Currans in fight for its school
JULY 1980
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ANGRY Currans is fighting a plan to close its national school. Battle lines were drawn up at a meeting on Monday to halt the proposed amalgamation with a new central school at Currow, and local people now want to meet the Minister for Education on the matter.
Kerry politicians present at the meeting promised to support the fight to retain the school, but warned that immediate action would have to be taken as only five weeks leeway remained.
"The people of Currans are not prepared to sit down and let themselves be dictated to in this manner," said Mr Tom Stuart, chairman of the school retention committee, to a packed parish hall. And he added, "We mean business. We have a tremendous argument."
The politicians agreed with him. "You have an excellent case," said Senator Michael Moynihan (Labour), who added, "We'll support it to the hilt." And in pledging his "wholehearted" support Deputy Michael Begley (Fine Gael) claimed: "The parish has been very shabbily treated."
Senator Gerard Lynch (Fine Gael) said he felt the people of Currans were taking the right step and Councillor Dick Spring (Labour) pointed out: "It's your children, it's your school, it's your village."
Fianna Fáil was not represented at Monday night's meeting. Apologies, however, were received from Deputies Chub O'Connor and John O'Leary who said they support Currans' cause.
The controversy stems from a plan drawn up by the Department of Education in the early 1970s to build a new school at Currow to cater for Kilsarcon, Currow, and Currans. The closure of the three-teacher Currans school would affect 65 pupils. Annoyed at the plan to close the local national school, Currans people are also angry that they were not consulted before a decision was made. And this was borne out at the meeting.
"We haven't been officially told it is to close," Mr Stuart revealed. For the benefit of those who don't know, he told the gathering that it was only in early June that they first heard of the plan through a church announcement.: "We were informed that the school would be closing in September and that transport would be provided."
He later affirmed to The Kerryman: "The people were not consulted."
