Special school protest: 'These kids are our flesh and blood and we will fight for them to the very end'

Parents protesting at St Killian's in Cork demand that the Government either include the school in a pilot project for therapeutic services or approve a €150,000 grant for private therapy

Cousins Paddy Breen, Aodha and Thade Swanwick, and Eilís Gleeson protest at St Killian's School. Picture: Larry Cummins

There was no chanting and there were no loudspeakers at the sensory-friendly protest outside this special school in Cork yesterday but the message to Government was still loud and clear: Deliver on your promise or face the consequences at the next general election.

St Killian's, in Mayfield, is the largest special school of its kind in Munster. Therapeutic interventions were withdrawn in 2020, prompting the parents to set up the St Killian’s Parents Unite campaign group last year to secure the services again.

Representatives met with Minister Anne Rabbitte at Leinster House in November 2023 to discuss appointing a private multi-disciplinary team to provide the therapeutic services to the school.

Protesters at St Killian's School in Mayfield, Cork, on Thursday. Picture: Larry Cummins  

They said the minister assured them her department would cover the costs, but despite finding a private company to provide the interventions, the grant did not materialise, and parents say no formal discussions have taken place with the minister since.

However, when the school was omitted from a pilot therapies programme, the parents said they were left with no option but to protest.

They demanded the Government either include the school in the pilot project or approve the €150,000 grant to fund private therapy.

As city councillor Ted Tynan pointed out that the Government looks set to plough up to €100m into the Cork event centre project, and throws millions annually at the horse racing and greyhound industries, Fiona Coughlan, whose daughter Chloe, 10, attends St Killian’s, said the €150,000 they need is a drop in the ocean.

“Everything is a battle. Everything is a fight,” she said.

“And the most frustrating part of this is there is a readily-available solution here. We are a wealthy country. We have a provider ready to go. 

What we need now is for the Government to keep their promise. Give us that money and let us help our children.

Derbhla O’Connor, whose son, Paul, 7, attends the school, said the therapeutic hours would be “life-changing” for the students.

“Our children are basically, in the eyes of the Government, second-class citizens,” she said.

Tracy Mekki and daughters Malika and Amira protest on behalf of their brother Karim. Picture: Larry Cummins

“I have had personal meetings with Anne Rabbitte, and she has promised many many things and nothing happened.

The parents here today met Anne Rabbitte and she promised them the sun, moon, and stars and nothing happened.

“I hope that Anne is listening now and can see the reality.

“These kids to her might be just a number, but they are our flesh and blood and we will fight for them to the very end.”

School principal Sue Lenihan said therapeutic intervention is an integral part of an education process in a special school but she has seen a decline in students’ ability to communicate, and in their mental health and emotional wellbeing since the therapies were withdrawn, and especially post-covid.

“About 10 years ago, we would have seen a child coming into the school operating at slightly better levels," she said.

“Now it is worse because they have had nothing. It makes me upset, and makes me feel very, very sad actually because we do our best in schools. All special schools are doing their utmost; staff work incredibly hard; but there is a piece of this puzzle missing and we can’t replace it because we are not therapists.”