VIDEO: Excitement in Kells as Eureka girls finally get to see inside their brand new school

It was case of out with the old and in with the new yesterday as over 500 excited girls got to see their brand new school for the first time.

Principal Caroline O’Reilly locked the doors of the old Eureka House, opened in 1956, and led the girls up through the town to the long-awaited new Eureka school campus on the Cavan Road. 

After a brief blessing and ribbon cutting at the entrance the girls rushed in through the electric sliding doors to see the state-of-the-art building, the opening of which was delayed by almost 18 months in January 2018 after construction giant Carillion collapsed leaving the development in mothballs and completion dates up in the air.

Carillion was responsible for the design, build, finance and maintenance of five schools on four sites in counties Carlow, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow, including the long awaited Eureka project. 
All six projects formed part of a €100 million contract that was jointly run by UK firm Carillion, which subcontracted the construction to Kildare firm Sammon.
There were further delays in June 2018 when it was announced that Sammon Group followed Carillion into liquidation. Replacement contractors were eventually engaged to complete the schools.

However all that was forgotten yesterday as the girls got a special tour of their new facility which they will formally move into in September.

After a farewell ceremony in the old school led by Fr David with hymns and music from the school choir, the excited students shrugged off the rain and left the school grounds to walk up through Kells to their new grounds and let out the loudest of roars as they walked through the gates for the first time.

There were more cheers when Principal O’Reilly, cut the blue ribbon and led the students inside (the girls took off their shoes, anxious not to dirty the pristine new floors)

There were gasps of excitement and delight as the girls were taken on tours of their new home and saw the stylish interior which includes a library, music/performance areas, fully equipped technology and science rooms, motion sensor lighting, chillout/social rooms and landscaped outdoor areas and playing pitches.
Of particular interest was the hi-spec fitness room and massive gymnasium where Principal O’Reilly gathered the girls to continue a blessing ceremony that began in the old school just an hour earlier.

“It’s like the long goodbye, it’s over 18 months since we had our first farewell party and we’re still having our farewell party and this is the students farewell party today, but it’s a great day, we’re very excited, said Caroline.

“There is great excitement even for the teachers who got a sneak peek at the new facilities last week and whatever they thought they would feel they said it was that and more...So that’s an idea what it was like for them and for the girls.” 

She said that while there was a sadness at closing the doors of old Eureka House (once the junior and Leaving cert exams are out of the way) there was much to look forward to.
“Of course there’s great sadness to be leaving Eureka Hose. All the years the girls have been coming here since 1956, thousands have passed through the doors. A beautiful site, a beautiful old building but we are looking forward to the new and the modern. It’s like everything, change comes, and we are looking forward to it.

Jennifer Reilly has been the school secretary at Eureka for the last 32 years in Eureka House and is thrilled to be moving to the new school. “It’s been talked about nearly as long as I’m in Eureka and we’ve just kept things going and stuck things together but I never expected this, it’s so futuristic,” she said, taking in the size and space of the welcoming atrium.

Science teacher Mary Byrne added: “I thought it would never come but thank God we’re here today, it’s absolutely incredible. We’re a little bit sad to be leaving old Eureka but we’ll make so many more new memories here.”

Teacher Stephen McKee who has just been re-elected to Meath County Council said he didn’t know who was more excited, students or teachers, as he looked around the new school buildings. He said it would be a wonderful environment in which to educate the girls of Eureka who will officially take up occupation of their new school in September.