We are not going to stop until we get a new school for Scoil Mhuire, Carrick-on-Shannon

"We are never going to stop shouting for this and the entire town is behind us and the need for a new school in Carrick-on-Shannon," Louise Murray, long-time campaigner for a new building for Scoil Mhuire told us this week. 

Earlier this week, the Leitrim Observer reported that Sligo/Leitrim Senator Nessa Cosgrove had raised the issue in the Seanad.  

Ms Murray who is on the school's Board of Management and leads the New School Committee added: "This has been a hot topic for a long time now and we are not letting it go."

She continued: "At this stage it is coming up on 13 years since we began campaigning. Leitrim County Council have been incredibly supportive and included a site in the town plan. We've done everything that was asked of us by the department we've done and we're now onto our fifth or sixth prefab."

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She said that the additions are "such a waste of money; to be pumping money into two prefabs on a height that's difficult to access. There will have to be cranes hired and loads of groundwork will have to be done and then we won't have that green field space for children to play on."

She was speaking after Senator Nessa Cosgrove stated that the Department of Education stated that: "The Minister failed to give any assurances that the new school building was even anywhere on the Government’s agenda instead saying that the approach was to 'maximise usage of existing capacity' and disappointingly said that the ongoing Energy and Conditions Survey will be analysed to inform retrofit and refurbishment projects, but is unlikely to result in widespread replacement of accommodation.”

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The Labour Party Senator continued that she was calling on the TDs, particularly the three Government TDs, Marian Harkin, Eamon Scanlon and Frank Feighan to lobby the Minister for Education, preferably this week, to ensure that Carrick-on-Shannon gets the National School, that the County Town of Leitrim deserves.”

Ms Murray noted that the TDs are returning to visit the school on August 25. "To be fair, they have been lobbying. We're in constant contact with all four TDs and they are all putting in a word for us; constantly in touch with the Minister but there has just been no movement."

Ms Murray said Senator's Cosgrove's efforts were appreciated and that "we appreciate that it's keeping our campaign current and letting people know that we are still very much fighting and we are not going to stop until we get commitment from the minister."

She said that after the four Sligo-Leitrim TDs visited Scoil Mhuire in March this year, "they were confidant that the minister would visit our school and see it for herself; that hasn't happened yet but we are hopeful that that will happen as early in the new school as possible."

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Ms Murray said that while Carrick-on-Shannon has "received a lot of resources over the last number of years, the school just seems to be right down at the bottom of the list of priorities; they've prioritised the layout of the town etc but haven't prioritised the children and if you are not prioritising the future of the town, it doesn't say much for your priorities."

She said that while a number of "patch up jobs" have been carried out on the school but added that "there really is a limited amount you can do with what's there to make it comfortable for the staff living in those conditions."

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She added that space is "extremely limited; there are still special needs pupils being taught in corridors. Regardless of that, teachers are still doing an amazing job despite the conditions. It's a very united school and multi-cultural school. We do get downhearted though when the message we are getting from the government is that there is enough capacity in the school and enough provision for school places in Carrick because of the Gaelscoil but we are the town school who takes everybody in."