History of Ballinkillen National School
Our school is the oldest school in Ireland operating from its original building - since 1810. The school predates the Education Act. It was built in 1810 on a site of one acre, given to the parish (via a permanent lease) by Mr. C. LaTouche to serve as a chapel yard and a site for a Free School. He also donated the rents of the two annual fairs at Slyguff for the support of the school where all the poor children of his estate and the vicinity could be educated. David La Touche was a member of the La Touche Bank in Dublin and his father was first Governor of the Bank of Ireland. It is recorded that during the Irish famine, his father “allowed what money might be needed to buy meal for the poor to be drawn from his bank” and his sons carried on this tradition of charity.
The cost of building and furnishing the school in 1810 was £200, a handsome sum in the early 1800s. It was built under the direction of The Parish Priest of Dunleckney, Rev. M. Prendergast, with subscriptions, and he also contributed £50. The school was a two storey building – the ground floor room was a classroom and the ‘Master’ lived upstairs.
At the end of the 18th century the great majority of children were receiving their education in hedge schools. These schools derived their name from the habit of holding classes in the open air, often near hedges (for protection and shelter) during the summer. The remainder of the local hedge school is visible across the road from the school. During the winter a landlord might provide a barn in which classes could be held. The curriculum of the hedge school was based, for the most part, on the "three Rs". By the mid-1820s it was estimated that close to a half-million children, four-fifths of whom were Catholics, were being taught in hedge schools. Due to a relaxation of the Penal Laws, in 1782, Catholics were enabled to establish schools and to educate their youth in literature and religion. The national school system was introduced in 1831. Ballinkillen N.S. appears to have been part of the national school system in 1861. In 1960 the extension called the "Masters Room" was added . The school was refurbished in 1988 at a cost of £56,000.
While we have no information of the organisation from 1810 to 1816, we know that Mr John Brennan was appointed Master in 1816. He was 39 years of age and is described as being of ‘good character’. There was no fixed salary for the school; the master received £10 annually for his attention both to the school and the chapel adjoining. School was held every day throughout the year except Sundays and holidays. Children were charged quarterly fees for the subjects they took - spelling cost 2s. 2d., writing 3s. 3d. and arithmetic 5s. 5d.
In 1868, Mr Patrick Brenan was appointed Principal. His son, Michael, joined the staff in 1908 and in 1911, Mai Griffin - later to become Mrs. Michael Brenan - was appointed. She taught in the school until 1955. Patrick Brenan died in 1914 and was succeeded by Michael who died in 1922. In 1922, Mr Michael Lawler was appointed Principal. He was succeeded in 1929 by Mr John McDonnell who retired in 1975. The new housing development close to the school was named McDonnell Park in his memory. In 1975, following the retirement of Mr Mc Donnell, Mr Kevin Cuddy was appointed Principal until he retired in 2008. He was succeeded by the present Principal, Ms Michelle Doorley.