Educate D8 give their reaction to the announcement that CBS Synge St will switch to a coed Gaelcholáiste.

The Journal, 13th September 2024

Louise FitzPatrick runs the ‘Educate D8‘ campaign. The group wants there to be a non-denominational, co-educational school in Dublin 8 and claims that students are leaving the area to seek Education Together schools.

While she welcomed the announcement to turn Synge Street into a Gaelscoil, and congratulated De Spáinn and other parents who were seeking the move, she said she believes the demand will only add to the lack of school spaces.

FitzPatrick says Dublin 8 is “severely under served” when it comes to school places in the area, and the new Gaelscoil will have to have a larger catchment region in order to attract students from other parts of the city.

She also took dissatisfaction with the fact that the new Gaelscoil will still be run under the Christian Brother ethos, arguing that there needs to be a school without a religious ethos, as 60% of residents in Dublin 8 are not Catholic.

“This school is still going to remain in patronage of the Catholic Church, like three other schools in the area, one being part of Church of Ireland,” FitzPatrick told The Journal.

“This means that there is still is not a school in the area – and won’t be a school in the area – for children who don’t want to be educated under a religious patronage.”

FitzPatrick and other parents from the area are to meet with Education minister Norma Foley next month to discuss the issue.