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Ballymore Eustace, Naas, , Kildare THE OLD SCHOOL (1835 -1956 ) The fine premises which is now Country Kitchens was formerly the old school. For one hundred and twenty years successive generations of Ballymore's boys and girls were educated there and the people of our village retain a soft spot for their old place of learning. The school was built just outside the village in a lovely setting of hills and woodlands shortly after Catholic Emancipation was achieved in Ireland . My view of the old school is that of an outsider looking in and relates to the final five years in the old school's life. The entrance to the school was on the Hollywood Road side of the building and a stone tablet over the entrance door indicated that it was built in 1835. In the room on the left of the entrance Mrs. Woulfe taught the Girls First, Second and Third Classes. To the rear of Mrs. Woulfe's room Mrs.Gallagher taught the boys and girls infant classes which were divided into Baby Infants, Middle Infants and Senior Infants. In the room on the right of the entrance Mrs. Doran taught the Girls Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Classes. Going upstairs there was a turn to the left in the stairs so that on reaching the top of the stairs the Cookery Room was on the right hand side. In the room on the left hand side of the upstairs corridor Mr. Gallagher taught the Boys Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Classes. To the rear of Mr. Gallagher's room Miss Headon taught the Boys First, Second and Third Classes. Miss Headon was an excellent teacher but in her advancing years she sometimes had difficulty controlling her exuberant pupils. On such occasions Mr. Gallagher would come to her assistance usually with a sharp knock on the dividing window between the two class rooms. As was normal for schools in that era high standards were expected of pupils and " slaps " were meted out for failure to meet those standards. Despite this the children were happy enough judged by the spirits they displayed in the mid-morning and lunch breaks. These breaks were staggered with the infants being let out first, the girls second and the boys last. The school day began with morning prayers and the school was a recruiting ground for the church choir. During breaks the girls played hop scotch, skipping or conkers and watched with envy my brother James' freedom as he exercised " Bob " our white pony in the field attached to our house. Sometimes the girls amused themselves by congregating under the windows of the boys classes to hear who was getting " who began it ". Occasions which were dreaded were visits by the doctor for immunisations or by the dentist to attend to dental needs. The older girls were expected to clean out the fires and bring sticks for starting the fires. The children from the country brought bottles of tea with them which were secured by corks and placed beside the fires to keep them hot. Sometimes when they got too hot the corks could be heard to go " pop ". For a time a big , black puckaun roamed the village streets and one day much to the consternation of the teachers and delight of the pupils he came into the school building. In his own good time he took his leave with the children entertaining the vain hope that he might return again to provide them with further merriment. On the lunch break the boys invaded the ball alley and as many as possible played shortways with prime positions being got by those with the fastest legs. Many of our local champions had their first experience of handball in this way. With about ten minutes to go Mr. Gallagher would appear on the scene so as to keep an eye on things and ensure that all the pupils returned to their classes in good time. One of the high notes of the year was the Christmas Party which was funded by Captain Spencer Freeman and in which the local ladies helped out with the catering. In addition to the " goodies " on offer the party also included a film which would have been a special treat in those days. One of the films shown had our old friend Hopalong Cassidy riding the range once more. The Ballymore Chronicle of 1953 had an interesting item in it relating to a New Years Card which was found when work was being done to one of the windows in 1951. The card was signed by five men who had carried out work on the window in 1897. The men were: Paddy Kerry ; E. O'Rourke ; M. Leahy ; Philip Doyle ; and, William Conroy. After school hours Mrs. Teresa Shannon came in to clean the school for the following day. As our family were good friends of Teresa sometimes one or more of us joined her and followed her around as she went about her task. On such occasions we would play the organ which was in Mrs. Doran's room. The only other occasion on which I was in the old school was when under parental duress I took my one and only Irish dancing lesson. Familiar figures to a number of generations of school children were Mrs. O'Rourke who was a gentle, kindly lady who lived beside the school along with her two sons Peter and Ned in the house where her son Tom and his wife Rita now live. Tim Carroll would have been another familiar figure. Tim lived where Imelda Gorman now lives. While Mrs. Dolan and the Penders lived in the old house which was converted into stables by my father, Doctor William Purcell. Our family, consisting of my parents sister four brothers and myself, would also have been familiar to the children during the last five years of the old school's life Scoil Mhuire was opened in 1956 . In time the Moran family acquired the old school and converted part of it into living quarters and used another part as a work shop. After Maura and Paddy Moran died Gerard O'Rourke Ltd. acquired the old school and set up its Country Kitchens business. |