Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board marked the official opening of Thomond Community College’s state-of-the-art new school extension at its campus in Moylish Park in Limerick City last Friday. The official launch of the new extension was undertaken by Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD, and the event was also attended by invited guests from the school community, past pupils and local representatives.
The multi-million-euro custom-designed extension will see students and staff at the school benefit from four new general classrooms, a two-classroom Special Educational Needs base, as well as conversion works to existing rooms to provide a new Home Economics Room, Music Room and Assisted Access WC.
Speaking at Friday’s official opening, Minister Foley paid particular tribute to the students of Thomond Community College: “At the outset I’d like to say a quick word to the students because they are, with all due respect to everyone else here, the most important people in this room and in this school. I want to say thank you for being here and for being part of this celebration today and I want you to know that I come to join you in the celebration of this extension, and it really is fantastic. But more than that, I come to honour you because you are the people we serve in education and you should never forget that it is my purpose as the Minister and the purpose of everyone in this school to serve you. You are our raison d’etre, which is a lovely phrase that means you are our reason for existence.”
The new 750m²extension, which will provide additional spaces for SEN education in the locality, as well as updating existing rooms to a high standard, involves an investment of more than €3.2 million by Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, funded by the Department of Education’s Additional Accommodation Scheme for Post-Primary Schools.
Speaking at the official opening, Donncha Ó Treasaigh, Acting Chief Executive of Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, said: “I would like to acknowledge the highly committed and hardworking staff led by Principal Vivienne Hogan and Deputy Principals Declan Fitzgerald and Donal Doody. Thomond Community College provides essential supports and care to all its students and in particular the students who are enrolled in special classes here. The availability of special classes in this school is not only to the benefit of students but a much welcome source of relief and peace of mind to their parents and guardians and to that we are extremely proud and very grateful to everybody who welcomes these students into the school community.”
The Integrated Design Team for the state-of-the-art new extension was headed up by Healy & Partners Architects and included Hutch O’ Malley Consulting Engineers, Moloney Fox Consulting Engineers, and CuddyQS. The main contractor for the project was Clare company Martins Construction. Work commenced on site in November 2022 and was completed for handover on 15th April 2024.
Vivienne Hogan, Principal of Thomond Community College, spoke proudly about the new addition to the school: “Together these facilities create a unique learning environment that supports our creative and brilliant young minds, enabling them to thrive and to enrich the entire school community. Thomond Community College is truly a community college because it reflects authentically the vibrant and lively local community that we have. The Northside of Limerick is a thriving and diverse community and we are privileged to be part of its growth. We’ve seen a 55% increase in student intake and 26% increase in progression to third level since we had the honour of opening our doors in 2016, so that is something that we can all celebrate here today.”
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