Editorial: End of an educational era for Copper Coast village
Knockmahon NS pupils pictured when they celebrated 60 years of Bunmahon's current school building in 2019. The school is to close its doors at the end of the coming academic year.
A hard-fought campaign to keep Bunmahon's two-teacher primary school open has finally conceded defeat. Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan, as patron of the school, sent a letter to parents, guardians, staff and members of the Knockmahon National School community informing them that the school will close at the end of the coming academic year.
The school had engaged in a concerted enrolment campaign throughout the autumn and continuing into February, however, the numbers didn't materialise to sustain the two-teacher school.
It is a major disappointment for the school community, with students in all eight class levels now forced to find an alternative place of primary education. It is also a significant set-back for the Copper Coast village of Bonmahon, and a further reflection of the difficult realities facing rural communities.
A primary school has operated in Bunmahon since just after the Famine years. The population during the mid-19th century swelled to 2,000, with copper and lead mining proving a reliable industry and source of employment for around 50 years. The school flourished as a result.
Building commenced on the current school in 1956, with students moving into that building in 1959. They celebrated their 60-year milestone in 2019, just before Covid struck.
The previous schoolhouse, which was situated beside the Church of Ireland in the village, subsequently became home to the UNESCO Copper Coast Geo Park Centre.
A primary school is the heartbeat of a community - it encourages connection and instils a sense of place and pride among a village's youngest inhabitants from their earliest years, which endures throughout their life.
Declining populations in rural areas, and the pressure on parents of commuting to work in larger urban centres and juggling childcare requirements, as well as rural areas having to fight hard for adequate services, such as wastewater (Bonmahon has been told that it will be 2029 at least before an essential upgrade takes place) and housing.
These have surely impacted Knockmahon NS in its bid to keep numbers up.
It is a great pity that this wonderful tradition of education in the heart of Waterford's Copper Coast communities is now coming to an end.
It will be bittersweet for this year's sixth class students, as they take part in their last sports day and school tour, alongside their younger school classes who will not have the option to remain at their preferred primary school, where they've celebrated so many milestones.
It is also the end of an era for generations of Bunmahon families, whose older siblings, parents, grandparents, great grandparents and beyond would have attended the school.
The seaside village, this week, finally won back Blue Flag status for its beach, last achieved 14 years ago in 2012, a crucial boost for tourism with the potential to attract greater visitor footfall in the summer months. There is a sense now, though, of one step forward, two steps back.
The communities of the Copper Coast must be valued and cherished.
We have seen the closure of garda stations, post offices, local shops and newsagents, and rural pubs all across County Waterford. When a primary school closes, it is beyond time to look hard at the challenges our rural communities are facing, and how they can be safeguarded into the future. Waterford City and County Council and our government TDs and departments must take a leading role in this regard.
