St Columba’s NS marks 200th anniversary
Emmy-Lou Kilcoyne shows her classroom to her mother Nicola and brother James on the plaque which was unveiled during the St. Columba's NS 200th anniversary celebrations in Tullow. Pic: © Michael O’Rourke Photography
MICHELLE Hunter Garland has been working in St Columba’s NS in Tullow school for 16 years, first as a learning support worker, and then as principal.
Her service to the school constitutes just a fraction of the time it has been open to pupils in Tullow. The school celebrated its 200th anniversary on Friday, 28 November.
The 96 school pupils, 10 staff members, parents, past pupils and staff, and board of management gathered to mark the occasion in a packed-out St. Columba’s Church. The service was led by Bishop Adrian Wilkinson and Richard Codd, who was the school’s principal for 30 years. Deputy Catherine Callaghan, cllrs Will Paton and John Pender, and a representative of minister Jennifer Murnane O’Connor also attended.
“There was a lot of love in the church”, said Ms Hunter Garland. The children sang “really well” in the church, she said.
They revealed a wooden birthday cake carved from a 200-year-old tree from the Lisnavagh Timber Project in the church and sang happy birthday in English and Irish.
The crowd then came back to the granite stone school, which was built after Reverend Charles Doyne, the curate of the parish, sought a grant to build the school on the site for the Protestant children of the area in 1925. The record of attendance is from 1888, and contains surnames such as Henderson, Hopkins, Smith, Byrne, Burgess, Caldbeck and Dagg.
Under a blue balloon arch, the school revealed a plaque for inside the main school building, made by Cheryl Stanley of Fawn Laser. It will go on a wall alongside a photograph of original benefactor James Walter Doyne.
More memorabilia were revealed. All children and members of staff contributed a painted bird to a ceramic mural, arranged by potter Christien van Bussel, highlighting the dove symbol on the school crest. The artwork was placed inside the boundary wall as a permanent reminder of this milestone.
Additionally, first and second classes spent the past few weeks making a tiled version of the school using clay tiles, which will be displayed in front of the school.
Third and fourth classes wrote poems, and fifth and sixth classes conducted projects on the history of the school. A past pupil, Zara Garland, made a model of the school.
The school also used the occasion to open a new modular building, and an astroturf and basketball court on the school grounds. Bishop Wilkinson cut the ribbon on the modular building which contains two classrooms, an SET room and language room.
The Deis school has grown rapidly since 2018, when there was just 50 or so students. Ms Hunter Garland says the mixed-gender school body now includes “children from all backgrounds and religions.” “My own children came here”, she said. "There’s a great atmosphere in the school, the staff work well together and we have a great board of management and parental involvement."
A real cake with a picture of the school on it and other refreshments were served in the hall. “It was a lovely day”, said Ms Hunter Garland. “It was very fun.”
