Long and difficult journey to develop new Coosan NS recalled at official opening

The new school building at Coosan NS was blessed and officially opened by the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, Paul Connell, last week.

Members of the school community and invited guests gathered on Thursday afternoon for the opening ceremony, which was held almost five years after the facility first came into use.

One speech at the event accurately described the pristine school building as "a fabulous, fit-for-purpose campus of learning". Its spacious and modern facilities are in stark contrast to what preceded them, as the school's former principal, Tom Flahive, explained.

Mr Flahive retired last year having served as principal in Coosan since 1999. He spearheaded a campaign for the development of the new school for the best part of two decades.

He recalled that, prior to this development, the condition of the old school building, and many of the prefabs used on site, had been "horrendous".

"Dampness was everywhere. Windows were leaking. There were draughts in virtually every room. There were dust mites and mould spores on ceilings and walls in the main building, as well as in several prefabs.

"Vermin infestations were an ongoing problem. Coupled with this, we had a Bord na Mona sewage system which was not able to cope with the large numbers in the school."

Mr Flahive said the opening on Thursday was "a joyful occasion" and "the final piece in the jigsaw" of the new school development.

When he started as principal in February 1999, one of his first tasks was to write to the Department of Education seeking an extension or refurbishment of what was then a 144-pupil school.

It grew with the addition of prefabs over subsequent years, and at one stage there were "14 teachers working in prefabs, and eight teachers working in the main school building".

Mr Flahive spoke about the huge disappointment when initial efforts to appoint a design team for the new school fell through in 2008 and again in 2012.

"We 'got back on the horse', and I continued pestering the Department with emails, letters and phone calls focusing on a wide range of difficulties we were having in the school due to our sub-standard building and prefabs," he said.

"In late 2016, we were informed that a design team was going to be appointed. This time we were successful."

A design team led by Hamilton Young Architects, Hayes Higgins Partnership Chartered Engineers, and BDP Electrical Engineers, got to work, and the building contractor for the €7m project, Sammon Builders, moved on site in May 2017.

Mr Flahive, a native of Listowel, reflected on the journey the school had been on between 1999 and the official opening last week.

"In that timeframe, our country has had six different Taoisigh and eleven Ministers for Education. There were ten different Department inspectors assigned to Coosan NS. The country has come through a recession and a pandemic. Mayo have lost eight All Irelands, excluding replays, and Kerry have only won seven," he said, to laughter in the room.

"On a personal level, the project has been a major part of my life. I was obsessed with this project." He added that he'd visited other new schools in nine counties to get ideas for Coosan.

"The staff, pupils, parents, and wider school community now have a modern, state-of-the-art education facility that most other schools are envious of.

"Monday, Jan 14, 2019, was the proudest day of my teaching career in Coosan as we moved into this beautiful new building.

"I wish (principal) Stephen Cunningham, the staff and the pupils well in the future. I know this school will continue to thrive, evolve and be at the cutting edge of primary education in this country for many years to come," he said.

Fr Declan Shannon, who served on boards of management at the school from 2005 to 2021, spoke about the collective effort that had been required to make the new school a reality.

"It's often said that it takes a village to raise a child. The same analogy could be used for the building of a school," he said.

He thanked in particular the "unsung heroes" who served on boards of management in the school, and the parents associations which had helped raise €125,000 towards the fit-out of the building.

Fr Declan also mentioned the contributions local political representatives had made to the project.

"While it would take much too long to mention each one by name, I do feel compelled to mention three in particular: The late Nicky McFadden, her sister Gab, and Kevin 'Boxer' Moran.

"Without the personal interest that they took in our school, and the political influence they exerted, we might not be sitting where we are today."

Coosan NS first opened almost 60 years ago, in 1964, and the current board of management chair, Fr Pat Murphy, mentioned that one of the attendees on Thursday was "Angela Henry, who taught here when this was only a four-teacher school".

Bishop Paul Connell said the opening was "an occasion to celebrate and give thanks for all that has been achieved and come to pass in the life of the school" over the past six decades.

He thanked Education Minister Norma Foley and her Department officials, saying: "The Catholic Church, along with other school patrons, has had a long and fruitful collaboration in providing education for our young people. It's a partnership that brings great benefits.

"Here in Coosan we have provided the site, and the Department the funding, to build this magnificent school."

The opening ceremony also included contributions from Joseph Cleary and Jack Bolton of the Coosan NS student council, a reflection read by sixth class pupils Jenna Quinn and Daniel Sleator, and a video, Moving Day, which captured the excitement of the pupils as they moved into the new building in January 2019.