Greendale Community School

Greendale is a Community School, a form of State-sponsored secondary school, in the Northside suburb of Kilbarrack, Dublin, Ireland, located near the boundary with Raheny.

Construction

Greendale was built in the mid-1970s, opening in 1975, with capacity for not less than 800 pupils. The school quickly exceeded its numbers, and extension work in the early 1980s allowed for up to 900 students. By 1996, however, core pupil numbers were down to 449, then 215 at the start of the 2003-2004 school year, and 160 in 2006. In addition to the day pupils, Greendale has long offered a range of night courses and adult education initiatives, facilitating up to 1,400 students at a time.

Location

Greendale is situated on c. 4.5 acres (18,000 m²) of land, near Kilbarrack DART suburban rail station and Greendale Shopping Centre, and its grounds include a basketball court once used by Killester Basketball club and now used by KUBS Basket Ball Club.^[1]

According to the Minister for Education, the trustees of Greendale made a decision in March 2004 to close the school to new entrants in September 2004, and to close altogether in June 2007. The property will then revert to the Department of Education. A major reunion of past pupils and teachers, covered by the press and national TV, was held in mid-February 2007.

Former teachers at the school include playwright and film director Paul Mercier,^[2] Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle, and Catherine Dunne, and former Dublin Football midfielder Brian Mullins. Artistic director of the Passion Machine Theatre Company Paul Mercier later stated that "Things are changing at a furious pace. But in reality things are disappearing in society that were working. And Greendale was working."^[3]

The principal of the school from opening to pending closure is Anton Carroll.

There has been some controversy about the closure, for reasons including the pending arrival of more than 2,500 homes within 2 miles (3.2 km) of Kilbarrack (many in Balgriffin and Baldoyle), the school's widely recognised work in education in a challenging environment, and the non-closure of what some see as less-progressive, non co-educational schools nearby.

As of April 2007, it has been announced that the school will continue to be used for educational purposes.

References

• Holden, Louise; "Greendale - death of a school", The Irish Times, 18 October 2005, Dublin
• The Northside People, Week #1, May 2007, Dublin
• Seanad Éireann ("Senate of Ireland"), Records of the House, Volume 181, 17 November 2005, sections 1575-1578, Dublin