Irish county loses last Catholic secondary school [belfasttelegraph.co.uk]
- Published: 31 March 2011
A county in the Republic of Ireland will have no Catholic secondary school next year in a new chapter in the history of Irish education.
Catholic school managers are worried about the decline in their numbers and say it is time to call a halt.
Co Leitrim will lose its only Catholic secondary school from September 2012, when the Fatima and Felim's, in Ballinamore, currently under the joint trusteeship of the Sisters of Mercy and the Diocese of Kilmore, become part of a new community school.
Next September, Abbeyfeale, Limerick, loses its only Catholic secondary school when the 340-pupil St Joseph's, previously run by the Mercy Order, becomes part of a new community college.
In September 2012, the Ard Scoil Mhuire, FCJ, in Bruff, Limerick, will close.
The Department of Education and Skills has not approved any new Catholic second-level school for 20 years, a period that has also seen a decline of 109 in their overall number.
Full Story: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
