Millionaire gives €7m for new school [Independent.ie]
- Published: 02 February 2011
WHEN a local entrepreneur approached a school principal in despair over the condition of his school with an offer of help, it was not an opportunity to be turned down in a hurry.
Tom Kelleher of Rolestown National School, near Swords in north Co Dublin, was sitting in his office one day fretting over the facilities when e-learning multimillionaire Pat McDonagh -- himself a former primary teacher -- dropped in.
"We were in dire need of a building and he simply said, 'If you organise it, I'll pay for it'," Mr Kelleher said.
The existing school was "falling apart", with serious heating and lighting issues and a lack of space.
Mr McDonagh, one of the founders of the Riverdeep educational technology firm, owned the site on which the school was built and the unique deal involved a series of land swaps and agreements involving Mr McDonagh, the Catholic Church, which is the patron body for the school, Fingal County Council and the Department of Education.
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