Scoil Colmcille, Letterkenny

Infobox Irish school
name = Scoil Colmcille
irish_name =



motto =
established = 1974
location = Letterkenny, County Donegal,
Republic of Ireland
students = 506
keyprole = Principal
keypname = Pauric Cannon
free_label = Staff
School Colours
free = 23
Wine, Grey
homepage = http://homepage.eircom.net/~greeneco/

Scoil Colmcille is the largest all-male national school in County Donegal, Ireland located in Letterkenny. It is located on the Convent Road on the town, across from the Loreto Convent. The current principal is Pauric Cannon.

History

Scoil Colmcille was built in 1974 and took over from the old "Scoil Coilm Cille" located across from St. Eunan's Cathedral, next to the Parochial House. The "Old Boys School", as it is affectionately referred to by pupils and staff, is still used, mainly to accommodate third and fourth class pupils from Scoil Colmcille and Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál (Girls School). Male boys are housed at the rear end of the school and play in the back yard while female girls are taught at the front entrance and play in the adjoining yard. At the time of the new Scoil Colmcille's opening over 600 boys attended the school. By 1985 school numbers grew to over 700 and employed 23 teachers. 1985 was also the year the Presentation Brothers departed the school. Principal duties were handed over to Tom Redden in 1983, who retired in 2007, after 24 years on the job. The current principal is Pauric Cannon, a past pupil and former teacher in the school. Other non-teaching staff include a small number of secretaries (a.k.a. Mary McElwaine), a band of cleaners, ancillary workers and a caretaker (a.k.a. Peter Kelly). The school chaplain is Father Kevin Gillespie.

Today

Donegal intercounty GAA player Rory Kavanagh currently teaches at the school. Local philanthropist and businessman Paddy Delap coaches table-tennis to senior pupils at lunch-time.

Pupils are not allowed to run on the grass at playtime, instead they must only play on the tarred surface. In recent years, a number of colourful images have been added to the tar to encourage the children to play hop-skotch and tig. In 2007, a small number of pre-fabs were opened to accommodate the growing number of pupils attending the school. The school is a breeding ground for future students of St. Eunan's College, located a short distance up the road.

Funday

Funday is an annual event which takes place in the school. The event was previously called Sports Day. The event usually takes place in the Summer months near the end of the school year. "Funday 2007" was held on May 2. Activities at the event included the potato and spoon race and soccer. A new activity was introduced in 2005. This consisted of a large inflatable slide which pupils ran up and ran down on. Two years later the school decided to introduce more inflatable devices such as "The Simpsons" and "Smackdown vs. Raw" bouncy castles thus adopting the name Funday. Local businessman Paddy Delap helped out with the setting up of the activities.

Trivia

*The school has won the prestigious Green Flag award on a number of occasions and is well-known for its environmental endeavours. A school newspaper, "The Green Eco", is produced on an irregular basis. [http://homepage.eircom.net/~greeneco/eco_mainframe.htm]

*Past visitors to the school include Irish artist, writer and nature-lover Don Conroy (2000/2001).

*Scoil Colmcille will celebrate its centenary in 2074. Celebrations will be planned closer to the date.

*The school currently holds five "Green Flags".

Notable Alumni

* Conrad Gallagher, Chef
* Daniel Purcell, Martial Arts
* Damien Blake, Town Councillor

External links

* [http://homepage.eircom.net/~greeneco/ Official Website]
* [http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0518/morningireland.html Tom Redden talks about the schools facilities]