Community Fights to Keep Rathkenny National School Open

A Wilkinstown mother has launched a petition to save Rathkenny National School amid fears that the 120-year-old rural school will not reopen this week due to a lack of pupils.

Shirley O’Neill, whose family has long ties to the school, said she and others in the community were devastated at the news that no children are enrolled to start this September, leaving the school “on the brink of closure.”

“The school has suffered from a lack of students over the past two or three years, probably since after Covid,” Ms O’Neill explained. Rathkenny was never a school with big numbers, but there were always children attending. In recent years parents have taken children out or enrolled them in nearby schools and now there are no pupils left. Rumour has it the school will not open tomorrow.”

Her own eldest son attended Rathkenny NS, while other members of her family also passed through its classrooms.

A board of management meeting is due to take place in Rathkenny this evening (Monday) with Minister for Justice Helen McEntee who lives just a short distance from the school notified of the situation. However, Ms O’Neill said there was a growing fear that the meeting would be “just a formality” to confirm the closure.

She believes the Department of Education should explore alternative uses rather than closing the doors of the much-loved local school.

“Why can’t they think outside the box?” she asked. “Why can’t the school be used to support children with autism or other additional needs? My fear, and the fear of a lot of people in the community, is that nothing is being done. We only found out about this last Thursday and there doesn’t seem to be any push to keep it open.

An online petition launched by Ms O’Neill has already gathered more than 200 signatures. The petition describes Rathkenny NS as “more than just a place of education” but “a special rural recently renovated school with an all-weather soccer pitch, sensory room and new extension a sanctuary for children that would have additional needs.”

It continues: “To see this school closing would be a travesty and a disgrace. Families are currently fighting for school placements within close proximity to Rathkenny. The Department of Education now needs to look into this facility further and provide the necessary supports. It could also serve as a hub linked with other larger local schools, or as a day care facility for young adults with additional needs, instead of buses transporting them to towns and adding to congestion on our roads.”

Ms O’Neill said the situation was particularly galling given the scale of investment in the school in recent years.

“Only three or four years ago hundreds of thousands of euro were spent on a new extension, a sensory room, an all-weather pitch and landscaped gardens,” she said. “The Minister herself even came to open it. To think that all of that could now be wasted is very hard to take. The school is the hub of the community it can’t just be left idle.”

A public meeting is expected to be called in the coming days as parents and local residents step up their campaign.

“We urge decision-makers to keep Rathkenny National School open,” Ms O’Neill said. “Instead of closing it, investment should be channelled into enhancing what it can offer and ensuring children have school placements locally. Children thrive in an environment that caters for their needs – it would be an awful shame to lose that here in Rathkenny.”

To sign the petition click here

A spokesperson for the Department of Education and Youth said:

"The enrolments at St Louis National School, Rathkenny, Navan, Co Meath have dropped very significantly and very quickly over the last number of years. In the 2021/22 school year there were 39 pupils at the school. This reduced to 13 pupils in the 2024/25 school year.

"The decision-making authority for a school closure is the Patron of that school. Any proposal to close a school involves consultation with the relevant stakeholders of the school community and follow decisions taken at local level. A proposed closure is then subject to the agreement of the Department of Education and Youth. The patron will continue to work with the Board of Management in the safeguarding of all school assets including finance as part of this process."

Rathkenny NS has been approached for comment