Carrigaline Educate Together

Carrigaline Educate Together N.S. first opened its doors at a temporary school building based at Carrigaline A.F.C. on the Ballea Road on 1st September 2008. The establishment of this new school was due to the hard work of the start-up committee under the guidance of the Educate Together organisation. The start-up committee members were; Billy Tague, Fiona Messabih, Dave O’Mahony, Mary O’Mahony, Marie Walsh, Eric Hurley, Ralph Depping and Sue Fiessler. The first teachers employed in the school were principal Mel Thornton and deputy principal Christine O'Brien.


Over the first academic year the school grew significantly. The following September, the school moved from the soccer club to Herons Wood. Due to the phenomenal growth and support throughout our years here, the school relocated its senior classes to Portgate Business Park from January 2011. While the physical conditions may not always have been ideal, the strong spirit and inclusive atmosphere that is so evident within our school today, was nurtured and fostered throughout these years.


During this time also, many people from the school community and the Carrigaline community at large worked tirelessly behind the scenes to secure a final permanent school building. In February 2013, we were all delighted to see that building works had commenced and our new and permanent home was in sight. After much hard work and commitment by all the children, staff, parents, builders and community at large, we were thrilled to finally open our doors at our permanent location in Kilnagleary on September 2nd 2013.


Since then the school has continued to flourish and thrive. From our very humble beginnings in the soccer club of 20 students and 2 teachers we now have over 430 students, 29 teachers and 13 SNAs.

The Board of Management has eight members: the School Principal, two members nominated by the Patron, two members elected by the parents, two members elected from the wider community and a teacher elected by the staff. The term of office for the Board is just over four years. The function of the Board is to govern the school, including policy formation and implementation and appoint staff. The Board must, at all times, comply with legislation, the Rules for National schools, the Constitution of Boards of Management and directives from the Department of Education and Science.

This Board of Management will reside from December 2015 to December 2019:

Eric Hurley, Chairperson, Patron Rep
Eoin O'Callaghan, Patron Rep
Rob Neiland, Parent Rep
Laura Nagle Kiwanuka, Parent Rep
Mel Thornton, Staff Rep
Martina Luttrell, Teacher Rep
Sudesh Donegan, Community Rep
Judith McRae, Community Rep
Deirdre O’ Driscoll, Staff Rep

At Carrigaline Educate Together School we see the role and involvement of parents as central to the ethos of the school. All parents in the school are automatically members of the Parents Association, however, if you are interested in joining the PA Committee, you can volunteer at the AGM, held in September of each school year, or contact the current Parents Association at pa@cetns.org.

A Parents Association is an essential part of the life of the school and you can find out the latest news from the Parents Association by visiting our Facebook page.

We hope that this website will become a useful resource for parents of not only the currently enrolled children but that it will also provide a wealth of information on the life of the school for parents considering Carrigaline Educate Together National School for their children.


The Parents Association Constitution is available to all parents.
Read the PA Constitution

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