Former Athy school building set for regeneration

Funding of over €250,000 will help give a disused school building in Athy a new lease on life.

The former Scoil Padraig on St John’s Lane is a project local councillor Brian Dooley has been working on with Jacqui McNabb, Head of Kildare’s Local Enterprise Office.

He said he’s “delighted” to see that part funding (€264,000) for the project has been approved.

“This will allow the old Scoil Padraig building that's been derelict and vandalised be redeveloped and revitalised as a town centre educational space to support a regeneration hub, with Athy as a South Eastern regional regeneration centre supporting the circular economy and trade apprenticeships,” he explained.

Cllr Dooley said the project rationale is to purchase the disused Christian Brothers school “and then provide a location, support and skills for regenerative business, as a tool for developing economic resilience in a highly disadvantaged area of our county through establishing a social enterprise.” “If the project is supported, we will be able to teach sustainable practices by training individuals while giving new life to discarded items,” he said. “By blending environmental practices with training, we will create a positive impact, fostering a culture of reuse and creativity within the community and spin out small businesses.” They will promote sustainable practices by training individuals from basic introduction courses to City & Guilds technician levels and onto full apprenticeships.

Last October, cllr Dooley visited the former school with Minister Niall Collins from the Department of Further & Higher Education and the Chief Executive of Kildare and Wicklow ETB Deirdre Keyes. The Fianna Fáil councillor has said the building itself is in relatively good condition, having been built by Carbery Builders in the 60s.