Appeal of planning permission granted for Carrick-on-Suir's new Gaelscoil is withdrawn

An Bord Pleanála has confirmed the appeal submitted against the planning approval for Carrick-on-Suir’s new Gaelscoil was withdrawn on Monday.

The withdrawal of the appeal paves the way for construction of the multi-million school project to get underway later this year.

Tipperary County Council will move to grant full planning permission for the new school in the coming days once it receives formal notification of the withdrawal of the appeal.

The new two-storey eight classroom school will be located on the site of Carrick-on-Suir’s St Joseph’s Technical College on the Clonmel Road.

The old college buildings are to be demolished to make way for the new Gaelscoil.

The 113-pupil Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire has been based in temporary pre-fab accommodation on the grounds of Carrick United AFC at Coolnamuck Road, Carrickbeg for the past two decades.

When Tipperary County Council granted conditional planning permission for the long-awaited new school just before Christmas, principal Linda Nic an Bháird welcomed the news as: “An bronntanas Nollag is fearr” (the best Christmas present ever).

Once full planning permission is granted, the Department of Education will begin the tendering process to appoint a contractor to build the school.

The tendering process will take several months and it’s hoped to commence construction work this summer.

“We hope to be in the new school sometime during the 2023/2024 academic year,” Ms Nic an Bháird told The Nationalist in December.

The plans for the new state-of-the-art Gaelscoil have been designed by Atkins Architects. The school will comprise eight teaching classrooms, a library, general purpose hall, support teaching rooms, outdoor play areas and nature areas.

Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire was founded in 1998 following a meeting of a group of parents in the town interested in setting up a school where their children would be educated through the Irish language.