Dundalk Gaelcholáiste pilot scheme gets go-ahead

Minister for Education Norma Foley has given the go-ahead for a new satellite model for Irish-medium post-primary provision to be piloted in Dundalk.

The new model will mean a school campus established in the town which will be a satellite of Coláiste Ghlór na Mara, a Gaelcholáiste located in Balbriggan.

If successful, the new model could be adopted elsewhere in the country where the establishment of a stand-alone Irish-medium post-primary school is not at present feasible but where there may be unmet demand.

The new satellite school will come under the patronage of An Foras Pátrúnachta which is patron of Coláiste Ghlór na Mara. The pilot project will last for five years after which it will be reviewed.

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“The provision of Irish-medium education is a priority for my department and this Government. And we share a strong commitment to increasing the number of Irish-medium places available,” said Minister Foley.

“The learning from the pilot may assist in the potential development of an enduring policy and approach for the application of this model elsewhere, subject to successful review.”

The announcement came following a lengthy campaign by local parents to secure an Irish medium secondary school for the town. Local children have had to travel to Coláiste Ghlór na Mara, 56km away, to access fully immersive Irish medium education.

"It's great news. It's what we've been looking for," said Aidan Kinsella, a parent who has campaigned for the new school.

“We now have to work hard to make it sustainable and long term. I’ve had parents contact me on a regular basis wanting to know what was happening for next year.”

What is the demand?

Research shows that some 23 per cent of parents would choose Irish-medium education for their children if it was available to them.

However, unlike those parents who have the option of sending their children to English-medium schools, many do not have Irish-medium schooling available in their local community.

Caoimhín Ó hEaghra, Ard-Rúnaí of An Foras Pátrúnachta, welcomed the announcement.

“We are delighted that there will be provision of full-immersion education for the students in the Dundalk area. It is a new model and An Foras Patrúnachta is delighted to be able to develop it.

“We are hoping that it will address the issue of providing full-immersion education in areas where a Gaelcholáiste doesn’t exist at the moment. The immediate steps are to organise a meeting with the community in Dundalk and the parents who have been looking for this for so long and to outline the provision hopefully to establish it for next September,” he said.