Take a peek inside Ireland’s soon-to-be largest Gaelscoil

Fifty years ago, almost to the day, in September 1973, Cork’s Coláiste an Phiarsaigh was first established with incredibly humble beginnings. Without even a school building to call their own, so it was that 20 students and six teachers gathered together in Glanmire and started classes in their local Protestant Church — where they persevered in their makeshift classroom until the Department of Education granted them a premises in 1978.

“Our trustees who started it all were visionaries — they were forward thinking, brave and loyal. They wanted to start up a secondary school to cater for students to learn through the medium of Irish and did whatever it took to get there,” reflects Principal Micheál Ó Tuama.

“It all began with that small group, and today we’ve grown to a population of 580 students and 60 staff.” 

With the school’s entire existence being owed to such daring, resilient and ambitious educators, it’s no surprise that those same qualities still define Coláiste an Phiarsaigh today. Both the school itself and its students are known for going above and beyond, pushing the boundaries of what many would consider achievable. Just last month, the school reached national acclaim once again with the release of their Leaving Certificate results.

“We had 75 students sitting the Leaving Certificate this year, 20 of those got over 600 points and seven of them got the maximum of 625 points,” Micheál explains proudly. “73% of them earned over 500 points, but what made me happiest was the fact that 12% of our students got between 300 and 395 points. 

"These are students that came through the pandemic experience and found things very difficult, as they were learning online for a significant part of their secondary school journey. So we really did care for them and look after them, we interacted with them and made sure they were happy and supported whilst learning at home, and then we helped them readjust once we came back to school. 

"The fruits of that effort are to be seen now, at both the top and bottom end of our results from the Leaving Cert class of 2023. It’s a terrific set of results and we’ve remined ahead of the curve in terms of the national average for points achieved.” 

As well as being ahead of the curve with their results, however, Coláiste an Phiarsaigh are also leading the way with their school’s green policies. Last May, Minister for Education Norma Foley made the official announcement that the school had been allocated €25M in funding for a major expansion. The new construction will not only add vital amenities to the school, but will also see Coláiste an Phiarsaigh become fully carbon neutral.

“We’re very excited about the next part of our journey,” Micheál shares. “The new school will be going to construction in the next year and a half and it’s going to widen our range of subjects hugely. We’re going to become the largest Gaelscoil in Ireland, and there’s going to be wonderful facilities — a new sports hall, an indoor running track, a wellness and fitness suite. 

"It’s also fantastic that we’re going to be carbon neutral, taking care of our environment is very important and this will be one of the most modern school buildings in Ireland in that regard. The transition to being carbon neutral grew from the ground up, from our students’ council. They wanted to know what our new building would entail and whether could we harvest our own water, create our own electricity, generate our own power, and that’s what’s happening now! 

"I hope it’s going to be a positive example for other schools going forward, what we’re going to be building here over the next few years.” 

It's not just environmental issues that Coláiste an Phiarsaigh’s students have their voices heard on, either. The school is very open to feedback from their student body, particularly when it comes to extracurricular activities at the school. “We run a number of clubs prior to school starting in the morning, we would often have swimming, athletics and reading all going on before the first class begins. During lunch time we have a huge range of clubs running, from robotics to drama, to choir, to traditional music, to science club, and then after school there’s a wide range of sports available. 

"We listen to our students about what they want more of, too. We sent out a questionnaire to them based on general wellbeing about a year ago and one of the requests that came back was for a soccer team, so now we’ve formed a soccer team for our first years and second years. 

"That’s now up and running as well as hurling, camogie, gaelic football and basketball. We also have individual sports like horse riding, gymnastics and Irish dancing, many students participate in those sports on behalf of the school.” 

And if that mix of sports doesn’t sound eclectic enough, it’s nothing compared to the foreign language offering at Coláiste an Phiarsaigh! “Of course there’s a huge emphasis on languages at Coláiste and Phiarsaigh, but that’s international languages as well as our Irish,” Micheál explains.

“We’re the only school in Cork that offers Spanish, Italian, German and French as a suite of foreign languages to our Junior Cert students. They can choose one or two of those foreign languages for their junior cycle, but we would have students here in Leaving Cert who take on three foreign languages. I’d ask students to open their minds a bit and not just think about Cork or Ireland, but consider Europe when they’re making those subject choices and thinking about future study or career opportunities.” 

For any pupils who may be intimidated by this type of environment, where English isn’t the automatic norm, Micheál says a Gaelscoil like Coláiste an Phiarsaigh can really help young people to build up their confidence. 

“Everybody is welcome in Coláiste an Phiarsaigh, no matter what their level of Irish is. We provide loads of scaffolding around it, we’ll provide any student who’s nervous with extra support, extra classes and our one-on-one mentoring system for students who struggle with Irish. 

"We have a number of students who came to us from English-speaking primary schools and have flourished here in Coláiste An Phiarsaigh, so it’s not to be feared in any way. Your ability to speak Irish will flourish and blossom once you’re in that environment.” 

To see for yourself how Coláiste an Phiarsaigh can put your son or daughter at ease, why not come meet the staff and explore the school at their upcoming open night?

“Many students and parents might already have their minds made up [about their 2024/25 secondary school enrolment] at this stage, but I’d still tell them to come along to our school and give it a try. 

"Go to our science lab and take part in an experiment, go to the home economics room and do some baking, go to the gym and see our sports teams in action, or visit our pool and see the students swimming. 

"Just feel the vibe and experience the sense of camaraderie, wellness and happiness that’s around the school and then make your decision as to whether Coláiste An Phiarsaigh is right for you. It’s important to make an informed decision, and that involves seeing as many schools as you can.” 

Coláiste an Phiarsaigh’s Open Night takes place on Thursday, September 21st from 6pm, where you can find out more about enrolling for the next academic year.

You can also learn more about the school by visiting www.colaisteanphiarsaigh.ie.