Minister tours Colaiste na hInse and Duleek schools

The Minister for Education, Batt O"Keefe, baked scones and danced the 'Walls of Limerick" at a ceili when he visited Colaiste na hInse in Laytown on Friday. The minister told students and staff he was very impressed with the school - which uses part of the former Neptune Beach Hotel - and assured them that permanent accommodation would go ahead as planned. He told students and teachers he was impressed at all they had achieved since the school started up in September. The minister was taken on a tour of the school by principal, Anne Marie McCarrick, and visited the English room, where students were learning about persuasive speech and were watching Barack Obama"s acceptance speech on computer. He then visited the home economics room, where he helped make scones and also visited the woodwork and music rooms before going to the library where a ceili was in progress. He was asked to dance by a student and took part in a lively version of 'The Walls of Limerick". Minister O"Keefe met with the school caretaker Brian Emmet, the hero of the recent helicopter crash in the car park of the former hotel, who helped the pilot to safety and then met all the students for a question and answer session. He was treated to a sample of the skills of the schools prize-winning Gael Linn debating team and students performed the song 'Oiche Mhaith" for him. He was presented with a copy of 'The Book Of Tara" in recognition of the fact that the Tara brooch was found on Bettystown beach and was invited back to officially open the school"s 'Tara Room" when the new school is complete. Meanwhile, the minister also visited Duleek Girls" and Boys" National Schools on Friday morning. At the girls school, he was met by the chairman of the board of management, Fr John Conlon, the principal Fearghas ' Cathlain, and Gillian O"Meara of the parents" council. It was an informal visit and Mr O"Keeffe met senior students in the general purposes room, where there were plenty of questions from the youngsters and he visited the juinior students in their own classrooms. The minister planted a tree at the school to mark his visit there and met the Green School Committee. He was presented with a copy of 'The Wells of the Locality", which is published by the local heritage committee as a memento of his visit. He then moved on for a quick visit to the boys" national school, where the principal, Gerry Conroy, showed him the school in operation and outlined to him the problems which will arise at the school in 2009 with regards to the increasing numbers of pupils in the school and the larger class sizes.