This article is from page 14 of the 2006-09-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
A SISTER of the principal of the Ennis Holy Family Senior School was the only Ennis resident, along with her husband, to voice opposition to rezoning that allowed the relocation of Ennis National School.
In all, Clare County Council received five submissions relating to its plans to rezone lands at Ashline, on the fringes of Ennis, to facilitate the relocation of the national school.
Submissions came from the Holy Family Senior School, the Department of Education and the Killaloe Diocesan Trust.
However, a fifth was lodged by Catherine and William Sweeney of Tobartaoscain, Ennis.
It emerged yesterday that Ms Sweeney was a sister of Ennis Holy Family Senior School principal, Margaret Cooney. The senior school is strongly opposed to the proposed relocation.
In their submission, Ms Sweeney and her husband point out that the present Ennis National School site will be lost to primary education in Ennis and that the present site is in a central location.
The Sweeneys also state that the present site is within convenient walking distance for many pupils and that its loss would lead to more traffic congestion and inconvenience, as pupils would require transport.
Ms Sweeney told The Clare People : “I have no problem with the national school relocating as long as the school’s existing site remains a site for a new school.
“The Department of Education has pointed out that the current national school site is a perfectly viable site for a school.
“The site is a fantastic resource and that it might be lost to the town of Ennis is the main reason we lodged our submission.
“There has been an enormous increase in children seeking places in Ennis schools and it would be very short-sighted if the National School site was lost to education and it would be a long-term loss for Ennis town.”
Ms Sweeney said that her decision to lodge the submission with her husband to the council was “not connected” to her sister’s job.
She said: “I am a very independent person and I am surprised that more people didn’t make submissions.
Ms Sweeney said that she and her husband were, “very, very interested in education.
We are both teachers and from our time in Dublin, we saw the effect that schools moving out of areas can have on those areas.
“It can change the dynamics in other schools and change the ethos and balance and I would hate to see that balance being lost.
However, in response to the Sweeney submission, Executive Planner, Bill Sansum said: “The present site is not necessarily lost to education as education remains as appropriate use in Proposal Site (the current Ennis National site) in the Plan.
“It is understood that a high proportion of pupils currently travel by car and this would be likely to remain the case at Cahercalla until such time as local bus services are introduced and a local community develops in the area.”