Walk down memory lane at the De La Salle school
By Maurice Garvey
A WALK down memory lane at a soon to be closed Ballyfermot school, is set to take place on February 1, 2019.
De La Salle National School, the first school to open in Ballyfermot in 1952, is set to close in the Summer.
A reunion walkabout has generated plenty of response
Past pupil Ken Larkin, from Ballyfermot Heritage Group, first floated the proposal for a reunion walkabout earlier this year.
“I had a meeting with the Principal Ms Plant on October 12 and we now have a date for this to happen – February 1 at 1pm,” said Ken.
“The feedback (from past pupils online) has been excellent. The plan is to have a small concert of past pupils, a walkabout, for people to bring old photos with them and there will be tea and refreshments.”
A last opportunity for a trip down memory lane at the fabled school has generated a positive response, with past pupils from various decades signaling their interest in taking part.
When De La Salle opened in 1952, it was bursting to the seams with 380 students.
However, in recent years, numbers have fallen sharply, with the land sold by the De La Salle Brothers, and plans for De La Salle to amalgamate with St Gabriel’s, St Raphael’s and St Michael’s in 2014 deemed “not tenable” by the Archdiocese of Dublin.
Last month, The Echo and the school captured the famous green jerseys of the last two sixth classes at the school for a poignant group picture, beside the statue of French priest and educational reformer St Jean-Baptiste de la Salle.
Anyone interested can contact Ken via the St Marks Heritage Facebook page.
He has asked for people to let him know what year they were in the school, and if they have any group pictures that they want to bring along and include on the heritage photo site.
