'Reject offer' call as Mayo school crux continues

MANAGEMENT at the Sacred Heart School (SHS) in Westport has been urged to reject an offer to use the former Scoil Phadraig site in the town for its students.

The call has been made by Councillor Brendan Mulroy who told a municipal meeting this week that the solving of the crux that has arisen between it and a local primary school lies in the SHS refusing the offer.

Holy Trinity NS has been advancing a design to locate a new school at the site. That was until the Department of Education decided to offer it to the SHS for their use for a number of years, effectively putting an end to the primary school's plans.

Councillor Mulroy said he was asking the SHS board of management and principal to refuse the offer from the department and go back and ask for a green field site for a new school, and let Holy Trinity move forward and prosper.

There is also a wider issue of second-level co-education in Westport to be looked at, said Councillor Peter Flynn.

In Louisburgh, where they are over 600 students, 90% of them are from outside the catchment area, the bulk coming from Westport on buses.

A serious question needs to be asked about where they're going with the two schools in Westport.

Councillor Christy Hyland noted how the town's population is growing and he agreed the SHS should be developing a green field site on the edge of town.

Having students walking between two campuses, in inclement weather, wasn't a good idea, he said.