CMETB scraps plan for two-school merger

The new school was to come at an estimated €15M in Ballyconnell.

The majority of CMETB members have supported a motion to have plans to amalgamate two secondary schools in West Cavan scrapped once and for all.

Pressure had been building on the organisation to row back on its controversial policy to proceed with replacing the St Bricin's in Belturbet and St Mogue's in Bawnboy with a new, estimated €15M build, in nearby Ballyconnell.

At a meeting held at the Cavan-Monaghan ETB HQ in Monaghan town, board members pressed for a final answer to a situation which has rumbled on and caused much grief since first put on the table back and approved at a “special meeting” at the Slieve Russell Hotel in late 2018.

As patron of both secondary schools, the ETB still has the final say, subject to approval from the Department of Education, on the proposal.

The Department even went so far as to enlist professional acquisition management firm, Duff & Phelps, to try and secure, as a matter of “priority”, a new school site. That though never materialised, and with an increase in student numbers at both schools, not to mention hefty recent investment, the proposed amalgamation sat in a state of stasis.

Since a meeting between CMETB and the Minister for Education in late 2021 the local educational organisation has sanctioned significant further investment in both Belturbet and Bawnboy.