Offaly National School celebrates Golden Jubilee with Bishop Monahan

SHINRONE National School celebrated the extraordinary milestone of five decades of learning at a special event attended by Bishop Fintan Monahan and local clergy, many past and current pupils with staff, parents and management, and the entire community of Shinrone who came to mark the golden occasion.

"By any standards 50 years is a serious reason to celebrate and to shout out loud", Bishop Monahan told a packed St Mary's Church on Saturday last, where the occasion was marked with a celebratory Mass, ceremonial tree planting and a special message for future generations in a time capsule filled by the current pupils.

The very well attended event celebrated the long tradition of education in the area, Bishop Monahan said.

"What a great event it is to mark the Golden Jubilee of the school - both words, golden and jubilee, are laden with richness of value, work and celebration and fiesta and giving thanks.

"From 1975 to 2025, what a remarkable and interesting span of history that contains generations of students who have been educated here during that time. The roots of Shinrone National School reach deep down into the interest and the enthusiasm and the support that has been given by the proud tradition of the people of Shinrone parish and that is so obvious in the beautiful way the Church is kept", Bishop Monahan said.

Fr Tom Hogan told Bishop Monahan the community had put great work and effort into preparing to mark the occasion. Bishop Monahan remarked about "the great work done in preparation with the painting outside and the beautification of the grounds outside and well done to the many in relation to that".

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Bishop Monahan said the determination, foresight and courage of the founders of Shinrone National School leave us all full of admiration and the day celebrates "the human hunger for wisdom".

"Wisdom being enlightenment, well rounded education, which has edified human beings so much. It is that glorious appetite which is essential to what makes us distinctly human - that quest for wisdom and of true education.

"It is a great opportunity to reflect upon the wisdom and great achievements of those who have gone before and those who have invested heavily in the school. The temptation is to forget, to fail to remember, or to take for granted our past that has been in so many aspects very great", Bishop Monahan said.

"We need memory and the experience of our ancestors, it is important that shouldn't be ignored and we do so at our great peril. Therefore, we remember, we appreciate and we understand where we are coming from and it is important that we remember the heroic activities of those who have gone before us and who have brought us to this day - they are the giants on whose shoulders we stand today", the Bishop said.

Bishop Monahan said he was very impressed by the "excellent film clip so professionally produced by the student council to advertise and to inform the various elements of the day.

"The video showcased the confidence, eloquence, communicationability, the talent and the skills of the children - well done to all involved in making that video", he said.

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"We celebrate a place of learning which is essential to our society, just as essential as our secondary schools and universities. Crucial to our society are schools and education and in the small well equipped schools like in Shinrone, with dedicated staff and boards of management and parents associations, a very important battle is enacted, and won, everyday.

"Because it is here, working with a sense of history, we are in a position to build a bright and brighter future. In the words of WB Yeats - 'Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire', and that fire was lit 50 years ago and it is burning brightly today in Shinrone", Bishop Monahan said.

"Today we mark the completion of a half-a-century of education in Shinrone. Former pupils of the school have taken their place in society and become leaders at home and abroad, across the country and in countries to which they have emigrated.

"Sportspeople, musicians, cultured individuals and people of profound Christian values have emerged enriched by years spent in this place of learning and socialisation.

"Today is a time for memories, but the Christian memory and hope will always be related and we thank God for what has been achieved in the past and we recognise our dependance on the Lord and we look forward with confidence and with hope", Bishop Monahan said.

Adrian Doughery, Freya Fox, Martin Costello, Gerdline Egan, Eimear Reynolds and Evan Kirwan led the Prayers of the Faithful at the celebratory Mass.

In their prayers the pupils, parents and staff thanked everyone who made the school the special and successful place it has become.

To mark the occasion a special new book documenting the history of the school and the amalgamation with Pike National School was released - 'Caoga Bliain ag Fás 1975 - 2025, Shinrone National School and The Pike National School'.

Everyone in attendance was invited to enjoy refreshments in the Hall and the beautifully decorated school buildings, while people pored over photographs of family and classmates captured in the new book from bygone years.

Bishop Monahan also blessed a tree planted on the school grounds to mark the Golden Jubilee.

Shinrone National School will hold their Open Evening this Wednesday (November 19th) and parents are invited to come along for a cuppa and a chat and have a look around to see what they can offer children.

The Open Evening takes place from 7pm to 8pm and the management asks please share the date with anyone who is thinking about where to send their child to school. All are welcome.

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