Irish school call on parents to back bid
A COMMITTEE hoping to form Balbriggan's first ever secondary level Irish language school has issued a last minute call to parents to submit pre-enrolment forms to support its bid.
The founding committee of Coláiste Ghlór na Mara, bidding to be the patrons of the new Gaelcholáiste in Balbriggan to open in 2014 is calling on all parents and guardians who wish to pre-enrol their children for the new Irish-medium second level school to complete pre-enrolment forms before Friday, February 24th, 2012.
The Founding Committee have been relentlessly campaigning and advocating for a Gaelcholáiste in Balbriggan since 2008 and since then, they have gathered huge support in the area. They have collected over 700 names, surpassing the minimum number of names required by the Department of Education & Skills for opening a Gaelcholáiste.
They have chosen a site for the location of the school and recommended this to the Department and have decided on their preferred school patron, An Foras Patrunachta, the national Irish-language schools' patron for primary and second level schools. With less than two weeks to go until school patrons must submit their applications for the new secondary schools, An Foras Patrunachta and the founding committee are calling on all interested parents in North County Dublin, South County Louth and East County Meath to go online to complete a pre- enrolment form at www.foras.ie or get in touch with either An Foras Patrunachta or the founding committee to request a pre-enrolment form.
Coláiste Ghlór na Mara, the chosen name by the founding committee, will be the first Gaelcholáiste in North County Dublin and promises to provide the highest standard of education to pupils in a co-educational school with a multi-denominational ethos. A Ghlór na Mara spokesperson said: 'It is without doubt that because of the tremendous work by the Founding Committee with the support of An Foras Patrunachta, that the department has chosen Balbriggan as a designated area for a Gaelcholáiste.
'It is a wonderful achievement by the founding committee, and all who have lended their support and help with this campaign, who have raised the profile of Irish-medium education in Balbriggan and in the country. ' Your continuous support is needed. To register your interest in the new Gaelcholáiste under the patronage of An Foras Pátrúnachta, please visit either www.colaisteghlornamara.com or www.foras.ie. 'If you would like to help with this campaign, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please email Caitríona Bairéad at caitriona@foras.ie or call 016294110.'
- JOHN MANNING
