THE EDMUND RICE Schools Trust was unaware Education Minister Norma Foley had approved their plans to transform Synge Street C.B.S. in Dublin 8 into a Gaelscoil until just one day before the announcement.
In a statement, the Trust said itself and the school’s board of management, of which two staff members are included, had taken part in extensive engagement and analysis over the decision to allow girls to enrol at the school and begin teaching as Gaeilge.
Additionally long-running campaigns, spearheaded by parents from Dublin 8 and surrounding areas, to have a feeder Gaelscoil in that part of the city were also not informed of the decision.
According to the ERST, the Department told it on Tuesday afternoon that Minister Foley would be announcing, on television the following day, that female students will enrol at the school and first-year classes will be taught through Irish, starting in September 2026
“It was great to get this news but it was unexpected – in terms of the timing,” it said in a statement to The Journal.
Synge Street CBS – one of Dublin’s best-known school’s after it was the centre of the 2016-film ‘Sing Street’ – is an all-boys’ school run under a Christian Brothers ethos. It was founded in 1864 and has been in Dublin 8 since.
It has a coveted list of past pupils, including presenter Gay Byrne, footballer Andy Reid, director John Carney and once-Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave, and has won four BT Young Scientists awards – unbeaten by any other school in Ireland.
It is under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice School Trust (ERST), a network of over 90 schools in the Republic of Ireland which were formally under the trusteeship of the Christian Brothers. Its schools promote a “Christian concept of the world”.
Discussions over the plan by the school’s Board of Management ended with the approval and support of the ERST and the Department of Education.
The idea to enrol female students and begin teaching in Irish was part of plans to boost the number of students in the school, as local families have chosen in favour of co-educational schools rather than single-sex schools in the area.
RTÉ News has reported that staff were too blind sided by the announcement. ERST has insisted to The Journal that Principal Clare Catterson informed staff of the Minister’s announcing “straight away”.
First-year students entering Synge Street C.B.S. in September 2026 will be the only class that is taught completely as Gaeilge. All other students who enrolled before will continue their education through English.
By September 2032 the school will be lán-Gaeilge.
ERST said that it is working with the Department and is “satisfied” that the necessary steps will be completed in time to allow for female students to start at Synge Street on the date provided.
Supports will also be given to teaching staff who wish to teach through Irish. This includes access to all relevant assistance, such as lessons and improving other technical skills.
“Both the Department of Education and ERST’s network of teachers in Gaelcholáistí will be assisting with this process,” the Trust added, in a statement.
Julian De Spáinn, General Secretary of Conradh Na Gaeilge and chairperson of the Parents’ Committee for Gaelcholáiste 2, 4, 6, 8 – a group of residents seeking a Gaelscoil in the area – has welcomed the move.
De Spáinn added, however, that the campaign had not been contacted by the Department and was disappointed to learn that the school won’t be ‘lán Gaeilge’ until September 2032 – as that won’t cater to existing students in the Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 areas.
“What we’ve been looking for, us parents, is a school that is functioning completely as Gaeilge for students when they open. That’s what the campaign was about, not looking for partial immersion education or one unit, we’re looking for full-immersion education.”
Despite this, De Spáinn said he was pleased with the decision as the new Gaelcholáiste would still serve the students in the area into the future and said that he would welcome if similar moves are made by schools in other locales.
He commended the work of parents and other campaigners for their work over the last three years. There are currently no plans for the campaign to meet with the minister and De Spáinn claims it had not had discussions with Foley before.
One parent from the area, who spoke to The Journal and did not wish to be named, said that the decision by Synge Street C.B.S. to transition into a Gaelscoil was a “really smart move” as there is a “real demand” for a Gaelscoil in the region.
“I do think that demand will be filled really quickly,” they said.
Some parents in the locale already believe the area is severely under served when it comes to school spaces.
Louise FitzPatrick runs the ‘Educate D8‘ campaign. The group wants there to be a non-denominational, co-educational school in Dublin 8 and claims that students are leaving the area to seek Education Together schools.
While she welcomed the announcement to turn Synge Street into a Gaelscoil, and congratulated De Spáinn and other parents who were seeking the move, she said she believes the demand will only add to the lack of school spaces.
FitzPatrick says Dublin 8 is “severely under served” when it comes to school places in the area, and the new Gaelscoil will have to have a larger catchment region in order to attract students from other parts of the city.
She also took dissatisfaction with the fact that the new Gaelscoil will still be run under the Christian Brother ethos, arguing that there needs to be a school without a religious ethos, as 60% of residents in Dublin 8 are not Catholic.
“This school is still going to remain in patronage of the Catholic Church, like three other schools in the area, one being part of Church of Ireland,” FitzPatrick told The Journal.
“This means that there is still is not a school in the area – and won’t be a school in the area – for children who don’t want to be educated under a religious patronage.”
FitzPatrick and other parents from the area are to meet with Education minister Norma Foley next month to discuss the issue.
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