Dalkey School Project

The Dalkey School Project is a school in Glenageary, County Dublin in Ireland. It was set up on September 18, 1978[1] by parents in Dublin who wanted their children to attend a Multidenominational school.[2]

At the time the vast majority of primary schools were National schools, which had religious patrons.

Support for such a school came from Jack Lynch, then head of Fianna Fáil, the Labour Party and some members of Fine Gael.[2] However the then-minister for education, Richard Burke was not sympathetic.[2]

During the years 1975-78, the project members were involved in extensive correspondence with the Department of Education and other bodies in order to prove the need for the school.[2]

The school opened in 1978 with 90 pupils, largely due to the support of the then newly elected Fianna Fáil government,[2] with Florence Armstrong as the principle.[3] Opposition came from a group calling itself Council for Social Concern and some but some also came from obstructing of planning permission according to Michael Johnston, who was chairman of the project.[4] The school operated from various temporary premises until a dedicated school building was opened in 1983.[2]

In 1984, Educate Together was founded, a coordinating committee to coordinate efforts of groups trying to organize multi-denominational schools in the Republic of Ireland.

See also

References
  1. The Dalkey School Project, Articles of Association, Certificate of Incorporation No. 67032
  2. Multi-Denominational Schools in the Republic of Ireland 1975-1995 Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine, paper delivered by Professor Áine Hyland, Professor of Education, University College, Cork, Ireland, at a Conference Education and Religion organised by C.R.E.L.A. at the University of Nice. 21–22 June 1996.
  3. Lunney, Linde (2017). "Armstrong, Florence". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  4. Educate Together now country's fastest growing educational movement, Irish Independent, 17 September 2008, retrieved 9 February 2009

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