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Former Minister for Arts and The Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, officially opened the Mercy Mounthawk Centenary Building. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.
THE new extension in Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School was officially opened on Monday.
The ‘Centenary Building’ contains seven classrooms, a number of special needs rooms and these rooms wrap around a large hall which contains a stage for school performances.
The €1.6 million development was officially opened by Jimmy Deenihan who, while Minister for Arts and The Gaeltacht, turned the sod of the development back in December 2014.
“It’s marvellous that it has come to fruition and that the dream worked,” said Mercy Mounthawk Principal, John O’Roarke.
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“We’re very pleased with the builders and the contractors that were engaged in the project. They did it in a very professional way that did not in anyway impact in any significant function of the school,” said Mr O’Rourke.
The day was marked with a mass in the school sports hall presided over by Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne, who also did the honours of blessing the new building before the official opening.
The building honours the 1916 Rising centenary and to reflect this, one of the anchors of the Aud was on display in Mercy Mounthawk for the official opening and for the coming weeks.
As students make their way down to the new building, they are met with a specially-designed stained glass piece by local artist Mary J Leen.
A quote by WB Yeats are emblazoned across the impressively sized work. It reads; “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire”. Scroll down for photos…
At the official opening of the new Centenary Building in Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School, Mayor of Kerry Pat McCarthy, Sister Bernadette Costello, Mayor of Tralee Tom McEllistrim, Jimmy Deenihan, Dr Marie Griffin, Mercy Mounthawk Principal John O’Roarke, Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.
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Artist, Mary J Leen with Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne and Mercy Mounthawk Principal, John O’Roarke. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.
Mercy Mounthawk students, Moira Foley, Ciara O’Connor, Zack Brosnan, Niamh O’Regan, Ger Tansley, Anna Morrison and Katie Dennehy. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.
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Mercy Mounthawk students, from left: Evan Maher, Gearoid Dillane, Ciaran O’Reilly, Sean Griffin and Adrian Nolan. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.
A large crowd was in the Mercy Mounthawk sports hall to celebrate a mass before the unveiling. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.
