Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board marked the official opening of the multi-million euro new school extension at Coláiste Iósaef Community College, Kilmallock, on Friday 8th November 2019. The opening was undertaken by Minister of State at the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Patrick O’Donovan TD. He was assisted in the unveiling of a plaque by James Conheady, Head Boy, and Aisling O’Rahilly, Head Girl for the current academic year.
The event was attended by the school’s students, staff and board of management, the Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Michael Sheahan, the Chair of the ETB, Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon, the ETB senior management team, representatives from the Sisters of Charity of St. Paul community, the project design team and the main contractor, as well as numerous elected representatives and representatives of the local community.
Pictured from left: Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Michael Sheahan; George O’Callaghan, Chief Executive; Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan TD; Noel Kelly, Principal; Sr Kathleen Neenan, Congregational Leader, Sisters of Charity of St Paul the Apostle; and Donncha Ó Treasaigh, Director of Schools
Speaking at the ceremony, George O’Callaghan, Chief Executive, Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, said: “This is a significant day for the entire school community and the area. The substantial value of the building project reflects the commitment of the ETB to enhance the social and economic infrastructure of Kilmallock and the surrounding area. The project was completed on programme and on budget.”
The new extension at Coláiste Iósaef consists of a three-storey building over 3,000m² in size, designed by Healy Partners Architects and built by Conack Construction. It consists of a number of new general and specialist classrooms, which include two new Science Rooms, a new Technology Room, a new Music Room and a new ICT Suite. A new full-sized PE Hall along with new outdoor playing facilities provide for a diverse range of extra-curricular activities which contribute significantly to the physical and mental health of the students in the school.
Also speaking at the opening, School Principal, Noel Kelly, said: “Our school community has grown significantly in the past number of years and this new extension reflects the growth of our student numbers and the commitment of the ETB to provide the very best facilities and resources to the students in our care. Our expansive school campus, which you can all see here today, is a pleasure to learn and work in and is a fantastic environment for the delivery of high quality learning and teaching for a modern era. We have forged strong relationships with primary schools in the area which we are very grateful to in making the transition from primary to post-primary as seamless as possible. We have also nurtured strong bonds with organisations in the town and in surrounding areas to involve our community as much as is possible for the benefit of our students.”
Performing the official unveiling of a plaque at the school, Minister Patrick O’Donovan TD, said: “Today is a day I think for celebration. It’s a day for celebration particularly for the students that are here and for the students who are yet to come in here and the parents who may very well have come through this school in its current guise or in its previous configuration as the old VEC or the convent. It is a day that will really lay out a chart for the future of what second level education will look like in this part of South Limerick and the relationships it will have particularly with the primary school network in the greater Kilmallock area and in the wider area. It will ensure that this school is able to offer the full curriculum and the full suite of subjects that are needed for a modern Ireland.”
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