St. Joseph’s Church Carrickmacross
Deus Vobiscum...May God Be With You
Email: cswinkell@gmail.com
St. Joseph’s N.S. is an all boys primary school which serves the boys in the catchment area of Carrickmacross. It is under the patronage of Most Reverend Dr. Liam Mc Daid, Catholic Bishop of Clogher and while it is a school with a strong Catholic ethos ,it also accepts boys of other denominations and none.
The school is situated on a magnificent elevated six and half acre site overlooking Farney Street; O’Neil St. and St. Joseph’s Church. The foundation stone of the present building was laid on the 3rd of August 1938 and it was officially opened in 1939. Since that time there have been three major renovations to the school, 1965 when two additional classrooms were added, 1972 when the general purpose room was built and 1985 when six new classrooms were added. A new entrance to the Infant classes was completed in August 2011.
The Patrician Brothers took over the original boys’ national school in 1902 and continued to run the school until 1994 when they no longer had the manpower to continue. Since then the school has been run by lay teachers under a Board of Management which is under the patronage of the Catholic Bishop of Clogher.
At present there are 9 class teachers in the school; 2 learning support teachers; 2 language support teachers; an administrative principal and 256 pupils, all boys. The school aims to encourage the development of the children under its care through the building of self-confidence, self-esteem and a sense of achievement.
The site of the school lends itself to the promotion of field games and Gaelic Football, Soccer and Rounders are especially catered for. The large play areas surrounding the school lend themselves to lots of other active and imaginative games which children can engage in. The school garden is a central feature where potatoes and vegetables are planted, cultivated, harvested , cooked and eaten by the students .The children also take part in a variety of activities competitive and otherwise and are very proud of their record in these. Music is a very important aspect of our boy’s education with Bodhran, tin whistle , and Irish dancing lessons provided for the children each week.
St. Joseph’s has taken part in many Comenius Projects to date which have been of enormous benefit to staff and students alike. Visitors from Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Poland , Wales, Turkey and England have visited St. Joseph’s while teachers from St. Joseph’s have also visited some of these countries .The interaction between the students and teachers during these projects have enhanced and widened the vision of St.Joseph’s boys and are a good preparation for them for their future lives and careers as good European citizens. The view of other education systems and ideas brought back from visits have enriched the pedagogical skills of the teachers of St Joseph’s.
St. Joseph’s is very proud of all its past pupils who grace all the professions, trades and businesses not only locally but also further afield. Many of our past pupils have become priests – Rev. Stephen Joyce; Rev. Michael Cusack ; Rev Gerry Carroll and Rev Martin Donnelly to name but four of the recent past while others engage in voluntary work with voluntary agencies overseas- at present Mr. Stephen Mc Eneaney works with Goal in Africa. Some of our better known past pupils making the headlines at the moment include the Curran brothers, Richard and Noel who are producers and directors with R.T.E., Ardal O’Hanlon who needs no introduction to television audiences and Frank McNally who regularly contributes to ‘An Irishman’s Diary’ in a most witty and readable manner.
While the education of the boys entrusted to our care is of the utmost importance to us it is superseded by our desire to ensure that St. Joseph’s is a pleasant place of learning. The eight years that the children spend with us are very important preparatory years for life. Each St. Joseph’s boy is special to us regardless of his academic ability, ethnic or social background. The staff ;Board of Management and the very effective Parent’s Association of St. Joseph’s work hand in hand to provide a caring and careful environment for all our students which enables them to grow and develop into well rounded and well educated young men with a good sense of themselves.