Eolais do thuismitheoirí

An Irish-medium school or 'Gaelscoil' is a school carrying out all affairs of daily life through the medium of Irish; classes are taught as Gaeilge, staff converse as Gaeilge and the pupils' ability to communicate completely as Gaeilge both inside and outside the school gates is fostered, encouraged and reinforced from when they start in the school. Don’t worry if you do not have Irish yourself, over 90% of parents who send their children to Gaelscoileanna have little or no Gaeilge, so this is perfectly normal!

Research has proven immersion education benefits the development of the English Language as well as the Irish language. Children in Irish-medium schools achieve higher results in English and Maths due to their having higher general language skills. Your child might even benefit from the few extra points available for sitting the Junior and Leaving Certificate exams through Irish. It also fosters a proficiency in the national language of the country, which is a full working language of the European Union. Bilingual education offers linguistic, educational, social, cultural and personal development benefits for children.

We have students enrolled from all cultural, social, religious backgrounds and of varying abilities in the school. It is run in the same manner, with the same resources and funding from the Department of Education, as an English-Speaking school. All students are welcome and our student population have attended both English medium preschool and Irish medium preschools.

You can register your interest in enrolling your child in the school at any time by contacting Donna Ní Mháirtín, school principal, at 0579352058 or by email at oifig@eriada.ie to register your interest in enrolling your child. The formal enrolment process starts in October before your child is due to start school. If you have registered your interest you will automatically be sent an enrolment form in the January before your child starts school. If you have not registered your interest before January, there may still be places available and you should contact Donna to discuss the matter.

There are several resources available for parents who are eager to learn the language, this will definitely benefit the child's learning and can help foster an Irish-Speaking environment outside of the school gates. Tullamore Library hold an Irish language conversations each Tuesday in the library at 6.45pm, they will also help you with language books and interactive language aids. Gael Linn, Gaelchultúr, Conradh na Gaeilge, Third-level institutions, Local Education Centres, Oideas Gael, Ranganna.com also offer Irish classes and aids for those interested.