Parents from Scoil Náisiunta Bhrighde in Faughart greeted Archbishop Eamon Martin with a protest when he arrived in the area on Sunday.
The Archbishop was in Faughart for the All-Irish Pilgrimage at St Brigid’s Shrine.
There parents approached him asking him to “save our school” – a message that was held aloft by children affected by the ongoing situation at the local national school.
Scoil Náisiunta Bhrighde has been left without any pupils after parents opted to withdraw their children from the school in an ongoing protest over how it is run. Just six pupils returned to the school following the summer break but all six have since been accommodated elsewhere.
The move follows on from a decision in the last academic year to boycott one day of school per week.
Despite the children moving, parents are anxious to ensure the future of the school and pleaded with Archbishop Martin to intervene.
A message on the Save Faughart NS Facebook page following the meeting read: “Today we spoke with Archbishop Eamon Martin and we implored him to help save the school. When children and parents have to fight this hard to be heard, it really does hammer home how fractured this system is.”
Many of the parents’ complaints relate to a Whole School Evaluation report from the Department of Education, which can be read here.
