150 years at the heart of Kilclief

150 years at the heart of Kilclief

1 March 2017

ST Malachy’s Primary School has been at the heart of the Kilclief community for 150 years.

Celebrations of the rural school’s 150th birthday began on Friday with a mass led by Bishop Noel Treanor and attended by staff and pupils, both past and present.

Photographs depicting the school’s long history lined corridors for a special after-mass tea, with visitors pouring over class images from the early 20th century, picking out grandparents, siblings and remembering teachers and clergy.

School principal, Agnes Monan, who took over at the helm of the school just 15 months ago after 18 years as a teacher, said there had been a sense of expectation at the school for several years as the landmark birthday approached.

She said Friday’s mass marked the official launch of celebrations, which would include a talk by historian Eamon Phoenix at the end of April and the publication of a booklet in November, outlining the school’s history since its launch as a thatched national school.

There will also be a community variety concert in June and the launch of a 150th anniversary book outlining the school’s history in November.

“These events have been in the pipeline for five or six years and the children are full of excitement about it. One hundred and fifty years is a big concept and an outstanding achievement for a rural community,” she said.

“This is a healthy successful school and is such a rewarding place to work.

“The school plays a central role in the community, which revolves around the Gaelic Club the church and the primary school. We do help bind the community together.

“We are not perfect, we have our ups and downs but the community needs its school because we are in a rural area and we are looking forward to sharing what we do over the course of the celebrations, which are for everyone, not only for those connected with the school now.”

We have tried to get in touch with people whose parents may have come to the school before them.

Ms Monan said she had been trying to get in contact with people whose parents may have attended the school in the past, while old friends had been calling in recent weeks to share stories of their own memories.

Among them was 84 year-old Patsy Cultra, whose son and grandchildren attended the school.

Starting at the rural primary in 1933, he said he had happy memories of his nine years there, under the leadership of Master McMullan.

“I started school 79 years ago, just a few years after the old school was done up,” he said.

“There was no water, no heat or anything.

“I still go back to the school for events with my grandchildren and it has changed 100 per cent.

“I left at 14, that is the way it was then and I went back to the family farm to work. They were happy times.”