Marathon man principal hits road for school gym
Frustrated by three years of delays in getting department funding for a new building incorporating a gym, Bill Reidy will run the marathon on October 25, along with Mary Sugrue, a fifth-class teacher at John F Kennedy Memorial School in Limerick.
Both runners will wear T-shirts protesting at delays in the Department of Education giving the go-ahead for a state-of-the-art new building. The building has been at the planning stage for more than three years.
“I’ve always been involved in hurling and training teams but this is my first marathon. I’ll probably struggle to finish the race, Mary is half my age but I’m sure I’ll finish within a few hours of her,” said 58-year-old Mr Reidy, a former trainer with NaPiarsaigh GAA club.
“The parents have done so much raising money over the years that the staff decided it was our turn to do something,” he said.
The school was opened in the city’s North Circular Road in 1965 and a new building was promised by the Department of Education as far back as 1971.
Mr Reidy and his staff were hopeful that a new school was on the way when they were again promised progress in early 2001, but the 268 pupils and 15 teachers are still in the same overcrowded conditions this year.
“We have three prefabs on the grounds but the lack of accommodation has meant we’ve had to turn a staff toilet into a resource teaching room,” he said.
Part of the design proposal still awaiting sanction from the Department of Education includes a general purpose room and gym. However, the school wants a larger room but has to raise €100,000 to fund it.
The school fundraising committee has already raised half of the cost and Mr Reidy and Ms Sugrue are now hoping to help their efforts.
“In the age where obesity is becoming a major problem, our children have to play in between showers,” a committee spokesperson said.
“Parents and staff have adhered to every department compliance but we seem to be stuck in the political jam. Meanwhile, our children continue to play in appalling conditions and use toilet facilities without hot water,” he said.
