Taoiseach’s old school first to receive flag for 1916 commemorations

Edwin McGreal

The Taoiseach’s old school was the first national school in the country to receive a copy of the Irish flag and the 1916 Proclamation as part of a programme to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny was on hand yesterday morning (Monday) to launch the initiative at his old national school in Cornanool, outside Castlebar.
Also present at the launch was Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys and Defence Forces Chief of Staff and Castlebar native, Commodore Mark Mellett.
The flag was presented to pupils Conor McDonagh (junior infants) and Kyla McDonagh (first class) at St Patrick’s NS in Rehins, Cornanool. Several members of the Irish Army were also present.
Speaking to the children the Taoiseach told them they should always remember the day that officers from the Irish Army came to their school to present them with the ‘Cornanool tri-colour’. He spoke of the importance of having pride in their flag and urged the pupils to remember this day whenever they see the tri-colour flown.
“We are here for a very special occasion,” said Mr Kenny. “We are here today for the very first of over three thousand events like this, as Óglaigh na hÉireann, our Defence Forces, begin to present the Irish tricolour and the 1916 Proclamation to every primary and special school in the land. In being here, we are helping to remember the great sacrifice of the people who fought in 1916 and after, so that this flag could be flown by its people, and that this nation could take its place among the world’s free nations.”

Good initiative
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys TD, said it was a good initiative to engage children with the commemorations.  
“This initiative is a great way to get young children engaged with the 1916 commemorations. Through the delivery of the national flag to every primary school in the country, children will gain a greater understanding of the work of the Defence Forces and the importance of our national flag, which symbolises the aspiration for peace between the different traditions on this island. I hope the thousands of ceremonies which take place across the country in the coming months will leave our schoolchildren with a positive and lasting memory from the commemorations,” she said.
Minister of Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, thanked teachers and pupils from primary and post primary schools for getting involved.
“Next year’s programme of activity to engage with the events and themes around 1916 is exciting and innovative. The response so far has been very positive and we are asking all schools to get involved – particularly in time for Proclamation Day on March 15 next year where we will ask all schools and further and higher institutes to open their doors to the community and present the various projects which our young people have developed in relation to 1916,” she said.