Protest held at Dublin school over Gaelcholáiste plan
Teachers and parents at a Dublin secondary school have protested over plans to transform the school into a Gaelcholáiste next year.
The trade union, the ASTI, has warned of potential industrial action at Synge Street CBS if the school's patron body continues what the union called its "zero consultation" approach to the plans.
Staff at the school were told last September that the decision had been made.
They were informed by the school patron, the Edmund Rice Schools Trust (ERST), on the evening before it was publicly announced by the then minister for education Norma Foley.
Both staff and parents at the school say they were not consulted about the switch.
There is a strong campaign running in this part of the capital for the establishment of a Gaelcholáiste.
"The decision was announced to us on a Tuesday and to the public the very next day," Synge Street teacher and ASTI representative Katie Delany said at the protest.
"This is not the way to make changes. We are protesting today because so far our concerns have been ignored," Ms Delany said.
ASTI President Donal Cremin said: "Synge Street CBS students, parents and teachers continue to be ignored, bypassed and disregarded. This is despite the fact that earlier this year the school Board of Management declared its opposition to the ERST changes being introduced in 2026.
"ASTI teachers at the school continue to call for a pause in this unilaterally imposed decision, to allow for consultation with staff, parents and students.
"A pause for a year would allow teachers' legitimate concerns to be addressed, for alternatives to be explored, and for a full consideration of what is best for the current school community as well for those who are seeking a Gaelcholáiste in the area."
The school has a strong and long tradition of educating boys from across the city.
In recent decades, it has catered largely to boys from local working-class families as well as immigrant youngsters.
Currently, it has students from almost 50 different nationalities.
"It is all very very sudden and no one has spoken to us," parent Kseniia Sonina said at the protest.
"We heard the news from the TV which I find unacceptable. We the parents have not been consulted," she said.
Ms Sonina has a son in second year at the school and she is concerned about the impact of the change on the mental health of students.
"I think that teenagers are very vulnerable already and the fact that their teachers will be leaving now. They don't want to lose their teachers," she said.
"This school is being taken away from its community," she said.
"This is a beautiful school community", said parent Larissa Nolan, referring to the school's mix of students from immigrant backgrounds and of Irish students from a range of social backgrounds.
"It takes years to build up a community like this and now it is about to be destroyed," she said.
Both parents and teachers say that they fully respect the need for a Gaelcholáiste in the area, "but it feels like they are parachuting in another school [on top of ours]," Ms Nolan said.
The ASTI has called on ERST and the Department of Education to immediately defer any decision regarding the future of the school "until a proper, respectful and just decision-making process is implemented".
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