Parents at school outside which 2023 stabbing happened resist move to new premises

Irish Examiner

3 days ago

Parents in the school where a violent incident set off riots in Dublin in 2023 are refusing to allow their children be moved to another premises, saying it will compound any residual trauma from the incident.
The parents at Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire have been told their children will be moving to another premises in October because a new-build school project has completely stalled. The board of management at the school say the current premises, outside which a man stabbed a child in November 2023, is no longer suitable to house the school.
One of the reasons given by the board for the move is that 'many children find having to go in and out of the current building — where they witnessed the critical incident — very triggering and it impedes their ability to learn'.
Parents' council chairwoman Mary Jo Butler rejects the contention.
'I also represent the parents of children who were present at the incident in November 2023,' she told the Irish Examiner.
'They have all confirmed that this is not the case and that they do not feel a move to a temporary school would assist their children's stability etc and all were against such a move.
She said the opposite is the case, as children who were impacted with 'significant physical, emotional and psychological scars' from the incident are just settling back into feeling safe in the school.
The professional advice that has been given has been to keep these children's routines as consistent as possible and avoid any unnecessary changes or upheaval in an attempt to support them in 'returning to normal'.
The parents were informed of the proposed move in June after the school had closed for the summer. A meeting was convened of the parents council which voted unanimously to reject the move to a former education facility in nearby Cathal Brugha St.
A major issue expressed by the parents is that the new building has no playground and children will have to go to and from a playground through the busy inner city up to four times a day.
The parents also reject the council's advice that there has been an increase in antisocial behaviour near the current school, pointing out that no assessment of such activity has been conducted.
Ms Butler says that despite the contention that the current premises is unsuitable for a school, plans are in place to locate another school, the Central Model school, to the premises.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said while various options are being considered for the Central Model School 'no decision has been made regarding the location of any required temporary location' for the school.