Derry's Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir's milestone birthday

Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir, situated in the heart of Derry’s Brandywell is celebrating a milestone birthday.

The Irish Medium primary school, which is 25 years old this year, marked the occasion with a reception in the Mayor’s Parlour in the Guildhall.

Mayor Patricia Logue met staff and pupils from Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir and a great time was had by all.

Ag foghlaim tríd an súgradh.

With sheer enthusiasm shining out of her, Príomhoide Mary Nic Ailin said she was “very proud” of the achievement. “It makes me really happy,” she said.

Speaking to Derry Now, Mary said: “I have been at Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir now for 20 years and to see how far the school has come in those two decades, and from what I hear about the five years before that, the progress is amazing.

“Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir started off with six pupils and we have nearly 200 now. I vividly remember coming in for my interview for the teaching post in June 2003. My daddy had brought me down. There were only four classrooms at the time. There was no playground. It was all gravel. I came out buzzing, thinking the place was amazing.

“I loved the people who I’d met when I came in. I just got a feeling for the place as soon as I came in. I remember getting into the car and thinking, ‘I really hope I get that job’.

“I remember my daddy saying, ‘Aye, that might be nice’ but I could tell he was thinking, ‘Mary, four huts. What even is this place?’” laughed Mary, who added: “You just got a good feeling about Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir, even back then and I think it was the people.”

On that occasion Mary had met the principal (Antoin de Brún) and vice principal (Risteard Mac Daibhéid) and the governors.
Mary recalled: “Donncha Mac Niallais was one of the governors. And I just remember the feeling I got from them about how important the school was to them and I felt I just wanted to be a part of it.

“You could feel from them how much they wanted the school to grow and even that sense of community. I just felt there was ‘extra’ in comparison to other schools, other English Medium schools. 

“I always say, in Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir, the children and parents will get everything they would get in another school but you get ‘extra’.

“I think as a staff member, it is the same. Everyone in an Irish Medium school, teachers, assistants, principals, the secretary, everyone does extra but they want to do it. And I think that’s the difference.”
In 2008, Mary became acting principal at Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir and from 2009 the school saw major developments.

“We got the statutory nursery,” said Mary. “At that time, I remember going to Stormont with Martina Anderson. The Nursery was a huge development for us because it meant we had guaranteed 26 places in the nursery.

Spórt agus ceol ag gach páiste  - Every child has the opportunity to take part in music and sport on a weekly basis, after school activities every day, and a breakfast club from 8.15am daily. 

“Following on from that, we got our new multi-purpose hall. We then got extra classrooms because the numbers were growing. We also got our playground.

“The school has just grown since then. We are now at the point where we are out growing this site.

“We had a meeting with representatives of the Education Department during the summer, along with Bunscoil Cholmcille (at Steelstown) and Gaelscoil na Daróige (at Ballymagroarty) because all the gaelscoileanna are doing well. But in terms of Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir, there is nothing more we can do on this site.

“We have everything you can have on this site, but we need a new school and the Education Department agreed. But, we need a government in place to fund it. We brought them to visit a possible site but, at the end of the day, until there is a government in place who can fund a news school, we are blocked at the minute.”
Mary began her teaching career in Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir teaching Rang a Dó.

“I loved the time I spent as a teacher,” she said. “That is my love. I love being with the children and that is why I am here.

“In terms of highlights over the years, I loved the dramas we have done, the shows, and the family days, occasions where you saw the pupils shine.

“I love how staff all come together to support the children and to allow them to shine and to give them the opportunities to shine.

“The last day of Rang a Seacht is always a really sad day but, in many ways, when you look back, and you have been part of the journey of those children since they were three or four years of age, it is a real privilege. And, as much as you are sad to see them move on, you are proud of them.”

Mary also paid tribute to the late Donncha Mac Niallais.

“Donncha was just there from the start. He was just the person ‘who was there’. We really, really miss him.”

“We had a parent too who was a really important part of the school, Jenni, her wee boys came here, Oscar and Altan. That was a difficult time. We have had other parents who passed away as well and that is hard.

“Their loss does impact on you but you have to remember why they wanted their children to come to Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir and that gives you a wee feeling of how important it is to keep going and ensuring children have the opportunity to come here and it only gets better every year.

“I would also like to thank everyone who is part of Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir, particularly the staff. We have a fabulous staff here and I couldn’t do it without them, so a word of thanks to them.

“My thanks also to Risteard and Tony (Antoin) who were here at the very beginning and Maura who is one of our teachers now, was also there at that stage. Thanks to them for taking that plunge at the time, taking a job in two huts up at the Sean Dolan’s ground because I’m sure that was not easy,” said Mary, who also thanked the  Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir parents for trusting the school with their children.

“We do regard that as a privilege,” said Mary, “to have these children in our care. Not only that, we have parents who were once pupils here are now bringing their own children here and that is great to see. It is testament to how great they felt about the school they wanted their own children to come here as well and I am delighted to see them back

“Now it is a real privilege for me as a mammy now to be part of the school. I am really enjoying now seeing it from a mammy’s point of view.

“I do genuinely love being here but I can’t believe it is 20 years. I look forward to the future and I hope we get our new school as soon as possible.”