After years of consultation and planning, Galway’s newest second level school, Coláiste Mhuirlinne or Merlin College, finally opened its doors to first year students on Tuesday of this week in temporary accommodation at Woodlands, Renmore.
The co-ed school, which comes under the patronage of Galway Roscommon Education Training Board, will provide education to the increasing population of east Galway.
The school will be based permanently at a new school campus in Doughiska in February 2014, which is currently under construction. The building is a part of the new PPP Schools Programme and will have a capacity of up to 700 students.
The temporary accommodation on the Brothers of Charity campus in Renmore was chosen as an ideal location to provide for the curricular needs of the first year students attending.
The students were greeted by principal John Cleary and staff of Coláiste Mhuirlinne and were reminded of the historic significance of being the first students to start in the school. At assembly, their teachers spoke of how delighted they were to be a part of this new school and how exciting it was to share this new educational experience with the students.
The students were also told that having this opportunity to teach them and be a part of their lives was a privilege, and that every effort would be made to welcome them and help them adjust to their new environment.
The students were then welcomed by David Leahy, CEO of GRETB who said that this was an excellent facility that would improve learning while enhancing student lives. Mr Leahy was joined on this occasion by Pat Gilmore, chairperson of GRETB, and Tomás MacPháidin, director of schools, GRETB.
