End of an era with demolition of old Achill secondary school building

THE demolition of a former Achill secondary school building is currently underway in order to make way for 20 social houses.

The old Scoil Damhnait secondary school building at Polranny in Achill which has been in situ since the 1960s is currently in the process of demolition as part of works for the construction of 20 social houses on the site.

The sight of the old Scoil Damhnait Secondary School building being demolished will be an emotional day for many of the former pupils and teachers who passed through its doors.

Scoil Damhnait was founded in 1948 by Achill man Padhraic Sweeney to offer an opportunity for Achill teenagers to complete their second level education in their home parish. At the time, students from Achill and the surrounding area who wanted to complete second level education had to attend boarding school, a luxury the majority of parents could not afford.

The first school opened in the courthouse in Achill Sound and was attended by 45 pupils and it later moved to a shed in the old railway station which was converted into classrooms.

The success of Scoil Damhnait in its early years meant that a larger school had to be built and a site was located in Polranny where the new school was opened in 1965.

The school continued to thrive but with the population falling in the community, the decision was made in 2009 to amalgamate Scoil Damhnait with the neighbouring VEC-run McHale College.

The Scoil Damhnait school building closed in 2011 and in 2020 the school and approximately 1.15 hectares of accompanying land, which is located beside the Achill GAA ground, was put up for sale.

In 2021, Mayo County Council confirmed that they had purchased the site with the purpose of building social houses on it.

Last week, Minister of State Alan Dillon officially turned the sod for the commencement of the work which will see the construction of twenty new semi-detached houses, consisting of a mix of four one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units and four three-bedroom units.

The earthworks on the project is currently underway and as part of the works, machines on site are currently in the process of knocking the school building.