Ian Boyle has made a video/slideshow of images of Currane National School and the Community to celebrate the schools centenary in 2013.
John Hoban has kindly provided the music. The track is Hollow Bones.
Currane National School Centennial
Celebrations start tonight and continue over the weekend. There is a special mass at 8.pm this evening (Aug 2nd) and celebrations continue in Glór na dTonn afterwards.
As part of The Gathering 2013, there will be a reunion of Currane ’82 & ’83 Scanlon Cup winning teams in The Compass Bar on Saturday August 3rd. There’s a page for the event on The Gathering website and some more information on The Compass Bar website.
I heard a rumour that it was. In fact, last week I was told that it actually had. The summer holidays have started so it’s hard to tell. I don’t have children attending the school either. This seemed so sad to me as I’m pretty sure it celebrates it’s centenary this year. The rumour was that the school was being merged with Tonragee National School and that pupils would travel there to be educated. No one I spoke to seemed to know for sure. I checked all of the local press and looked online but could find nothing to tell me that the school was closed.
I decided to go straight to the ‘horses mouth’ and ask the Department of Education. I’m impressed that they even replied to my email to be honest. Anyway, they’ve confirmed that the school hasn’t closed. Of course, this doesn’t mean that it won’t at some point in the future.
I’m so pleased to hear this. I know this is a ‘non-news’ story but no news is good news sometimes and it’s better to know, rather than listen to rumour.
This is what the School Capital Appraisal Section, Department of Education and Skills had to say;
I refer to you email below regarding Currane NS, Gob a Choire, Achill, Co Mayo.
I can confirm that this school is still open, the enrolment was 11 in 2012. The staffing was Principal only.
I hope this information is of assistance to you.
So, there we are. I’m glad I asked. 
Click below to view the gallery of full-sized pictures.
Click below to view the gallery of full-sized pictures.
Brigid Psaila’s carrot won 1st prize at the Achill Sheep Show last weekend. It weighed in at 3 lbs 9ozs.
It’s a Bank Holiday weekend so naturally the weather has taken a downturn. Here are some amazing pictures, taken last night by Ian Boyle. Corraun House and Sweeney’s Pier in the lightning.
Happy Easter everyone!
This interview took place in 2002:
Our sincere condolences go out to Margaret and her family over the recent death of her Mother Hannah. May she Rest in Peace.
It’s an appropriate time to persuade Margaret to be our Person of the Moment. Margaret is the ‘home’ Chairperson of the Fáilte Abhaile Pobal a’Chorráin 2003 Committee.
| Name: | Margaret Gallagher |
| Age: | 42 |
| Tell us a little about your family: | I’m no.9 in a family of 12.- My original family! I’m married to Eoinie Moran so then there’s all of my ‘acquired’ family as well. |
| Employment: | Childcare worker |
| What do you like about Currane? | It gives me an identity and a sense of belonging. |
| What is your favourite view in the area? | From our bog – looking home. |
| What is your favourite time of year? | Spring |
| How would you improve the area? | Employment for the indigenous population. |
| Is there a place that you enjoyed traveling to? | Germany and Achill Beg |
| Favourite story/folklore: | Anything to do with old traditions, folk etc. particularly to do with the sea. |
| Favourite saying: | Ní neart go lur le chéile |
| Favourite book: | Eternal Echoes by John O’Donohue |
| Favourite type of music: | Any |
| Favourite song: | ‘Today’- John Denver |
| Favourite film: | The Sound of Music |
| Favourite drink: | Brandy and ginger ale |
| Favourite food: | Fish |
| Favourite night out: | A meal, then a few drinks |
| Favourite sports: | GAA and cards |
| Favourite teams: | Currane N.S. Football team |
| Which person would you most like to meet (living or dead)? | My Father |
| Any plans for the year ahead and the future? | Open a coffee shop !!! THE FAILTE ABHAILE FESTIVAL 2003. COME AND SEE ME THERE!! |
This interview took place in 2002:
Bridgie celebrated her 90th birthday, surrounded by friends and family on January 12th 2002. The pictures on the right show her at her birthday party at the Compass Bar.
Our thanks to Mark Ruddy for carrying out out this interview and to all of Bridgie’s family who emailed their nominations.
Our sincere condolences to Bridgie and her family over the recent death of her sister,
Mary O’Malley of Currane and Manchester.
| Name: | Bridget Moran |
| Age: | 90 |
| Tell us a little about your family: | I have 10 children- 6 girls and 4 boys. 27 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. Some live in England, some in Ireland. |
| What do you like about Currane? | The friendliness and good nature of my neighbours. |
| What is your favourite view in the area? | Clare Island, Clew Bay, the lovely big mountain in front of my kitchen window, Currane Hill. |
| What is your favourite time of year? | Spring |
| How would you improve the area? | Street lighting and employment for the youth. |
| Is there a place that you enjoyed traveling to? | Shopping at the nearest town. |
| Favourite TV programme: | Fair City |
| Favourite song: | Any of Dana’s |
| Favourite film: | The Quiet Man |
| Favourite drink: | Whiskey |
| Favourite food: | Not fussy |
| Favourite night out: | The whist. |
| Favourite sports: | Rugby and Gaelic football. |
| Favourite teams: | Manchester United and the local team. |
| Which person would you most like to meet (living or dead)? | My Husband (deceased) |
| Any plans for the year ahead and the future? | To stay in good health and to go out and enjoy myself. |
This interview took place in 2001:
Al (as he’s known to his friends) recently became chairman of the Achill IT committee.
He has lived in Currane since May 2000.
| Name: | Alistair Steger-Lewis |
| Age: | 37 |
| Tell us a little about your family and links with the area: | My wife is Jane, whose mother was born in Currane. My parents live in Southsea, UK. I have a sister who lives in Honduras teaching scuba diving and training dolphins, and a brother who is currently in Thailand training to be a scuba dive master. |
| Tell us a little about your employment history and professional life: | I studied electrical engineering at King’s College London, graduating in 1989. I started my career with a small DTP Bureau and Publishing Systems Integrator in Fulham, south-west London, initially in the bureau but moving into systems engineering after a year. I worked my way up to Engineering Manager, then the company went bust! Several freelance and short-term jobs later (including a spell at Harrods) I moved to Associated Newspapers (Daily Mail, Evening Standard etc.). Nearly five years passed by, after which I went to the Guardian for a year before moving to Currane. My wife, Jane, and I now run our own business offering a wide variety of services including web/internet development, publishing consultancy, graphic design and general ITC consultancy. |
| What do you like about Currane? | The people/community, scenery, lifestyle & priorities. |
| What is your favourite view in the area? | The view across Clew Bay to Clare Island |
| What is your favourite time of year? | Spring, with all its promises of growth and regeneration; crisp, clear days lengthening towards summer; the calm before the tourist season starts. There is no bad time of year, and I love a powerful storm! |
| Is there anything you would like to change about Currane? | I’d like to see a telephone exchange in Currane so we could all have a decent phone service and benefit from high speed technologies as they become available. It’s be nice to see less litter in the countryside and the sea. |
| Tell us about your role on the IT Committee and community work in general. | When Jane and I moved here we wanted to become involved in community development. We talked to the late Denis Gallagher about it and he arranged for us to join the Achill IT Committee in January 2001. The IT Committee is part of the Achill Local Development Company and is responsible for running two IT Centres, one in rented offices the former school in Crumpaun, Keel, and one in Currane, in a room rented from Muintir a’ Chorrain, the Currane Development Company. These centres were set up to train the people of the parish in Information and Communication Technologies with the aim of both enhancing employment prospects for individuals and attracting businesses to the parish. In October I was asked to take on the role of Chairman of the committee. Of course I didn’t hesitate! There are many challenges ahead. The IT Centres have been running since 1998 and in that time over 2000 trainees have taken advantage of the courses. We must now move on to the next stage, to proactively encourage businesses to start up or locate in the parish and to offer higher-level or ‘next-step’ courses. We are working with other groups and state agencies in an attempt to set up an Business Centre where enterprising individuals and groups can start up businesses, receiving support and sharing costs. We are looking at ways of expanding our protfolio of training courses. We are embarking on several social projects that we hope will benefit the parish in their own right as well as stimulating economic activity. We are delighted that, in the last week, we have succeeded with an application for funding under the Social Economy Program, which will directly create 5 jobs focussed on driving forward our development program. Jane and I are also on the board of Muintir a’ Chorrain and hope to play a part in developments within Currane, in particular in relation to telecommunications. |
| Is there a place that you enjoyed traveling to? | Australia was quite an experience, though best enjoyed when you’re young! Skiing in the USA was fabulous. Amsterdam was fun. But Venice for our honeymoon was the best place I’ve been: the opulent luxury of a fine hotel, meals on the Grand Canal, and so much culture! |
| Do you have a favourite type of music? | 70s/80s ‘pop’, especially glam-rock and Abba! I’m also ather partial to Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and ‘heavy metal’ from the 70s and early 80s. Actually my tastes are quiet varied, though Jane is not too keen on most of my choices! |
| Favourite song: | It’s a tough choice. Something by Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Abba or the Carpenters maybe. ‘Music Was My First Love’ by John Miles always makes the hairs on my neck tingle, and for passion and pride it’s hard to beat ‘Flower of Scotland’, ‘Jerusalem’ or especially ‘Ireland’s Call’. |
| Favourite drink: | Guinness in the pub and good coffee elsewhere. |
| Favourite food: | Haggis, game and kebabs! |
| Favourite night out: | A night in the George – always a warm welcome, good company and great Guinness. |
| Favourite sports: | Rugby, F1 Motor Racing. |
| Favourite teams: | Rugby: Harlequins and England; Munster & Ireland. F1: McLaren, Williams, Jordan. |
| Any plans for the year ahead and the future? | To build a house, develop our business to a point where we are profitable, and to work with local groups to develop Currane and Achill – especially the telecommunications in Currane. |
You must be logged in to post a comment.