St. Seachnall's N.S.
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St. Seachnall’s National School is situated in the heart of the village of Dunshaughlin in Co. Meath. Dunshaughlin is located 20 miles north east of Dublin City Centre. The opening of the M3 motorway in June 2010 means the village is now by-passed but it still retains a significant passing trade. The village of Dunshaughlin derives its name from “Domhnach Seachnaill,” meaning the Church of Seachnall. Seachnall is believed to have been a nephew of Saint Patrick and arrived in Ireland from Gaul (France) in 432 A.D. He founded a church on the site of the present-day Church of Ireland in the village. His feast day is November 27, the date of his death.
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Education Comes to Dunshaughlin
In 1831 formal primary education came to Ireland. The first application for funding of schools in Dunshaughlin came in 1835 when Thomas Leonard, P.P. applied for help in funding the existing schools. Records indicate that in 1834 there were three schools already in the area; a Parish School for Church of Ireland children, a ‘Day School’ kept by John Hanway and a hedge school kept by Catherine Finnegan. The application of 1835 didn’t result in a new school being set up. Rather John Hanway’s school became the National School and in return for help from the Board, the school had to follow the Board’s rules. This meant that the school had to be open to children of all religions, religion had to be taught separately from secular subjects and a notice had to be placed in the classroom to indicate whether or not religious or secular instruction was occurring.
In 1849 the then Parish Priest, Rev. Robert O’Reilly applied for help towards a girls’ school in the same building and that application states the school began on 1st of June of that year. The Inspector recommended that the application be approved as ‘it will render the national school more efficient’ and the teacher Margaret Hanway was to receive £9. The schoolhouse was near the car park of the present St. Seachnall’s R.C. Church, at the corner of Johnstown Lane. Meanwhile conditions became far from ideal in the boys’ school and on 31st December 1858 the Board withdrew its grants ‘for want of repairs.’ The Parish Priest Rev. Nicholas Duff quickly repaired the building and the Inspector declared it ‘in thorough repair’ by March 1859. John Hanway himself died in 1875 and is buried in Trevit Graveyard.
In 1831 formal primary education came to Ireland. The first application for funding of schools in Dunshaughlin came in 1835 when Thomas Leonard, P.P. applied for help in funding the existing schools. Records indicate that in 1834 there were three schools already in the area; a Parish School for Church of Ireland children, a ‘Day School’ kept by John Hanway and a hedge school kept by Catherine Finnegan. The application of 1835 didn’t result in a new school being set up. Rather John Hanway’s school became the National School and in return for help from the Board, the school had to follow the Board’s rules. This meant that the school had to be open to children of all religions, religion had to be taught separately from secular subjects and a notice had to be placed in the classroom to indicate whether or not religious or secular instruction was occurring.
In 1849 the then Parish Priest, Rev. Robert O’Reilly applied for help towards a girls’ school in the same building and that application states the school began on 1st of June of that year. The Inspector recommended that the application be approved as ‘it will render the national school more efficient’ and the teacher Margaret Hanway was to receive £9. The schoolhouse was near the car park of the present St. Seachnall’s R.C. Church, at the corner of Johnstown Lane. Meanwhile conditions became far from ideal in the boys’ school and on 31st December 1858 the Board withdrew its grants ‘for want of repairs.’ The Parish Priest Rev. Nicholas Duff quickly repaired the building and the Inspector declared it ‘in thorough repair’ by March 1859. John Hanway himself died in 1875 and is buried in Trevit Graveyard.
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St. Patrick’s Hall
It is not known who replaced Hanway initially but in March 1878 Patrick Murphy was appointed. After several warnings of the condition of the school, a new one, now St. Patrick’s Hall was finally built and pupils and staff used the building for the first time on 2nd September, 1887. William Murphy gave the land and a 900-year lease was drawn up in 1884. The Board granted finance for a building to accommodate 170 children and further money to help build a boundary wall. Both the boys and girls moved into the new school but they remained separate schools with their own Roll Numbers and separate teachers. |
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Principals and Teachers of Dunshaughlin NS
Patrick Murphy continued as Principal of the Boys’ school. Murphy himself was a native of Waterford and a fluent Irish speaker. The school itself was used for Irish language classes outside of school time. A Miss Mulligan appears to have been Principal of the Girls’ School at the turn of the century. Murphy’s tenure as Principal ended in March 1921, having had spent 43 years teaching in the school. However his family maintained a link with the school up to the 1940’s as his two daughters, Lena and Mary also taught in the school. Sean Costigan was principal of the Boys’ school (1921-1922) but lost the position during the civil war. He regained his position in 1928 when Fianna Fáil became the dominant political party. Costigan married Ina Murphy from Dunshaughlin and is buried in Dunshaughlin Graveyard following his death in 1988. It is said the Boys’ School had a number of other Principals during the 1920’s such as Michael Mc Cannon, Micheál Ó Sé, Seamus Tierney and Thomas Lydon. In 1932 Gerry Smyth was appointed Principal of the B.N.S. and remained in the position until he retired in 1973. In the 1930’s Miss Elizabeth Cogan was appointed Principal of the G.N.S. and remained in Dunshaughlin until 1965. |
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End of School Life in St. Patrick’s Hall / Start of new school in 1950s
The school building in the 1930’s was not as large as the present St. Patrick’s Hall. There were separate entrances for boys and girls. The Boys’ School was nearer the main street and boys entered the front porch via the door facing the main road. The girls entered at the other side of the porch and the large front door of the porch was not used. Inside a partition divided the building into two and there were two teachers in each school. In January 1941 the two schools were amalgamated with Gerry Smyth as Principal. During the 1950’s the school was again in need of refurbishment and so it was decided to build a new school. W.J. Murphy of Ivy House donated land for the building, as his great grandfather had for the previous school. Laurence Murray, secretary for the Minister for Education officially opened the new school on 2nd December 1954 and Bishop John Kyne of Meath performed the blessing. Although the school was opened in December 1954, it seems pupils only moved in on 19th January 1955. The three teacher school moved to the new school where the library / staff room is now located. |
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School Growth
Since the opening of the current school, the building itself has changed dramatically in size to cater for extra number of students and to allow for more recreational space. Charlie Gallagher succeeded Gerry Smyth as Principal in April 1973 and Fr. Brendan Caffrey became Parish Priest in June 1973. Between them they oversaw an extension of six extra classrooms and a Hall in 1976. In 1975 the Community College in Dunshaughlin opened its doors and it now takes a large cohort of pupils from St. Seachnall’s after primary school. In 1992 Charlie Gallagher, Parish Priest Fr. John Kerrane and the Board of Management took the visionary decision to purchase Murphy’s field at the rear of the school to create a proper playground and cater for future expansion. In recent times it has become an essential part of the playing area for children as the old schoolyard has been built on with a number of new extensions.
Since the opening of the current school, the building itself has changed dramatically in size to cater for extra number of students and to allow for more recreational space. Charlie Gallagher succeeded Gerry Smyth as Principal in April 1973 and Fr. Brendan Caffrey became Parish Priest in June 1973. Between them they oversaw an extension of six extra classrooms and a Hall in 1976. In 1975 the Community College in Dunshaughlin opened its doors and it now takes a large cohort of pupils from St. Seachnall’s after primary school. In 1992 Charlie Gallagher, Parish Priest Fr. John Kerrane and the Board of Management took the visionary decision to purchase Murphy’s field at the rear of the school to create a proper playground and cater for future expansion. In recent times it has become an essential part of the playing area for children as the old schoolyard has been built on with a number of new extensions.
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Celtic Tiger and the CES
Jim Gilligan was appointed Principal in September 1999 and the school continued to expand in tandem with the ‘Celtic Tiger’. The Centre for European Schooling (CES) was set up in 2002 to cater for pupils whose parents worked in the EU’s Food and Veterinary Office in Grange, Dunsany with Úna Barton as first Director. A major extension and renovation programme began in 2002 that resulted in three separate building phases. The main building was refurbished and extended by the addition of ten mainstream classrooms and eight CES rooms. Emmet Rogers of P. Rogers and Sons carried out the work that was completed in 2006 at a cost of €3.5m. |
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Two further extensions were carried out in 2011 and 2013-14, each consisting of two classrooms and a Special Education room. Martin Blake and Zilic carried out the work. All development work since 2000 has been overseen by Gerry O Meara of SBA Architects and the school is grateful to him for his ongoing advice and expertise. Jim Gilligan retired as Principal in January 2015 and the Board appointed Ciara Whelan as the new Principal.
