Work begins on Rathmore extension

Rathmore National School outside Athboy should see the end of a long wait for new school accommodation before the end of this academic year as work begins on a new three-room extension. The foundation stone for the new extension has been laid by the cathaoirleach of Meath County Council, Cllr Liz McCormack, and blessed by Fr Patrick O"Connor, parish priest of Athboy. They were joined by pupils, teachers, parents and members of the board of management. The new-look Rathmore National School will consist of three self-contained classrooms and improvements to the existing facilities, the two-classroom school building. Rathmore is a three-teacher school, with one of the teachers currently operating a classroom out of a portacabin. Fr O"Connor outlined the changes that had taken place in education since the school first opened in 1947. St Laurence"s NS was built by Fr Michael Conlon, whom Fr O"Connor described as a man of great vision with regard to the provision of education in the parish. Fr Conlon built three new primary schools in his time, and also brought secondary education to the town of Athboy when encouraging the Sisters of Mercy to utilise the old primary school building there. 'He saw a lot of poverty and realised that education was the key to unlocking poverty,' Fr O"Connor said. 'We can pay tribute to him by building on his work.' Fr O"Connor also paid tribute to the work of various boards of management down to the present day, for their pro-action in furthering the building project. The building is funded under the Department of Education"s Small Schools Improvement Scheme, and construction is being carried out by Wilson Construction. The architect is Patrick Weafer, Mullingar, and construction is expected to be complete by April or May of 2009. The school has grown from 17 pupils in 2001 to 74 at present.