Campaigners are calling on Department of Education to “show it is serious” about Irish-language education by purchasing a former Christian Brothers monastery to ensure the future of the State’s newest Gaelcholáiste.
Gaelcholáiste Synge in Dublin 8 will open in September, enrolling its first cohort of students into a building on the same campus as CBS Synge Street, which will enrol its final cohort of first-years.
As the latter winds down and the Gaelcholáiste grows, by 2032 the school will be “lán Gaeilge”, said the Edmund Rice Schools Trust (ERST), which runs both schools. The ERST is the lay body which acts as trustee of former Christian Brothers schools. It anticipates Gaelcholáiste Synge will have a final student body of between 300 and 400 pupils.
Parents, teachers and public representatives involved in the Gaelcholáiste 2468 campaign to open an Irish-medium secondary school for the Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 areas, however, believe this “lacks ambition”. The numbers refer to the central Dublin postcodes south of the Liffey, which have several primary-level Gaelscoileanna but no secondary option.
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The campaigners fear a capacity of less than 700 will not be sufficient to meet “a growing demand for Irish-medium secondary education” in the south Dublin city area.
Julian de Spáinn, general secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge and chair of the Gaelcholáiste 2468 campaign, said: “Gaelcholáiste Synge has huge potential into the future. There are six Gaelscoileanna [Irish-medium primary schools] in the immediate catchment area, more than anywhere else.”
Between them, Lios na nÓg and Scoil Bhríde, in Ranelagh, Scoil Mológa in Harold’s Cross, Gaelscoil Inse Chór in Inchicore, Gaelscoil Eoin on Haddington Road and Bunscoil Synge have more than 1,300 pupils.
The campaign is calling on the department to acquire a former monastery building, directly adjacent to the Synge Street schools, which the Christian Brothers have put on the market, seeking €3.75 million.
Selling agent Bannon says the proceeds will to contribute towards the congregation’s “charitable and legal obligations”.
The 1863 Gothic Revival-style building, designed by architect John Bourke, was originally a monastery and school. From 2022 until earlier this year it was used as an International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) centre.
[ Christian Brothers seeking €3.75m for Synge Street monasteryOpens in new window ]
The building extends to 2,188sq m (23,548sq ft) and includes a former education centre, 22 bedrooms and several large multifunctional rooms. It is zoned for institutional and community use, which could include for health/medical, nursing home, education, assisted living, sports facility or recreational uses.
“The department should make an arrangement with the Christian Brothers [to acquire the building] for the school, be it through the redress scheme, or they should buy it,” said de Spáinn.
“If we lose it now and find in five years we need it, it could be lost forever.”
The call comes amid reported tensions between the Coalition partners over a perceived lack of commitment by Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton to increasing capacity of Irish-language schooling.
Naughton said recently there were no plans to open any new Irish-language primary or secondary schools until at least 2032.
Her Cabinet colleague Minister for the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary said he was “not happy” with the comments. “It would be a key priority for me to expand the availability of education through Irish,” he said at the weekend.
On Wednesday Naughton pushed back on reports, saying: “There’s no disagreement. We’re all at one in relation to the importance of Irish, the use of Irish, conversational Irish in schools and outside schools.”
There were nine Irish-language schools under construction and four more “going to tender for construction this year and next year”, she said.
However, Aidan Kinsella, secretary of Imeasc, which lobbies for Irish-medium education, described the capacity issue facing Gaelcholáiste Synge as a “microcosm” of “systemic” issues facing the sector. There was an “indifference” to Irish-language education within the department, he said, which would “grow” as a political issue.
“There is a significant direction of travel with increasing numbers of young parents actively seeking Irish-medium education for their children.” Kinsella called for legislation requiring the department to provide Irish-medium education to meet demand.
“It could show it is serious about Irish-medium education by buying the monastery for Gaelcholáiste Synge,” he said.
Cristín Ní Chairealláin, principal of Gaelscoil Eoin, said: “The department really needs to read the room on this”.
Labour leader and local TD Ivana Bacik, in a parliamentary question this week, asked Naughton “whether she can now ensure [the monastery] can be purchased by her department and used ... to accommodate the new Gaelcholáiste”.
A spokesman for the department said: “There is currently sufficient accommodation within the current school buildings to meet the needs of both the current school and the Gaelcholáiste.
“The proposal by the ERST for Synge Street CBS to transition to a coeducational Gaelcholáiste is a welcome addition to the variety and diversity of school choice at post-primary level in the Dublin south city area.”
An ERST spokesman said: “The monastery building is not owned by ERST or the Department of Education so is not part of the planned development of the Gaelcholáiste.
“The Department of Education has agreed to upgrade aspects of the Synge Street CBS building to provide home economics, technology and sports facilities.”
The Christian Brothers have not responded to phone and email requests for comment.
