{"id":617985,"date":"2026-09-08T07:34:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T07:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/617985\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T07:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T07:34:20","slug":"it-makes-them-more-resilient-life-in-irelands-only-irish-language-primary-boarding-school-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/617985\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It makes them more resilient\u2019: Life in Ireland\u2019s only Irish-language primary boarding school \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

School\u2019s out for the 40 or so 11- to 12-year-old boarders at Scoil na Leana\u00ed in Co Waterford<\/a>\u2019s Ring Gaeltacht<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the beautiful day when we visit, the girls are playing games on the AstroTurf pitches while the boys are playing a form of golf on the undulating green space behind the school.<\/p>\n

Activities, including squash, camogie, Gaelic football, hurling, rounders and volleyball, are led by cinnir\u00ed who also double up as house masters\/mistresses in what is Ireland\u2019s only Irish-language boarding school for primary-school-age children.<\/p>\n

There are no day pupils.<\/p>\n

Like all boarding schools, the day is filled with routines for meals, class, sports, study and free time before bed. But, what is most striking here is this small group of pupils haven\u2019t got the company of younger pupils they would have in a regular primary school or older students if they were in the preparatory year of a secondary school.<\/p>\n

Classes in Scoil na Leana\u00ed \u2013 a typical 1960s-style Irish primary school building on the Col\u00e1iste na Rinn 10-hectare campus \u2013 end at 3.30pm. The pupils then change into sports gear for games until their evening meal is served at 6pm.<\/p>\n

\"SportSport is a big part of life at Scoil na Leana\u00ed, Col\u00e1iste na Rinn. All photographs: Nick Bradshaw <\/p>\n

Later their daily routine continues with supervised study, supper and more activities before bedtime at 9.30pm. At weekends they go to traditional Irish music concerts or take trips to local beaches or other places of interest. They return home every third weekend.<\/p>\n

Following the Department of Education primary school curriculum for fifth and sixth class through the medium of Irish<\/a>, Scoil na Leana\u00ed is run by Col\u00e1iste na Rinn as part of its wider promotion of the Irish language with short residential courses throughout the academic year and the summer months.<\/p>\n

Olive Croke, the principal of Scoil na Leana\u00ed, explains that the majority of pupils come from English language primary schools. \u201cIn September, most of them have very little Irish so, in the first month, we don\u2019t do English, history or geography,\u201d she says. \u201cWe focus on oral language by singing songs, doing poetry and getting their tongues around the syllables of the language.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Inside the only girls\u2019 boarding school taught entirely through IrishOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Most of the teachers and the school\u2019s language assistant are native Irish speakers, and this year\u2019s cohort of pupils includes seven who previously attended a Gaelscoil. Most come from Dublin schools, with a sprinkling from Waterford, Kildare, Kilkenny and Galway.<\/p>\n

Fees are \u20ac16,000 for the year.<\/p>\n

Muireann N\u00ed Dhomhnaill, chairwoman of the school board, and a former teacher and pupil at Scoil na Leana\u00ed, says the children first need to learn the everyday phrases to communicate with the cinnir\u00ed, the nurse and diningroom staff. \u201cIt\u2019s about building friendships, going for walks. It\u2019s a graded approach. We start with junior-infants-level Gaeilge,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"MuireannMuireann N\u00ed Dhomhnaill and Olive Croke <\/p>\n

Croke says the school accommodates different levels of Irish with a lot of emphasis on speaking, listening to and understanding Irish. \u201cIt\u2019s about seeing Irish as a living language,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone with an ability is pushed, yet we take care of those with additional needs. We don\u2019t put the same pressure on grammar or spellings for anyone with a learning difficulty,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

The pupils don\u2019t have access to mobile phones, but they can receive phone calls from their parents at three different times during the day on one of nine landlines in the corridor next to the school office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a screen-free year for them \u2013 no television, no iPads and no internet. They have no access to mobile phones. If they own one, it is kept in the office until their bus journey home,\u201d says Croke. She adds that since she started in the school in 1993, she has never heard any child say they miss not being able to watch television.<\/p>\n

\"SchoolSchool buildings \"TighTigh Dubh <\/p>\n

N\u00ed Dhomhnaill says one advantage she sees with these young boarders is the conflict resolution skills they learn at an early age. \u201cIf there is an issue in a [day] primary school, they bring it home and the parents often get involved and it [can] escalate,\u201d she says. \u201cBut here, the onus is on the child to resolve it with the guidance or a teacher, a cinnire or the nurse. That makes them more resilient in preparation for secondary school.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can read on a child\u2019s face if something is upsetting them. You learn to read their emotions and find out if someone has taken their toothpaste, if they are feeling excluded, or if the family cat died.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boarding Schools<\/p>\n

This is part of a series by Sylvia Thompson on boarding schools in Ireland \u2013 life inside the schools for students and teachers, pros and cons, the costs involved, and the freedoms and limitations. And why parents would choose to send their children to a boarding school in 21st century Ireland. <\/p>\n

Read<\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n Mac Gearailt, one of the three Scoil na Leana\u00ed teachers, says that for some students, being at the school is their first exposure to a coeducational school environment. \u201cInitially we are mindful that the girls sit with the girls and the boys with the boys, but we encourage them to mix,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The children sleep in separate girls and boys dormitory-style two-bed cubicles in the main building overlooking Dungarvan Bay. Collages of photos of family members and pets and cards adorn the walls of these shared spaces. <\/p>\n

The boarding house supervisor sleeps in a room at the end of the corridor, and the nurse\u2019s room is just around the corner. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Life at Ireland\u2019s biggest boarding school: \u2018I have so much more independence\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Nurse Catherine O\u2019Brien says it is great to see how the children mature over the year. However, she gets to see them when they at their most vulnerable. \u201cSometimes friendships can be overwhelming for them or they are homesick. Often, when they come to me, all they need is a good cry, a one-to-one chat or an extra phone call home,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The school is governed by the Department of Education and the Catholic Church. \u201cIt has a Catholic ethos, but we accept all faiths. That said, 38 out of the 41 attend Mass,\u201d says Croke. Two year ago Scoil na Leana\u00ed got official recognition as a Scoil Gaeltachta. \u201cSince then, we have links with the local Scoil N\u00e1is\u00fanta, the N\u00edonra and Meanscoil St Niocl\u00e1s, attending cake sales, table quizzes and concerts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe library \"\"\"ScoilScoil na Leana\u00ed \"Diningroom\"Diningroom \"PupilsPupils Sheena Harrison, Leila Mckavanagh and Gr\u00e1inne Phelan and tuck shop ‘boss’ Vivienne Uniacke <\/p>\n

The school holds annual open days to encourage new pupils. They also promote the school at an event in south Dublin every year. However, even with these events, numbers are a quarter of what they were in the 1990s, which Croke attributes to pressure on secondary school places. \u201cIf they leave their feeder school to come here, they will lose their place in the secondary school,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Back on the campus, cinnir\u00ed Vivienne Uniacke and Clara Coughlan explain the pupil\u2019s daily routines include putting out their washing to following the rota for their 10 minutes\u2019 shower time and tidying their rooms before classes begin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey cry when they arrive because they have left their parents and are homesick. But then they cry again when they are leaving because they are sad because they are leaving the good friends they made,\u201d says Uniacke.<\/p>\n

Pupils\u2019 experiences at Scoil na Leana\u00ed\"OliviaOlivia Kelly, Lelia McKavanagh, Gr\u00e1inne Phelan and Caoimhe Kiely Olivia Kelly from Naas, Co Kildare<\/p>\n

\u201cI found it exciting to come here. You can get lonely sometimes, but we have so many friends. It makes you more independent and I like meeting people from different counties in Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gr\u00e1inne Phelan from Co Waterford<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the sports \u2013 camogie and basketball are my favourites \u2013 and having fun with new people. I think we will make friends for life here as we are all so much closer.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lelia McKavanagh, Kinvara, Co Galway<\/p>\n

\u201cIrish was never my favourite subject and I wasn\u2019t very good at it. I wanted to improve. Being here has made me more confident about going places by myself. The nurses are very kind and you can speak to them in private through English if you are upset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oscar Boyle from Mount Merrion in Dublin<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here to learn Irish and become more independent before I go to boarding school. You get used to being so far from home, and we can speak to our parents once a day in the morning time, at lunchtime or in the evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luca Cullen, Rathmines, Dublin<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in an Irish school before, but this is a good opportunity to improve my Irish. I like the idea of living in a boarding school. We go home every two or three weeks, so I don\u2019t miss living at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

C\u00fa\u00e1n \u00d3 Muir\u00ed, Monkstown, Co Dublin<\/p>\n

\u201cI speak Irish at home so I was already fluent in Irish, but my teacher gives me extra work. I\u2019m the youngest of six boys, and four out of five of my brothers came here. They said it was the best year of their life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"School\u2019s out for the 40 or so 11- to 12-year-old boarders at Scoil na Leana\u00ed in Co Waterford\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617986,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6466,15338,15339,42,34095,43,28230,2055,40,38,41,39,6513],"class_list":["post-617985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-department-of-education","tag-gaeilge","tag-gaeltacht","tag-headlines","tag-irish-language","tag-news","tag-primary-level","tag-students","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-waterford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}