By Róise Collins

A SCHOOL in west Donegal is offering a €3,000 bursary to families enrolling new students this September, as part of an urgent effort to retain its second teacher.

Scoil an Aingil Choimhéadaí in Keadue launched the initiative in response to concerns over declining enrolment which could see the school fall below the pupil threshold needed to keep both of its teaching positions.

“We need 11 pupils enrolled by September 30 in order to retain our second teacher,” explained Principal Anne Marie Uí Icí.

“Right now, we’re looking at just nine. Without additional enrolments we will lose a teacher next year.”

Originally introduced as a €2,000 travel bursary, the incentive was recently increased to €3,000 thanks to a generous $5,000 donation from Kevin Buckley, a New Yorker with a deep love for the Irish language.

Mr Buckley, who now goes by Caoimhín, started learning Irish during covid. He has no direct connection to Donegal or the Keadue area but was inspired to contribute after hearing Anne Marie speak on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.

“He said he was really passionate about learning Irish and was in the position to help,” said Anne Marie.

The bursary was originally promoted to help cover travel costs for families living outside the school’s catchment area who may be considering the switch to an Irish-medium education.

Anne Marie explained that previous efforts to establish a school bus service were unsuccessful, as Bus Éireann requires a minimum of ten pupils on a route before providing transport – a paradoxical situation for rural schools trying to grow their numbers.

“Our hands are really tied,” she stressed.

As part of their efforts the school is actively promoting the initiative with a poster campaign locally, advertising its morning club which opens at 8.20am and its afterschool service which runs until 6pm daily, both set up to support working families.

So far the bursary has not led to any new enrolments, but the school community remains hopeful.

“We tried so hard this year to promote the school and show people what our kids are capable of and how amazing they are.

“It’s tough but we will keep going.”