9. ^ The emergence, development and influence of French Haute Cuisine on public dining in Dublin restaurants 1900-2000: an oral history. Part 2 (downloadable), p. 343.
  10. ^ McDonagh, Marese (16 October 2002). "Top chef Conrad Gallagher finds success is like a souffle - fast to rise but quick to sink". Irish Independent.
  11. ^ Neill, Laura (4 September 2012). "Seeking Spiritual Fulfillment At The Purple Fig". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 September 2012. ...whilst attending Scoil Colmcille and St. Eunan's for education...