School History
Carrigallen Vocational School was first opened as the Technical School, Carrigallen, for the 1957 / ‘58 school year.
The official opening was on the 3rd June 1958 and was presided over by his lordship, the most Rev. Dr. Quinn, Bishop of Kilmore. Also in attendance that day was Mr. T. O’ Raibtearaig, Secretary at the Department of Education.
The original building is described as “an impressive three-roomed modern structure … built on a commanding four-acre site on the outskirts of the town and overlooking the expansive Carrigallen Lake … the grounds are already beautifully laid out with flowers and shrubs in abundance”.
The school began life with an enrolment of 50 students and offered classes in Rural Science, Manual Instruction and Domestic Science with a Commercial class offered shortly after.
The school has only had three Principals since its opening in 1958 – Mr. Michael Duignan, Mr. Eamonn Daly and currently Mr. Declan Conboy.
Since 1958, Carrigallen Vocational School has undergone radical change. The original building has had several extensions and now offers 20 classrooms, including practical rooms for Wood Technology, Engineering, Design and Communication Graphics, Home Economics, Art and Science.
Enrolment has escalated from the original 50 students to approximately 350 students in the current day.
The school put its first group through the Leaving Cert in 1983 and continues to educate students in a wide range of academic and practical subjects for the State Exams.
As well as mainstream education, the school has introduced other programmes for learners in the last decade like the popular Transition Year, Leaving Cert Applied, Leaving Cert Vocational Programme and Rang Carraig.
The school became a Digital School in 2014, introducing digital devices for the students to equip them for an increasingly digitised workplace and society.
The future looks bright for Carrigallen Vocational School with planned building developments for the future. Watch this space…
