Kells locals fondly recall schooldays

It says something about a school when 100 people interviewed for a book about their experiences there did not have a bad word to say about their alma mater. That was the experience of one of the editors of 'Kells Vocational School - A Popular History', which provides an insight into the life of the school built in 1929 and which was launched in Kells on Monday night. Elma McMahon, youth officer with Meath VEC, wrote that it was "astoundingly refreshing" to come across so many people with nothing but good things to say about their old school, its teachers and fellow pupils. "We move into an era dominated by computers and information, yet the experiences at Kells Vocational School were genuine and warm," she said. Her co-editor, Bernadette Walsh, head of corporate and education services with County Meath VEC, wrote that it was clear from all those who had answered her call for articles, photographs and information, that the students and staff all have fond recollections and valued their time there. The building of Kells Vocational School in the first place must have been a daunting and difficult task in the economically poor days of 1929. When completed, it was one of the most prominent buildings in the town and, according to the present-day Meath VEC CEO Peter Kierans, "must have been a source of pride to all". Of course, all schools are made up of the people who worked and studied there and from a short perusal of the book, it emerges that the names of Michael MacAodha and Denis P Casey stand out. A staff room with P J McCaffrey, Des Ferguson, Des Fitzgerald, Hudi O'Donnell, Pat Duffy, Ita Clarke, Mairead Daly Caffrey and Maureen Lyons Clune was in a class of its own. In his introduction, Peter Kierans states that it is a great source of pride to Meath VEC that so many past pupils have progressed through the school to become leading citizens and public servants. "Some schools have rolls of honour of millionaires. No doubt, we have a few of these. However, our wealth from Kells Technical School is found in the fine upstanding people who have enriched their communities, invested their energies in their families, communities and towns," he wrote. Technical education in this county started life under a structure which was jnown as the Joint Technical Instruction Committee. These committees became the precursors of the VECs. County Meath VEC was set up under the Vocational Education Act 1930. The vocational schools (or 'techs' as they were known in the early days) were set up by the Joint Technical Instruction Committee and represented the first steps in the training of a cohort of people in technical and trades skills and domestic economy. Based on these skills, the early industry of the young nation was developed. A Meath man, Sir Horace Plunkett, was the driving force in the introduction of technical instruction, not only in Meath, but also throughout the whole island of Ireland. Sir Horace was a unionist landlord whose ancestral home was Dunsany Castle. The one-time principal of Navan Technical School, Mr Bennett, was killed in a traffic accident between Navan and Trim in 1920. He was replaced by a well-known Irish activist and teacher, Sean MacNamidhe, who went on to become the first chief executive officer of the VEC since its establishment in 1930. He was followed by PB " Biorain (Paddy Byron), then by Liam O'Donnell, and finally the present incumbent of the ofice, Peter Kierans, who has extended the role of the VEC beyond schooling into adult literacy, community education, youth work, adult education and adult guidance. New schools at Dunboyne, Rath Cairn, Oldcastle, Ratoath and Laytown have been built during this period. Trim Vocational School and Athboy Vocational School were amalgamated to form community schools. This book is a mine of information on the history of Kells Vocational School but also an important social document which casts new light on the experiences of the many people who passed through its doors.