Pupils thrilled with upgrade from prefab to hotel

THERE were smiles all round yesterday as 165 pupils discovered they will soon be relocating from prefabs to more luxurious surroundings of a former hotel.

Cork County Council yesterday granted planning permission to Gaelscoil Uí Drisceoil to move into the former Ibis Hotel near Dunkettle which is owned by developer Seamus Geaney.

The council granted permission to convert the hotel into 14 classrooms, four resource rooms, art rooms, computer rooms, library and offices. For the past four years, the school has been housed at Old Christians Rugby Club, Glanmire, where it has seven classrooms, three of which are prefabs.

The gaelscoil’s board of management had been in discussion with Mr Geaney for some time about taking over the hotel.

He had initially intended to refurbish the Ibis and reopen it as a hotel, but decided, in the current economic climate. that proposal would not be feasible.

Gaelscoil Uí Drisceoil principal Siobhán Ní Chatháin said all concerned were delighted with the news that the local authority had sanctioned a change of use for the Ibis.

Ms Ní Chatháin said the facilities at Old Christians Rugby Club were not adequate to meet their needs, especially in the future, and it will cost the Department of Education much less to move to the refurbished hotel.