Long wait over for school extension

IT is nine years since the first letter was sent on behalf of the board of management of Gort Community School to the planning officer in the Department of Education.

That letter outlined the difficulties that the pupils were encountering on a daily basis for physical education classes and general team sports and events.
“We did, and still have the use of the nearby Gort Community Centre and whilst it provides an excellent indoor hall area and upstairs area for our canteen, the changing facilities were totally inadequate to meet the needs of a large second-level school,” explained school principal, Denis Corry.
Nearly a decade later, the work has come to fruition and the school’s new €500,000 extension will be officially opened in mid-October.
The school began to fundraise in 2001 in an effort to generate enough money to build new dressing rooms.
“We benefited from having then and still, a very active and hardworking parents’ association, as well as a staff which was eager to put its collective shoulder to the wheel. We had raffles, fashion shows, dog nights and any type of fundraising event, which could generate the much-needed finance. In 2005, the Department of Education approved the plan but it made it clear that the cost of the project would have to be borne by the board of management,” recalled Mr Corry.
“By 2006, we had €150,000 raised when the Department of Education then announced that Gort was to get a new extension, anyway which would be fully funded by the State. This extension included the provision of our much-needed dressing rooms.
“The Department of Education was preparing Gort Community School to take in the influx of new students because nearby Seamount College in Kinvara was supposedly closing down. Within nine months, all had changed again and the new fully paid for extension to Gort Community School was off the table, as Seamount College had won a reprieve,” he continued.
The school had in 2005 been given the green light to proceed on its own.
“We received a much-needed boost when Dr Francis Noone, a local doctor from Castletown, Gort, generously bequeathed the sum of €100,000 to the board of management of the school, which subsequently decided that this gift would go towards the funding of our new extension. It was both appropriate and opportune to do so. By way of acknowledgement, the board decided to call the new building the Noone building,” Mr Corry stated.
By now, the board had decided to add a second floor, as the priority was to meet the needs of the school. A large new music room was added to cater for a growing music department, along with a career guidance suite and a new oratory.
These were in addition to the four dressing rooms, two for boys and two for girls, four single-unit changing areas catering for two coaches, a referee and one with disabled access, and the care-taking storeroom and gear room on the ground floor.
“We built a ball wall for hurling and camogie practice to the rear of the building. Local company Grealish Glynn Associates was retained by the board for its professional expertise, advice and direction. The job went to tender in November 2009 and 13 local companies were invited to respond. Seven companies submitted their prices and the successful candidate and lowest respondent was Martin Smyth, Faha, Caher, County Clare whose price was €485,000,” Mr Corry explained.
“In the final analysis, €305,000 was generated through voluntary means, including the generous donation of €100,000 from Dr Noone. The Department of Education picked up the outstanding balance.
“The Noone Building will provide excellent facilities for our young people into the future and our school community of teachers and parents, past pupils and present students have certainly played their part in bringing this project to fruition. They can all be justifiably proud of this achievement,” the school principal remarked.
The site preparations began during the February mid-term break and the building and grounds will be officially opened on Saturday, October 16.
“Because The Noone Building focuses in on the sporting and music life of the school, the cutting of the tape will be performed by Joe Byrne, Kinvara, chairman of the Galway Hurling Board and a parent of a student at our school. He is also the son of former board of management chairperson, the late Toddie Byrne.
“Singer Sean Keane from Caherlistrane will also be involved in the opening. His two daughters are past pupils of the school and his wife Virginia taught at Gort Community School until her sad and untimely passing in July of this year,” outlined Mr Corry.
After the official opening of The Noone Building on October 16, two representative teams will play a challenge hurling match. All the team members will be past pupils who have gone on to represent their county team, be it Galway or Clare, at minor, U-21 or senior level.
All those in attendance will be treated to a buffet lunch hosted at Gort Community Centre and catered for by school caterer, Eileen Egan from Guaire Catering.
“The issue of this extension has been a live and very real one since the school opened in 1995. We didn’t have proper changing facilities for our boys and girls, so we put things in motion in 2001 and we started fundraising from there.
“It has taken almost 10 years to bring it to this point and we would not be here only for the hard work and resilience of the board of management, staff of the school and parents association,” Mr Corry concluded.
The official opening involves a full day of activities beginning at 10am and continuing to 8pm on Saturday, October 16.