Schools visit for Tánaiste

An Tánaiste and Minister for Education Mary Coughlan will be in South Galway next week as an invited guest of local primary and secondary schools.

On Monday, Minister Coughlan will travel to Kinvara, where she will officially open the new sports facilities at St Joseph’s National School. This will be followed by a visit to the newly co-educational Seamount College, where students will entertain the Tánaiste with traditional music before she meets the school’s board of management.
“The Tánaiste is coming down for the official opening of the sports complex and playground, which is attached to the school here. Building the state-of-the-art facilities cost €402,000 and while €202,000 of this came from Galway County Council, the rest was raised here in the community,” said Dominic Gallagher, St Joseph’s school principal.
“The pupils have access to the facilities during the day and the community can avail of them in the evenings. We came up with this money. We now want to build a gym to complement the Astroturf pitches and tennis courts and really it is now up to the Government and the Department to take it to the next level,” Mr Gallagher continued.
He explained the origins of the Tánaiste’s visit. “Every year, we take sixth class pupils to the Dáil. Last year, when we were there, Minister Coughlan came out of the chamber and spoke to the children.
“They were very impressed and I invited her down to open the facility. She said she’d love to come to the school and now she is fulfilling that promise,” he outlined.
Some of those pupils are now in first year in Seamount College, the next stop on the Minister’s itinerary.
“The Tánaiste will be in the school from 3pm to 4pm. She is coming as a courtesy and will address the staff and students here before meeting the board of management. The school recently became co-educational and it now needs to be refurbished and redeveloped to meet the increased intake and future demand,” explained Maighread Mhic Dhomhnaill, principal at Seamount College.
“We are looking forward to welcoming the minister here and thanking her for her support and outlining our needs into the future,” she added.
Students at Seamount College will play traditional music for Minister Coughlan and a member of the school’s art department will present her with a clay lamp made and glazed by a final year student in the school. In advance of the visit, teachers in the school will reinforce with the students the role of the Tánaiste.