St Eunan's College delegation makes case for new school building to Minister

Figures from St Eunan’s College have met with the Minister for Education to highlight the need for a new school building.

Minister Hildegarde Naughton TD is now expected to visit the Letterkenny secondary school, which was overlooked for funding under the first tranche of the National Development Plan rollout for 2026 and 2027.

St Eunan’s College, with over 1,000 students and a growing waiting list, currently can’t take any more students, and was again unsuccessful in the country-wide announcement in January.

Since then, they have pushed the case for the need for funding for the upkeep of the school to elected representatives in the Dáil.

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The school, which was built in 1906, has not received major improvement works since the 1970s.

St Eunan's College has faced significant issues with overcrowding, with students and staff having to use portacabins for classrooms due to a lack of adequate permanent facilities.

“A delegation from the College met with Minister Hildegarde Naughton TD and senior officials in Leinster House to present our case for our new school building,” the school posted.

“We were proud to have representatives from our Student Council, Staff, Parents’ Association and Board of Management in attendance, reflecting the strength and unity of our school community. We are pleased to confirm that Minister Naughton has accepted an invitation to visit Saint Eunan’s College in the near future to view our facilities, infrastructure, and building at first hand.

The St Eunan’s delegation was joined by Fianna Fáil TDs Charlie McConologue and Pat the Cope Gallagher, and deputies Charles Ward from the 100% Redress Park and Pearse Doherty and Padraig Mac Lochlainn of Sinn Féin, as well as Senator Niall Blaney, Fianna Fáil and Senator Manus Boyle of Fine Gael.

“We extend our thanks to the five Donegal TDs and two Donegal Senators who attended this hard-fought meeting, and in particular to Senator Manus Boyle for his assistance in facilitating the engagement,” St Eunan’s added. “The cross-party support shown today by our local representatives was both encouraging and appreciated. We look forward to the next step.”
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