Scoil Náisiúnta Seanbhaile

A Brief History of our School

• The earliest written records which survive in the school are of (a) Shanbally Girls' School in 1886, and (b) Shanbally Boys' School in 1890. In those days the Boys and Girls schools operated separately, all the boys being in one room and all the girls in another. The condition of that school building was often commented upon by visiting Inspectors (on His Majesty's service!!) as being "appalling". Indeed the children themselves were generally in a poor state of nourishment and dress due to the pertaining conditions in the locality. The most common occupation listed for the parents of the time was 'Labourer' and often this meant a meagre income.

• Then in 1890 a 'new' school was built near the Church, located where the present car park is situated. Mr. John Barry became Principal in 1898 and it rapidly improved, considering the Head Inspector's word of 1891 (Mr. Newell) - "Of course it was one of the worst in Ireland when Mr. Foy took charge!" - The curriculum then was quite narrow, consisting of mainly the '3-R's', Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, with a great emphasis on handwriting and 'tables'. Mr. John Barry, known locally as "the Master", gave 34 years of service to Shanbally N.S.His great grandson, Peter, and his great grand daughters, Lisa and Ellen recently attended the school.

• In 1932 Richard B. O'Flynn was appointed Principal, and his wife Kathleen became Assistant in 1933. Their arrival oversaw the development of school matters until the late 60's. They brought a greater variety to the curriculum, with music, sewing, drawing, "Drill" in the yard, liturgical festivals, Christmas concerts in the Forrester's Hall, Cork County Schools Sports, our own school sports, etc., all forming special memories for many of the parents. It was also the age of the 'Primary Cert'. which in retrospect, cruelly classified children as failures before they had even started life in earnest, and totally ignored any talents the child may have had. Bernie taught here for 34 years until 1966 and his wife Kathleen for 38 years until 1971 - a real 'lifetime of service!'

• In 1961 a third teacher was appointed (Ms. Claire Breen) and so the two-roomed school could no longer accommodate all pupils. The local FCA Hall was converted to a classroom, where the middle classes were taught by Mrs. O'Flynn. Meanwhile the campaign to have a new school built was underway and this finally came to fruition in 1964, when the Foundation stone was laid, and, with the opening the 'New' School in May 1965. It was with great pride that Mr. and Mrs. O'Flynn oversaw the transition from the old school to the new school

• Mr. Michael O'Donovan was principal for a short time until Christmas 1969, when he died suddenly, R.I.P.

• Mr. Con O'Leary became principal in January 1969, and was in charge until June 1988. He, with his staff of dedicated teachers, oversaw the introduction of the 'New Curriculum' in 1970, and maintained a high standard of education, continuing Shanbally National School's reputation as one of the best National Schools in Cork. Suddenly, with the advent of the Multinationals in Shanbally/Ringaskiddy area, the nature of the little rural community began to change. The rate of high employment among the parents of the school was often in direct contrast to the rest of the country. There was a danger at one time that the whole community would be swallowed by the IDA expansion. But the school thrived and was a strong focal point for the community, and continues to be so today.

• Anne Marie Barry was appointed assistant in 1977, her first teaching post, and is currently deputy principal. Ms. Patricia Kelly was appointed in 1981 and is still with us today also.

• Mr. Liam Shanahan was appointed Principal in 1988. Liam is a past pupil of Shanbally N.S. where he attended from 1958-1966, in a class of four boys and five girls.

• The main school building, which was built in 1964 as a three-teacher school, was extended in 1993. Currently it accommodates three mainstream classes, a General Purpose Room, Music Room and School Office. The school has grown rapidly over the last number of years, It has now reached its maximum enrolment number, as agreed between the Patron of the school and the Department of Education and Science. We have no plans to develop any further in size. We have applied to the Dept. of Ed. And Science for a permanent school extension and we await a decision in this regard. The following is an extract from the reply from the Minister's Office (March 6th, 2008) : "The progression of all large-scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction phase will be considered on an on-going basis in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme".

• Meanwhile temporary accommodation of a high standard is being used to accommodate five Mainstream Classes, Resource and Learning Support Classes, a Special Class, in conjunction with the HSE, for children with Speech and Language Disorders, Principal's Office, a Staff room and a Meeting Room.

• Due to the rapid increase in Enrolments (126 pupils in 2000 to 217 pupils in 2008) and the corresponding increase in staff-presently there are thirteen teachers,five special-needs assistants, school secretary and up to five visiting staff, there can be as many as twenty-five personnel on any given day in school.

The Story of Hannah McDonnell who received a
Certificate of Merit in Shanbally N.S. 100 years ago.

(This story was researched and written by Mr.Liam Shanahan in December 2006)

Hannah McDonnell was born in a two-storey house at Barnahely in 1893. She lived in this house until 1922 when she married Maurice Punch, from Ringaskiddy and then moved to live in Monkstown.

She had two sisters and one brother Timothy (Sonny) McDonnell who built the local Forresters Hall. At the age of 13, Hannah left Shanbally N.S. The women of those days earned their living by lace making. She sold her makings, blouses and lace collars, which were very fashionable at the time to naval officers off the recruitment warship, "The Black Prince". This ship used to tie up at the black wooden jetty, which was located at the Ballybricken side of Ringaskiddy. The Navy had training grounds in Ballybricken at the time. There are now factories on this land. Many of the local youths joined this recruitment ship to be part of the British Navy.

As a young girl, Hannah was a very talented singer. She was trained by a music teacher, Mrs. Purvis, who lived at Ard-na-Rí in Monkstown. She sang at concerts in Shanbally and Cobh, and was also a soloist in Shanbally Church Choir.

Hannah and Maurice had five children, three of whom are now deceased, all of whom went to Passage school.

Sheila Punch, her second eldest married Dermot (Diarmuid) McCarthy of Boycestown, Carrigaline in June 1955. They had four children, all of whom went to Shanbally NS. Dan and Joan attended the original school which was demolished in 1976. They, then, were taught in the new school, opened in 1965, (the present school). They were later joined by their younger two sisters, Imelda and Helen, both of whom now have their children attending Shanbally NS. -twins, David and Susan Cotter and Heather Bannon are all great-grandchildren of Hannah McDonnell.

Sheila was also on the Board of Management, for quite a number of years when it was in its infancy.