Westmeath school reopens 50 years after it closed

(Above) Ballinafid National School.

When Ballinafid National School closed in 1971 more than 120 years after it first opened at the height of the Great Famine, few would have predicted that it would ever reopen as an educational facility.

These are exceptional times, however, and after a hectic August, the school reopened to local children for first time in almost half a century.

Like most events of 2020, good and bad, the reopening of the school is related to the Covid-19 pandemic. St Cremin’s National School in Multyfarnham is one of the fastest growing schools in the county and due to public health guidelines, its junior and senior infants classes had to find a temporary home while they wait for the construction of the planned expansion of the school to be completed.

Thankfully for the close-knit school community, Ballinafid NS was available and the month of August was spent giving the school a 21st century educational makeover.

Over the last five decades, the school building has gone through a number of incarnations, including many years as a community centre and most recently as the base for the local active age group. Its reopening to the youngest members of the community has been a welcome good news story at a time when they are thin on the ground.

It is particularly heart-warming for a number of the students’ grandparents, who attended the school.

One of those is Gerry Corcoran. He says that school life for his granddaughter Hannah Greene is a lot different to what he experienced in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In Gerry’s day and throughout the long history of the school, the toilets were outside and the two classrooms were heated with pot-belly stoves.

Gerry and classmate Christy McCormack had the job of lighting the fires and keeping them fed with fuel. By his own admission, he was never a massive of fan of school and he vividly remembers one occasion when a classmate (he declined to say who) wrapped a large stone in paper and put it up the chimney to prevent the smoke escaping up it.

This piece of sabotage had the desired effect. Smoke engulfed the classroom and Gerry and his schoolmates were given the rest of the day off.

Hannah’s grandmother on her father’s side, Mai Greene, also went to the school. When Mai started school in the mid-1940s, she and all her classmates walked to classes.

“We were very hardy. You walked to school and there was no tar on the road. I had to walk two miles to school, but I’d say I was carried a lot of the time.”

Mai, whose mother attended the school, as did her two eldest children, says that school life has changed immensely since her time and that her grandchildren “love” going.

“It’s lovely now. In the ’40s it was a different era. To see the improvements now is great.”

Anne Downes was the last principal of the school before its closure. She served in the role for three years, before making the move to Multyfarnham NS with her pupils.

She has fond memories of her time in Ballinafid NS, even if conditions were basic by today’s standards.

“We had electricity but we had very poor toilets, which were outside. Heating was basic too, just two stoves. It was lovely though. The classes were small and easily managed.”

Anne got a quick tour of the newly upgraded school before its opening last month. While the work carried out has brought it up to modern standards, she says that few if any structural changes had to made, a testament to skills of the 19th century tradesmen who built it in 1847, at the bequest of James Carroll.

Anne also noted that many of the original features in the classrooms, such as the high ceilings and large windows, are ideal for the strange times we are currently going through.

St Cremin’s principal Karl Dermody says that reopening of the school has generated a lot of excitement locally, particularly among its past pupils.

Logistically it has been challenging for some parents having to drop off at two schools in the mornings, but Karl is thankful to have Ballinafid available and says that August was a busy month trying to implement changes in the school while also getting the building up to standard to accommodate the junior and senior infant pupils and their teachers.

“We received such help and support during the four weeks of August, it really wouldn’t have been possible to open Ballinafid without so many local people helping,” Mr Dermody said.

He paid a special tribute to former parish priest Fr David Bradley for his work on the project. “Fr David spent 12 months in Multyfarnham parish and left a lasting legacy among all our parishioners. We were devastated when we heard that Fr David had been appointed to the parish of Kells.

“He gave so much time and energy to Ballinafid and I know that I speak on behalf of all parishioners when I say we can’t thank him enough for all his help during his short time with us.”

St Cremin’s NS has seen a steady increase in enrolment of pupils over the last five years. Developments include the installation of a 4G AstroTurf pitch and a school extension in 2019 that included a new library, three special education rooms and a new classroom.

This year the school became an eight-classroom mainstream school for the first time in its history and blockwork for the eighth classroom is being completed this week.

Mr Dermody said the plan for the coming months is to return the children to the main site when the work is complete.

“We hope to have the extension completed within the next two months. If everything is going to plan, junior and senior infants will return to their classrooms in St Cremin’s NS, but the uncertainty of Covid-19 leaves us not planning too far ahead at any stage.”

Keeping two schools open while trying to complete an extension involves a lot of juggling on the part of any school principal, but Mr Dermody and his team are up to it. “Ah yeah, I guess there is a lot going on, but isn’t it a fantastic challenge to be involved in. I really look forward to the uncertainty of the challenge that every day is bringing at the moment.

“We’re living through a period of history that we hope will never be repeated. Life challenges us all every morning when we get up – all we can do is continue to rise to that challenge to the best of our abilities. Once you’re doing your best, nobody can ask any more of you.”