BY JACKIE KEOGH and  KIERAN O’MAHONY

Hundreds of West Cork schoolchildren are making a round trip of up to 260km to attend a gaelcholáiste, a council meeting has heard.

The first steps towards establishing a dedicated West Cork gaelcholáiste by September 2029 have now been taken after councillors agreed to write to the Education Minister on the issue.

A notice of motion calling for a post-primary school that educates through the medium of Irish was raised by Cllr Gillian Coughlan (FF), who is the current chairperson of the Education and Training Board.

At a meeting of the Western Division of Cork County Council, Cllr Coughlan called on the Department of Education to initiate the processes of identifying a suitable site, design, finance and construction of a gaelcholáiste claiming: ‘It would be the natural next step from primary to post-primary within the region.’

With the backing of the members of the Western Division, it was agreed that the motion will now go before a full meeting of Cork County Council.

Cllr Coughlan explained that there are 626 children currently attending gaelscoileanna in West Cork. And 522 replies to a recent survey showed a potential gaelcholáiste uptake of 80%.

Cllr Deirdre Kelly (FF) seconded the motion noting: ‘Students deserve to continue their education in Irish.’ And she made the point that any child accepted for gaelcholáiste today would have to make a 160km round trip to Carrigaline.

At an earlier council meeting she made the even starker observation that: ‘A roundtrip from Skibbereen to Carrigaline is 160 km, while a round trip from Beara to Carrigaline is 266kms. This is not realistic or fair and has led to the formation of a community group in Clonakilty. Their first objective was to gauge interest in the setting up of a gaelcholáiste in Clonakilty to serve the West Cork area.’

Cllr Brendan McCarthy (FG), who previously taught in the gaelscoil in Skibbereen, supported the motion as did Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) who said: ‘People want to speak Irish now so we need to seize the opportunity.

‘There is a real resurgence in Irish culture such as our language, music, dancing and our pagan roots. Clonakilty makes the most sense for that school based on the numbers and its central location within West Cork.’

Cllr Ann Bambury (SD) said: ‘The government has failed to invest in the infrastructure our communities need. West Cork is now paying the price for that lack of foresight.

‘The demand is there, and it has been there for years. Parents are choosing Irish-medium education in growing numbers, yet when these students finish primary school, far too many have no option but to leave the Irish-language education system because there simply aren’t enough gaelcholáiste places.’

Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) made the point that the population figures are going to grow dramatical and additional educational facilities will be in demand.

Cllr George Gill (FF) suggested: ‘If you build it, they will come.’  And Cllr Daniel Sexton (Ind Ire) recalled the days when the gaelscoil in Clonakilty started out in a room at the back of a hotel before moving to a prefab and then a purpose-built new school at Fernhill with 390 students and a staff of 40.