Scoil Colmcille, Letterkenny

Scoil Colmcille is a Roman Catholic[1] boys' primary school in County Donegal, Ireland, located on Letterkenny's Convent Road, across from the Loreto Convent. The principal is Pauric Cannon.

Scoil Colmcille
Location
Convent Road, Letterkenny, County Donegal Ireland
Information
Type	Primary school
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic[1]
Established	1974
Principal	Joe Crossan[1]
Gender	Boys
Enrollment	342[1]
Language	English
Colour(s)
Newspaper	The Green Eco
Website	scoilcolmcillelk.ie

History

The school stands on the site of the town's first Gaelic football playing field.[2] It was built in 1974. 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 23 teachers were employed. The current principal is Pauric Cannon, who succeeded Tom Redden.

Boys are housed at the rear end of the school and play in the back yard while girls are taught at the front entrance and play in the adjoining yard. Other non-teaching staff include secretaries, cleaners, ancillary workers and a caretaker.

The school choir, led by Mr Frank Breslin, sang to a prime time national audience on The Late Late Toy Show in 1995.[3]

At an event held at the school in January 2020, organised by teachers Rory Kavanagh and Odhran McGowan and attended by many of those who had been pupils there in the past, the then Leas-Cheann Comhairle Pat "the Cope" Gallagher claimed that, while not having attended the school, he had come close to doing so as his father had been employed by Esso in Letterkenny.[4] The same event was brought to a close by fiddler Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh.[4] Also among those in attendance were the then Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh and former school principal Tom Redden, while those based abroad such as Deputy Mayor of Islington Troy Gallagher and chef Conrad Gallagher delivered contributions by video.[4]

Environmental affairs

Plaque located on the wall of the old Scoil Colm Cille

The school has won the Green Flag award on a number of occasions and is known for its environmental endeavours. A school newspaper, The Green Eco, is produced irregularly.[5]

Sport

Gaelic footballers Rory Kavanagh, Colm McFadden, Frank McGlynn and Kevin Rafferty visited the school on 26 September 2012 accompanied by the Sam Maguire Cup, the trophy they had won following victory in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Kavanagh and Rafferty were past pupils of the school.[6]

Staff

• Rory Kavanagh — the All-Ireland winning Gaelic footballer teaches at the school[6]
• The widow of former Mayor of Letterkenny Dessie Larkin taught at the school during the 1990s before her marriage.
• Anne McGowan — the community activist, noted for, among other things, chairing the Tidy Towns Committee that brought the award to Letterkenny for the first time in 2015, taught at the school from 1974 to 2012.[7][8]

Notable past pupils

• Conrad Gallagher — Michelin star-winning chef; cooked for President of the United States Bill Clinton, listed in Who's Who[9][10][11]
• Troy Gallagher — Deputy Mayor of Islington[4]
• Pat Gibson — Recognised as one of the world's foremost quiz players; won the UK version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2004); won Mastermind (2005); won the BBC Radio 4 quiz show Brain of Britain (2006); won Mastermind Champion of Champions (2010); features as the Seventh Egghead on Eggheads
• Ciaran Harvey — CIO of Pramerica Systems Ireland[12]
• Declan Harvey — BBC television presenter and radio journalist[4]
• Rory Kavanagh — All-Ireland winning Gaelic footballer[6]
• Kieran Kelly — historian, actor and playwright[4]
• John Logue — former President of the Union of Students in Ireland[13]
• Ronan Margey — Lead Clinical Cardiologist at the Mater Private Hospital, Cork[4]
• Kevin Rafferty — All-Ireland winning Gaelic footballer[6]

References

1. "SCOIL CHOILMCILLE [sic]". Department of Education (Ireland).
2. "History of the GAA in Letterkenny and St. Eunan's GAA Club". St Eunan's GAA. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015.
4. Walsh, Paddy (23 January 2020). "The Past, the Present, the Future: Special day in Letterkenny school - What they did next". p. 29.
5. The Green Eco Archived 12 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Picture special: Rory Kavanagh returns to Scoil Cholmcille with Sam". Donegal Daily. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012. Both Kevin and Rory are also past pupils of the school.
7. McKinney, Seamus (29 September 2015). "Letterkenny cleans up in Tidy Towns awards". The Irish News. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
8. "Anne McGowan".
9. The emergence, development and influence of French Haute Cuisine on public dining in Dublin restaurants 1900-2000: an oral history. Part 2 (downloadable), p. 343.
10. McDonagh, Marese (16 October 2002). "Top chef Conrad Gallagher finds success is like a souffle - fast to rise but quick to sink". Irish Independent.
11. Neill, Laura (4 September 2012). "Seeking Spiritual Fulfillment At The Purple Fig". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 September 2012. ...whilst attending Scoil Colmcille and St. Eunan's for education...
12. Walsh, Harry (25 March 2016). "Pramerica Systems Ireland appoint local man as new CIO". Donegal News. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016.
13. Nic Phaidin, Michelle (21 January 2013). "John Logue: Law, learning and listening". Donegal Democrat. Retrieved 21 January 2013. ...He began his schooling in Scoil Cholmcille before attending St. Eunan's all boys college in Letterkenny which he very much enjoyed. "I absolutely loved St Eunan's. You had a great group of people there, you had boys who were seriously academic and you had people there who were seriously sports orientated, we knew when to get up to a bit of mischief but we also knew when to knuckle down," he said...

External links

• Official website
• Tom Redden talks about the school's facilities