Carrig National School

Centenary Celebrations

Carrig N.S. celebrated it's centenary on Tuesday May 31st in beautiful sunshine. The day began with mass which was celebrated by Bishop Kieran O'Reilly S.M.A. The service revolved around the children, who sang and read beautifully throughout.

Bishop Kieran spoke of the importance of the children on a day like this and hoped that, perhaps, some of the younger pupils might be around to celebrate the next hundred years of education in Carrig.

After Communion, Michael Gleeson gave a beautiful rendition of 'As I kneel before you' followed by Dermot Sullivan, who read a wonderful poem he wrote himself to celebrate the school's centenary. After Mass, the congregation moved across to the school, where Bishop Kieran planted a tree to mark the school's one hundred years in existence.

Each of the classes then performed for the assembled parents and guests. Again, we were blessed with beautiful sunshine. Some of the pupils then released a number of balloons, one for each decade between 1911 and 2011. Parents and guests then moved on into the school's G.P. room where artwork from each of the classes was on display. The roll books from 1911 to the present day were also on display, along with many photographs of pupils through the years.

Thanks to Mary O'Connor, a number of copybooks and books belonging to Michael O'Connor and dating back as far as 1912 were on display. We also had a number of items donated by Gerry White, depicting various aspects of school life, including his daughter's win at national level in an 'An Post' handwriting competition. Afterwards, everyone moved across to the Community Hall to enjoy a lovely meal, which was prepared by Kieran Campbell of Carrig Village Store.

It proved to be a wonderful and memorable occasion, which seemed to be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone who attended on the day.

The staff and B.O.M. would like to sincerely thank all those who came along and joined in the celebration on the day. We would like also to thank everyone who helped to prepare the school and the church for the day and those who helped out in the Community Hall with serving food and washing up.

Due to the fact that our celebration was held on a working day and that there are a number of people who might like to view the Catherine Mahon exhibition, roll books and photographs etc., we will have an open evening on June 10th between 7.00 and 9.30 p.m. to give people the opportunity to come along and have a look.