Fáilte Corlea chuig an Clann Ghaeilge

When the children and staff of Corlea NS painted the mural on their school wall, they decided to put the word ‘Aistear’ on a banner across the top.

Meaning journey in English, it symbolised each child’s pathway from their first day in junior infants to their final day in sixth class. Painted two years ago with the help of Cavan artist Margaret McKenna, neither children nor staff knew at the time that the school itself would soon be embarking upon a journey of its own. While it will remain in situ among the hills and green pastures of Corlea, which feature on the mural, the school will redesignate as a gaelscoil to junior infant students in September 2027.

“As a gaeilgeoir myself I am so delighted,” teaching principal Laura Marron enthuses.

“This is my second year as principal and to think that Corlea National School is going to redesignate as a gaelscoil, it’s an absolute joy for me. To think that I can share my love of Irish with the children and help others. It’s not just to do with language, it’s to do with heritage, culture and our country. The children are going to gain so much in terms of communication. It’s going to be incredible.”

The school currently provides education for eight children, and while enrolement numbers were “picking up”, Kingscourt native and school board chairperson Michael Donohoe says they “wanted medium to longer term certainty” and feels the gaelscoil will give this to them.

“We’re a small rural, country school and, like any school in this situation nationally, we have challenges in terms of numbers into the future,” Michael says.

The idea of a gaelscoil became a reality at the beginning of this year when Bishop of Meath Tom Denihan and Diocesan Education Secretary Matt Melvin gave their stamp of approval.

“We got the approval to redesignate then,” Laura explains.

The school will transition using a phased approach. The pupils already in the school will complete their education through the medium of English, while those starting in September 2027 will be enrolled into a fully Irish classroom, meaning the school will provide education through both Irish and English for some time.

“That will be the beginning of the phased approach into redesignation as a gaelscoil,” Carrickmacross native Laura explains.

Michael, who has served on the board for the past eleven years, is “confident” they have “adequate facilities” to cater for the transition. They are currently taking it “step by step” and are working with the Department of Education, Gaeloideachas and the school’s own Board of Management on the transition.

Using the Irish language to future-proof the school is something that means a lot to the school and the surrounding community, members of which have been extremely supportive.

“A lot of them are people who were born and bred and reared around here. They went to school here and they want this school to be here for their grandchildren and great grandchildren,” adds Laura.

As well as providing education to the children in the community, a gap in the wall separates the school building from St Joseph’s Church, and the school often serves as a gathering place for locals. Two years ago, the school celebrated its 130th anniversary.

Parish Priest Father Gerard MacCormack is also heavily involved in the school, and has also been very helpful.

“We have kept them [the community] informed and obviously they are well aware of the challenges facing the school in the years to come.”

Meanwhile, current students of the school were “absolutely overjoyed” when their teacher revealed the news that the school would remain open as a gaelscoil.

“They are so happy that they get to come back to school here in September and they are actually delighted that the school is going to be redesignated as a gaelscoil,” Laura says.

Support for parents

“We know this is obviously going to be a big adjustment for children coming in, and for their parents. We will be looking at things like Irish classes for the wider community,” Michael says.

They “fully understand” that not all parents speak Irish.

“Parents don’t need to be fluent in Irish to support their child’s learning. We can guide them on the simple and effective ways that they can give support.”

Meanwhile, the school will also be providing courses to help staff too.

They will also set up a separate coiste (committee) with members of the community to help them promote the new school.

“It’s a really exciting new chapter for our school, one that will enrich learning, strengthen the community and give our pupils a lifelong gift of language,” Laura predicts.

Secondary school

Meanwhile, the nearest secondary school, which teaches through Irish, is located in Monaghan Town. Laura has been in contact with the principal there to arrange a programme for students to meet each other when the time comes to transition into secondary school. With around nine years to go until students from Corlea will head for meanscoil, both are hopeful Cavan might be home to such a facility by then.

“Further down the line you never know what might happen in Cavan, we may have a meanscoil at some stage.”

Meanwhile, principals from the existing gaelscoileanna in the area, Scoil Rois in Carrickmacross and Gaelscoil Bhréifne in Cavan Town, have already welcomed Corlea into what they call the “Gaeilge family”.

Meanwhile, at the April monthly meeting of Cavan County Council, Sinn Féin’s Stiofán Conaty welcomed the decision to redesignate the school. He encouraged as many families as possible to support the school.

Fianna Fáil’s Clifford Kelly also welcomed the move, and the decision of Bishop of Kilmore Martin Hayes to grant the change.

Cavan’s existing bunscoil is thrilled to hear there will soon be another Irish medium school in the county.

Principal of Gaelscoil Bhréifne in Cavan Town said news of a new gaelscoil is “fantastic” for the county, and believes “the more [bunscoils] the better”.

However, Niamh Ní Cheallaigh said it would be “lovely” for children to have the option to continue their education through the medium of Irish.

“When you invest those years in a bun oideachas through Gaeilge, it would be just amazing to see the children have the choice to have a secondary education [in this medium].”

The closest meanscoil to Cavan Town is located in Monaghan Town, which she believes is “too far” for students to travel.

“The more bunscoils that are in demand, that will give very strong footing for the conversation going forward for a meanscoil,” she said.

Niamh concedes it may take a little time.

“I’m delighted to see a second bunscoil here in Cavan. It indicates the interest of Cavan people for a gael oideachas for their children, so I think it would be very important to look at a meanscoil in the long term. I don’t know how long that might take, but I think people are starting to become very interested in opening up that conversation around a meanscoil somewhere in Cavan. I’d be very open to that as a school principal and as a parent.”

She believes Cavan is home to very high-quality secondary schools, which provide “fantastic education”. She also highly praised the Irish classes, teachers and initiatives within secondary schools in County Cavan.

Ms Ní Cheallaigh’s own son, who is currently in his final year at Gaelscoil Bhréifne, will go to St Patrick’s College this September, where she is certain he will receive a “great education”, meanwhile his love of music and sport will also be catered for.

Meanwhile, Gaelscoil Bhréifne’s numbers continue to grow; reflective of the growing interest in the Irish language in Cavan. The school began with 32 students, and now educate just under 200. They will surpass the 200 mark in September 2026.

The school grew “very quickly” and moved into their new premises in September 2018, which she believes had a “very positive impact” on the school. Irish classes held for parents on a Monday evening within the school are “full” with “huge demand”.

“Cavan as a community is very keen on developing Irish, it’s a thriving little hub here.”

“There is huge interest in the language and in the culture, there’s no doubt about that.”

Gaeloideachas has been campaigning to have national policy changed so that young people have the opportunity to continue their education through Irish to Leaving Cert level and even beyond.

Gaeloideachas Services Manager Clare Spáinneach explained the criteria used by the Department of Education to open new schools is based on demographics.

“Even if there’s significant demand for a gaelcholáiste and the area is to get a new school, the demand has to be higher for a gaelcholáiste than any other school type,” she explained, adding that this is a “big ask for a minority language community.”

The group is a member of a taskforce established by the Department of Education, which will issue a report and make recommendation to the Minister by the end of this year.

“We hope it will pave the way to providing gaelcholáistí for the many areas across the country that don’t have one at the moment.”

“We know that there’s great interest in a gaelcholáiste in Cavan both from parents and young people and from education providers, and we’re hoping to work with them and seize any opportunities to get the support of the Department of Education and Youth to open a new school. It would give generations of children the chance to become fully fluent in Irish and to get an excellent education, and could only be a good thing for the county.”

A Department of Education spokesperson stated they are “fully committed” to supporting Irish medium education. They said the Policy for Irish‑Medium Education outside of the Gaeltacht, published in November 2025, sets out the department’s “vision that high‑quality Irish‑medium education will be accessible to all, in inclusive and multicultural settings.”

“The department remains committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders to deliver on the policy’s vision and to progress the Programme for Government commitments,” the spokesperson stated.

Department says demand for secondary gaelscoil not yet justified

Calls for a new meanscoil in Cavan have been met with a cautious response from the Department of Education, which says there is currently no unmet demand for post-primary school places in the county.

Minister Niamh Smyth had asked whether the Minister for Education and Youth plans to establish a new Gaelscoil in Cavan and whether any discussions had taken place on the matter. In reply, the Department outlined its rigorous process for assessing school place requirements, which involves analysing census data, child benefit records, school enrolments, as well as residential development activity across 314 school planning areas nationwide.

The Department emphasised that new schools are only established where demographic analysis shows clear growth in student numbers. For post-primary schools, typical enrolment thresholds are 600-1,000 students, although Gaelcholáistí may have a lower threshold of 400 students. They could alternatively also be accommodated by creating an Irish-medium unit within an existing English-language school.

Currently, according to the Department and Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton, Cavan does not have “unmet” demand for post-primary places, meaning there are no immediate plans to build a new gaelscoil in the county. Instead, authorities prefer expanding existing schools where possible, in line with Project Ireland 2040’s goals for compact growth.

The Department confirmed it will continue to liaise with Cavan County Council regarding “long-term” planning and potential future needs, keeping the door open for a Gaelscoil if population growth or residential development alters local demand.