Kilnaleck NS

St. Patrick's Mixed National School is located in the village of Kilnaleck. Kilnaleck or Cill na Leice as it is known as Gaeilge means Church of the flag-stone, or Coill na Leice as it was formerly known means the wood of the flag-stone, which makes reference to the fact that a forest was once located where the main street of the village now lies which was formerly owned in its entirety by the Bishop of Kilmore.

Kilnaleck is a small village in South West Cavan about 8 miles from the Longford border. It also borders on the southern side with Meath and West Meath.

^{Kilnaleck National School, Kilnaleck, Co. Cavan}

Resources

The main local industries in the Kilnaleck Community are largely in the agricultural sector with pig and dairy farming, as well as mushroom growing being prominent. More recently, the focus of the village has shifted towards service provision with Kilnaleck now hosting almost all services needed in an ever modernising society while still retaining a large amount of the social fabric on which Ireland prided itself on for generations. Help is usually no further away than your neighbour's fireside and the door is almost always open, with a kettle continually on the boil.

The school building is located on the Mountnugent-Oldcastle Road at the top of the village to the rear of the Realtog Centre. It was built in 1970 and opened in 1971 with Benny Boylan N.T. as its first principal and Fr. Gene Dowd as Chairperson of the Board of Management. The new school building replaced the old which had stood on the Church Road since the 1880s. The school is known largely to the local people as Kilnaleck National School.

Master Benny Boylan retired in 1978 and was replaced by a local man Nicholas Baxter N.T. who gave sterling service to the school and surrounding community for almost a quarter of a century until his retirement in 2003. The present principal of the school is a Donegal native, Fionbar O'Baoill. Monsignor PJ McManus, a native of Lavey, arrived in Kilnaleck in 1980 and has been Chairperson of the Board of Management ever since.

The school has recently installed interactive whiteboards and the children are enthused about learning and attending school. The very hard working school secretary and caretaker are locals Patricia Rennix and John Galligan respectively.

The school has an enrolment of 61.

Awards, Activities and Achievements:
2007 - Winners of Cumann na mBunscoil Division 2 Camogie Final (Girls)

2007 - Winners of Cumann na mBunscoil Division 6 Football Final (Boys)

2005 - Winners of the Irish Independent/CIE Schools Building for the Future Country Prize for the second time in three years with their project 'Kill Graveyard'.

We have a great tradition of camogie and football in our school.

What you hope this project will help you and your school accomplish?
An understanding of school life and how they differ / are similar in the North and the Republic. Make new friends. Discover new things about Cavan and Fermanagh. Broaden childrens' insights about life "across the border".

Address: Kilnaleck, Co. Cavan

Tel: +353 (0) 49 4336728 Fax:+353 (0) 49 4336728

Email: kilnaleckns.ias@eircom.net

School Principal: Finbar Boyle

Teacher involved in project: Kitty Tinneny

Class of form involved in project: 5th & 6th

Partner School on this Project: Cornagague Primary School, Magheraveely, Co. Fermanagh