Dunshaughlin parents and public representatives protesting outside the Dail last week. They have been told every child will get a school place, but there are 24 families looking for a Gaelscoil place

Local TDs to meet Education Minister over shortage of Gaelscoil places in Dunshaughlin

Ann Casey

Published: Wed 8 Apr 2026, 12:29 PM

THE four TDs for Meath East are to meet with the Education Minister in a bid to secure additional Gaelscoil places for Dunshaughlin.

Up to 24 local families who want their children to be taught through Irish still haven't been able to access school places.

While additional places have now been committed to at Dunshaughlin Community National School (DCNS), the issue remains unresolved for approximately 25 children seeking Gaelscoil places. Now the four Meath East TDs plan to meet with the Minister for Education, Hildegarde Naughton TD, to find a definitive solution.

Helena Briody, a teacher at the local Naionra (Irish-medium pre-school), said she is dealing with four families who want an Irish medium education for their children and that there are around 24 children altogether looking for Gaelscoil places.

“We have four children who have attended the Naoinra for the past two years. We were protesting outside the Dail last week and those four children probably have more Irish than all the TDs in the Dail.

“Some of those who want a Gaelscoil place are now taking whatever they are being offered because they are in panic mode and you cannot blame them.”

She said the children in the Naoinra who haven't got places in the Gaelscoil know what is going on.

“It is heart-breaking. They are drawing pictures of their friends in big school and they are outside.

“One child said the Easter Bunny would build a classroom. It is very sad.

“These families and these children love the language, love being able to speak it and it is their culture,” she said.

“This issue needs to be dealt with. There has been massive expansion in many estates around Dunshaughlin as well as the huge new Willows estate. These expansions have taken place but there are no resources.”

Deputy Darren O’Rourke has welcomed a proposal from Minister Thomas Byrne for a meeting between the four local TDs, local school principals, and the Minister for Education, Hildegarde Naughten TD, to find a definitive solution.

“The situation has evolved, but it has not been resolved. It is welcome that additional places have now been committed at Dunshaughlin CNS. However, this does not address the specific needs of the cohort of children - estimated to be in the region of 24 - who require access to Irish medium education.

“We are at a point where a clear and obvious solution exists. It requires a dual approach: the delivery of the newly committed places at DCNS, alongside the provision of additional capacity at Gaelscoil na Ríthe. This is the only way to ensure that every child in the community has a place in a school that meets their needs this September.

“The annual scramble for school places in Dunshaughlin has become a predictable and unacceptable pattern. Last year we saw a last-minute fix and we cannot allow that to happen again. Parents need certainty, not another summer of anxiety.”