Typical School Day at Dripsey NS:
9:00 am Gate opens for arrivals
9:20 am Bell rings, children go to classrooms
11:00 am Small break
1:05 pm Lunch
2:00 pm* Infants go home, others have break
3:00 pm All classes finish for the day
*For the first few weeks of school in September, the new Infants will go earlier than this. They can ‘ease in’ to the new school day this way. Their teacher will give more info on this.
History of Dripsey NS
In Dripsey before the 1880s there was a hedge school across from the present garden centre. In the 1880s a two teacher school was built in Magoola behind the late Mr. Pat Carroll’s residence. The ruins of this school can still be seen. Michael Murphy and his wife Ann (Delaney) taught there. They lived at Dripsey Cross, where Mr. Paddy O’ Mahony’s house is, until the teacher’s residence was built in Magoola. Michael Murphy retired in 1919. He was succeeded by his son Batt, who taught there until 1935.
When the truce was signed in June 1921, the school in Magoola was over-crowded. When the troops vacated the military barracks which were situated across from the West County Inn, it was intended to move some of the scholars into them. However, the barracks were burned down some days before the proposed move. To relieve the over-crowding the infant classes were taught by Mrs. Murphy in the teacher’s residence. Mr. John Twohig was appointed as principal teacher to the school at Magoola early in 1936, and taught there until 1957.
On the 3rd of December 1939, the new school was opened and blessed by Bishop James Roche. Canon Keneally was the parish priest. Mr. Twohig was the headmaster. When the building was begun it was to accommodate two teachers. Before it was completed pupil numbers had risen and the area intended for two teachers was divided into three classrooms. This is why the classrooms were so small.
The builder was Jackie O’ Leary from Donoughmore. The cost was £3,400. The site was bought from Mr. James Ring for £70. Pupil numbers dropped once more to two teachers in the 1940s and ‘50s. Mr. Twohig retired in the late 1950s and was succeeded by Mr. Desmond. Numbers rose gradually until it became a six teacher school in 1983. There were two pre-fabs at that time and one teacher in a cloak room. The beautiful extension was opened in September 1985.
In 1993 Mr. Desmond (RIP) retired and went on to be ordained as a priest. He was a curate in Carriganima. Mr. Gerry Dineen succeeded Mr. Desmond as principal. He retired in November of 2011 and was succeeded by Mr. Bernard Sheehan.
A lot has happened in the meantime, in 2022 a new principal was appointed, Ms Catherine Murray. Dripsey NS now has four mainstream class teachers, two SEN teachers, two Special Class Teachers, an Admin Principle, seven Special Needs Assistants, a secretary and a cleaner. We also benefit from the expertise of a visiting Speech and Drama teacher and a GAA coach. We look forward to continuing to educate and enrich the lives of the children in the Dripsey area for many years to come.