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History of Glounaguillagh National School

 

 

The school was first built in the 1840’s and  opened in February 1841. It was built with funds from the board and the Rev. F,Day and it was vested in the commissioners. The internal dimensions were as follows; length 32 Feet, width 16 feet 9 inches. It was a two storey building, the external dimensions being  36 Feet 6 Inches by 21 Feet 6 Inches.  The height to eave was 18 feet. The school had a  slate roof and timber floors. Access to the top floor was by means of an outside stair case. Boys were on the ground floor and the girls were on the top floor. There were six desks, measuring 11 foot 10 inches each.  The last day in the school was the 20 th July 1887.   Summer holidays were for one month with a total number of 113 boys enrolled.

 

The present school opened on the 22nd of August 1887.  When the school reopened after the holidays on the 22 nd of August a boy named John Stack enrolled bringing the total number of pupils to 114. The school was built at the back of the old one. Some of the stones from the old school were reused. The building was of standard design. Two rooms were divided by an openable partition to make four rooms. A hall was built at the front with  a separate entrance on each side. Boys  were at the left of the building , with the girls on the right. The hall was fitted with a number of  hooks where coats were hung.
 It was also used by teachers to park their bicycles. The floor consisted of flag stones. The floors in the class rooms were timber. 

The lower wall  was covered with timber to about four feet high. The heating was open fireplaces with iron grates in each room.
Outside a stone wall about four foot high was built around the school site. At the back of the school a stone wall about six foot high was built to divide the back yard. At the top of the back yard were two dry toilets.
The front yard was divided by a path from the front gate to the doors of the school. A variety of trees (birch, ash, white thorn and holly) were grown on the left hand side from the front wall to the back wall to where the toilets were.  Part of the front yard was very uneven. It looked like the base of the ditch that was part of the old school.

In 1968 the Department of Education indicated their intention to close the school. The parents at that time reacted very strongly against the department decision.
The battle went on until 1983 when the whole school was renovated and a new GP room was built.  In 2006 , the school was further extended to include two extra classrooms, a resource room and storage room.

 

Teachers from 1841 to 2013

Boy’s school - old school 
John O’ Sullivan - Dingle
John/Jimmy Sullivan - Black Water

Girls school – 1841- 1st April 1936
Kate O’Sullivan – (Mrs O’Brien) – Principal
Ms Welling
Mary Ann Begley
Mrs O’Donoghue – Principal
Mrs Foley – Glenbeigh
Ms Hanover - (Mrs O’Leary) – Tipperary

1887 - Present
Michael Sugrue – Principal
Steven Coffey
Tom Cronin – Tipperary college first trained teacher – 20th of Feb 1888. Moved to Killorglin N.S in May 8th 1888
Jim Begley - Resigned in 1920
Denis Murphy – Monitor appointed assistant
Dan Connor – Monitor appointed assistant
Pat Lane – Monitor appointed assistant
Jim Griffin – Principal
John Sugrue
ML O’Donoghue
Nora Lynch
Sean Riordan – Principal Mixed School 1-4 – in 1936
Ms O’Leary –  From girls’ school
ML Scanlon –Principal
Eileen Healy – Ballymac - replaced Ms Lynch in 1960
Mary Tangney (Mrs Tom O’Shea)
Mrs Mary Sheahan
Mary Kissane – Fossa
Mrs Everett – Waterville
Mrs Joan O’Shea- Principal
Noel O’Mahony – Principal
Noreen Ahern – Principal
Mary Brennan - (Mrs O’Mahony) – Principal
Linda McMahon - (Mrs Galvin)
Emer Coffey – (Mrs Fleming)
Mrs Noreen Roper
Claire Foley
Sinéad Pigott - Principal
Mrs Fiona Doyle
Aoife O'Sullivan

Norma Tyther

Deirdre Quirke

Current Permanent Members of Teaching Staff

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