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Principal Michael O’Donnell celebrating with Scoil Mhuire students in Glenville after they heard the news that they are to get a replacement school. Photo: Clare Keogh

The students of Scoil Mhuire primary school in Glenville will finally get a replacement school, having waited  since one was first approved more than seven years ago.

They were the only Cork school on the Government's €15million prefab replacement scheme for 2013/14 to get a whole replacement school and principal Michael O'Donnell told The Avondhu that this has been 'long awaited', as the school has suffered many setbacks and disappointments over the years.

Planning permission has already been secured for the new eight-classroom school and they are currently drawing up tender documents.

"We are hopeful that building will start in early 2014 and would hope to have students in their new school by late 2014 or early 2015," Mr O'Donnell said.

The job will be done in two phases, as the new school has to be constructed and then the old one needs to be demolished.

"We are delighted to be in this position - it brings us towards the end of a fairly long struggle. We first applied for a new PE Hall and two classrooms in 1999 based on the poor condition of the existing building. Now it's the same, if not worse, and we were first approved for a new school in 2005 or 2006," Mr O'Donnell explained to The Avondhu.

He added that at the time, junior or senior infant students who were told that they would be moving into a new school are almost finished school and they will be gone by the time the replacement school is built.

Speaking about the dreadful conditions of their current school, Mr O'Donnell said that the classrooms are too small for things like drama. They have no hall so can only do PE when it's dry which is quite restrictive considering the Irish weather. With the building standing since 1953, there is associated dampness that affects computers and means that they cannot use interactive white boards.

The school currently has 162 pupils and the numbers continue to grow. Over the last four years, they have taken in 20 new students each year approximately.

Meanwhile, down South Limerick way, Scoil Mocheallog in Kilmallock which caters for 448 students, will also get a replacement school under the new scheme.

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