Green light for new Kildare secondary school

AFTER local lobbying for over 10 years, St Farnan’s Secondary School in Prosperous is to be replaced with a state-of-the-art brand new, two-storey academy at its Curryhills location at an estimated cost somewhere north of €45m.

The plans were given the green light by the Department of Education in August 2023, but has taken until this week for Kildare County Council to grant planning permission for this 11,000sqm new school, up from the existing school’s 4,000sqm.

This is the seventh such infrastructural addition to the west and south of the county in recent times following similar moves at St Paul’s in Monasterevin, Curragh College in Magee Barracks in Kildare town, the recently announced €24m doubling of Athy College, Ardscoil Rathangan, Cross and Passion in Kilcullen, and Patrician College in Newbridge.

The plan for St Farnan’s calls for the demolition of the existing school (pop. 600), and then the provision of a school with a 1,000 pupil capacity.

This will include a four classroom special education unit, a multi-purpose hall, regular and specialist classrooms, social areas, a library, offices, covered storage for construction studies and new changing rooms.

This development will also see new entrances, car parking, drop-off areas, features that required revisions following a request for such from the planners.

Currently the existing school is located on the northern section of the campus, whilst the pitches are to the south.

By swopping these at the new build it will allow old St Farnan’s to remain open and teaching, as its younger brother is built opposite.

There are a number of residential neighbours on two sides which led to concerns about boundaries and overlooking concerns, but plan revisions and an assertion by MCOH Architects that the minimum required distance of 22m from window ledge to window ledge has been maintained.