Thursday, December 17, 2015

EIGHTEEN YEARS of hard work and dedication finally came to fruition as Minister Brendan Howlin turned the sod to mark the beginning of works on the new Loreto Secondary School on Pembroke Hill.

The new state-of-the-art school, which will be situated on a Greenfield site in Killeens, and is due to open in September 2017 after an 18-month build.

At the site on Monday, Minister Brendan Howlin turned a very wet sod at the site where not even the rain could dampen the spirits of those gathered to witness the event, some of whom have been part of the school’s struggle for 18 years.

One of those people is Bea McDonald who was school principal 18 years ago and who sent the first application for the refurbishment and extension of the school. The following year a design team was put in place but the project fizzled out until 2005 when, following a visit from the then Education minister Mary Hanafin, substantial progress was made.

Planning was submitted but in May 2007, it was rejected and it seemed the project had hit a wall. A follow-up phone call to Brendan Howlin resulted in a meeting and in 2008, alternative sites were looked at.

In 2013, the school was included in a PPP Schools Bundle which was the first move in the right direction.

Minister Howlin was presented with the spade to turn the sod by the school’s youngest pupil Adele Kinsella.

Speaking afterwards at a reception in the Talbot Hotel, Sr. Helen O’Riordan, Chairperson of the Board of Management welcomed everyone to the event and said they were at the beginning of the end of a “long and torturous journey”.

She referred to a Confucius quote which suggested that when obvious goals could not be reached, you did not adjust the goals but the action steps and that, she said, was what the school had done, under the guidance of Billy O’Shea who had an “indefatigable and unwavering drive”.

She said: “Billy dreamed to ensure that his followers would not have nightmares.”

She paid tribute also to Minister Brendan Howlin who had been of great assistance both while in government and in opposition. Minister Howlin later quipped, mindful of an approaching election, that it was easier to support projects while in government.

As regards the future, she said they sometimes pinched themselves, wondering where the hitches might be but so far there were none. She thanked Cllr. George Lawlor for his assistance also and for lending an ear to many questions and queries.

Darren Quinn was thanked for offering the new Greenfield site for the development and the various State bodies were thanked for their continuing support also.

She remarked that while there were questions over the idea of leaving the old school empty on Spawell Road but said that the new school was being built in the interest of the staff and students.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said it was an honour to be present for such an occasion. It was his job, he said, to smooth the path for projects like this which had hit speed bumps or road blocks. He remarked that sometimes this wasn’t possible because the drive wasn’t there but with Billy O’Shea on board, success was inevitable.

He said it was somewhat serendipitous that by experiencing disappointment in 2007 it had paved the way for an even better project now.

He said that when the school community crosses the threshold in September 2017, it would be a completely new and equipped school, with a brand new public park alongside it as both projects will develop in tandem.

He joked that dealing with the Loreto Trust had been more intimidating than the Troika, paying tribute to Sr. Eileen Randles in particular who had been extremely diligent in her work.

He added that he had further local projects to push across the line in Wexford before the country went to the polls and remarked: “I want to see a series of cranes on the horizon of Wexford.”

He congratulated all involved in the project, on which groundwork will now begin ahead of the full build.