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History of Our School - Part 2

Written by Seán Hallinan

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Power Brokers

Power Brokers

Real power in the early days rested with the School Manager & Landlord who was the resident “Blake '' at Towerhill and also the local Parish Priest as the two following tales amply illustrate. There was the case of a George Brown who, having listened to a political speech delivered during Mass in Carnacon Church on a Sunday, stood up to object to and disagree with the speaker. The Priest is reputed to have told him that “he would never work again”. As a result he had to emigrate to the USA. Oh! To have been a fly on the wall that day!

Margaret Brown began teaching in Burriscarra National School in 1869. (She achieved the role of Principal and served for more than 40 years and retired aged 62 on full pension.) Her husband John Henry Garvey was also a teacher in the School and romance blossomed! John Henry Garvey was a native of Newtown, Clogher and he married Margaret who was 5 years older when he was just 19 years of age! John Henry was a fluent Irish scholar and he taught the sons of Col Maurice Moore, Rory and Ulick the Irish language. John Henry took them on hunting trips to Castlecarra, Castleburke and Ballintubber Abbey to “instil in them some romantic idea of their country, give them new eyes to see the scenes in which they had been brought up” and so giving them a motive for becoming Irish speakers. John Henry also liked to take a drink and that was his downfall. When Major Maurice Blake was out walking with his wife Jeanette, John Henry made an untrue disparaging remark about her to the effect that she was perhaps the daughter of “a local ne’er-do-well local Páidin”! He was promptly sacked from his teaching role in the School!  A Miss Hurst also from the locality was dismissed later still due to reasons now clouded in the midst of time.
Handball was a very popular game with the school pupils with alleys in both Towerhill and Carnacon. In the early 1920s there were many fine handballers locally such as Michael Walshe (killed in the landing in Normandy) Bob O’ Connell, the local national School teacher and Fr Richard and Fr Batty Canavan, the local clergy, “Nalty” and Dick Quinn.

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Captain Valentine Blake of Towerhill

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Hurling at Carnacon

There was hurling in Carnacon as well. Frank Thornton, N.T, introduced it. He played Gaelicfootball as well with the De La Salle Teacher Training School in Waterford. Being from
Ballyheane he had a deep interest in hurling and made many Hurley’s from the roots of ash trees. The Carnacon School matches were played in the field opposite owned by Tom Hughes (Mike Willie’s, R.I.P) father. Pake Plunkett, R.I.P, Moorehall was rated one of the best hurlers around. Frank Thornton (referred to above) was a native of Hollyhill; Ballyheane commenced his teaching career in Burriscarra N.S in 1926. He succeeded Bob O Connell who was a native of
the Westport/Leenane district. Frank was a native of Westlands, Ballyheane and he travelled to Carnacon in the early years by motor cycle. Frank retired in 1957 and Mick Finnegan (a noted Gaelic footballer) of Dunmore taught in the School for a period as did Michael Brennan and Mrs Fitzpatrick. Frank Thornton’s wife Sarah (known locally as Sal) a native ofHollyhill, Ballyheane commenced her teaching career in Burriscarra School in 1927 and she
gave long and sterling service until she retired in 1968. The Thornton family lived in the bungalow (house name - Coranna) beside the old phone box currently the home of Noreen and Michael Corbett.

Hurling

Carnacon and the Arts

During the renovations to Carnacon Church in the early 1960s the old School served the Community as a Church and indeed Community Hall. I served Latin Mass there for Fr Tom Jennings P.P and his Curate Fr Edward Tuffy. I also have very fond memories of Concerts; Quizzes’ and Plays being staged at the venue. Killawalla Drama Group, the Riverside Players from Clogher and also a local drama group drawn from Carnacon/Ballyglass under the tuition
of Fr Tuffy gave great entertainment with such plays as “A cure for Nerves” “Troubled bachelors” “Fledged and Flown” “The Marriage Plan” and “The Cobwebs Glory”.
The school grounds were pretty confined and a great dividing wall ran from the rear of the school up an incline to meet with the turf shed and very basic foul smelling boys and girl’sdry toilets. The dividing walls were to segregate the sexes, boys from girls – and rarely was the border breached! On the very odd occasions when the teachers were otherwise engrossed at break time (perhaps with the welcome extended visits of the P.P, Fr Tom Jennings) we boys invaded the girl’s side brandishing nettles on occasions! If one was informed on or caught in the act of trespassing the cane was brandished with serious intent as it was on a fairly regular basis for errors such as wrong spellings, poor transcription, muddled bible stories and
confused catechism answers.
A new era was dawning in the 1960s and a new generation of teachers moulded our lives. I have happy memories of Mickie Waldron, R.I.P, on wet and windy days when the loose
windows were rattling in the wind; he gathered us all up by the turf fire and read poetry,
literature and Irish history. Our array of various tea/cocoa bottles also stood as a regiment
about the circumference of the fire also enjoying the nourishing heat.

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Present Day

And finally,.....As indicated earlier in the 19th and 20th centuries Emigration played a huge role in community life. Many girls left home mid-teens to enter service for wealthy homeowners in the USA. Boys tended to work on building sites in the great cities of England and America. After Donagh O' Malley introduced free education in the mid-1960s the pattern changed. Gradually more students progressed to 2nd and 3rd level education and while economic downturns in the1980s and again in the period 2008/ 20012 saw a rise in emigration to Australia many of our young people found good employment at home in Ireland. Former Burriscarra NS pupils have achieved good careers in Accountancy, Law, IT &Computers, Nursing, the Public Service and the Trades. Long may it remain so. The old Burriscarra N.S with a splendid sun shining on it! The years pass quickly and fly by like fleeting clouds. Each year brings news of the passing of former pupils – those who once sat nervously on a low infant’s desk on their first day in Burriscarra School. A visit to Burriscarra Cemetery displays hundreds of familiar names of former pupils on headstones, all passed on to their eternal reward. So too are emigrant names from our community carved on headstones scattered around the globe. We ought to remember them as well. Happily the current Church Newsletters brings fresh tidings of new Baptisms in St Mary’s Church. Their life’s journey is just beginning and it will stretch ahead through school, adolescence, relationships, the middle years and old age. It is our wish for them that they enjoy their years of learning, and that they live in peace and tranquillity in these special little villages that nestle on the landscape we love around the “quarter of the hounds” and that former precious Community on “the plains of the yew tree”. The new spic and span Burriscarra N.S. 2022.

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The 1970's

Finally some long overdue developments took place in the early 1970s and new toilets were constructed with running water - a welcome replacement for the dry toilets that used to be cleaned and emptied far too seldom. It also ended the constant pool of pee that wound its way down to the double gates towards the roadway! Burriscarra NS 1972 School 
Mrs Murphy, Mrs Malarkey, Mrs Tuohy, Mary Brown (years of long service), Chris O Boyle,,Mr Michael Kelly and Mr Jimmy McHugh and Delia Collins, also served in Burriscarra N.S
down the decades.
In the late 1980s Carnacon Centre and Ball Alley was constructed and also a new School building in the 1990s both of which have greatly embellished the village.
Arthur O Súilleabháin served in Carnacon from September 1979 until August 1998 a period of 19 years. Arthur played a leading role in the provision of the Community Centre and new School. Card games to raise necessary funds for upkeep of the School took place in the old school weekly on Thursday nights. Reflective of a new era Arthur also introduced IT and
Computer studies to the pupils. National projects in different spheres were won, basketball tournaments were run and a rejuvenation of Set Dancing also took place. A highlight was the Burriscarra National School Re-union which took place on August 11th 2,000 in the Welcome Inn Hotel, Castlebar. Hundreds of former pupils attended from around Ireland,
England and some from the USA. It had been the first time in decades that many had met up.

Mrs Dympna Byrne (now retired) also gave outstanding service in recent years. Mrs Marie Hughes and James Rafter, the current Principal, continue in the same vein to give an ongoing dedicated commitment to the welfare of local children and also to a recent influx of Ukrainian children. A new pre-school has recently been completed at the rear of the Centre complex. A new nine unit housing construction in the heart of Carnacon village is due to commence shortly (completion date 2024) and is sure to further enhance pupil numbers in the years ahead.
Sport

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Our School has also a fine sporting tradition especially in Gaelic Football – most fitting in that it was the original founders, the Blake’s of Towerhill that gave Mayo their distinguished colours “the Green above the Red ''. Carnacon LGFA still wears those colours with pride and many former pupils of Burriscarra NS have contributed enormously to their abundant success at Club and County level. Carnacon School Team – Area Winners 1997 Ballintubber GAA Club has enjoyed great success in winning five County senior footballtitles in the past dozen years. Former pupils of Burriscarra NS once again were prominent in that wonderful chapter in Parish history. Michael Plunkett of Moorehall currently dons the Mayo Jersey with distinction. Cora Staunton, Carnacon Club, Mayo Ladies and Australian Rules living legend took her first formative steps in Mini-Sevens competition with Burriscarra N.S.

Arts
The 1970's
Present Day
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