There was great disappointment in a County Limerick town this week with the news that the Sisters of the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ) are stepping down as Trustees of the local secondary school. Parents of pupils in Árd Scoil Mhuire in Bruff were given the news this week that the local secondary school may also have to close due to dwindling numbers.
A meeting took place in the town this Wednesday night after the board of trustees of Árd Scoil Mhuire in Bruff - the Sisters of the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ) - announced that they are no longer in a position to commit the level of funding required on an ongoing basis.
Three possible options are to be discussed in relation to the future of the school - one of them being closure.
“We are gutted to be honest. We would hate to lose it," said Lenore O'Sullivan, secretary of the Parents' Association. I suppose that it has been on the cards for a while - the numbers were dwindling. It does need a cash input. We are hopeful it will not close - it depends on the outcome of the meeting tonight. We will do our utmost to keep the school. We have got to," added Ms O'Sullivan.
An investment of €2.8 million is required to make the boarding school building - which is used on a daily basis for regular school activities - structurally, mechanically and electrically sound.
The trustees do not have the finances to commit to this nor would the investment make the building properly suitable for the provision of modern day education.
In the past ten years the enrolment at the school has decreased by 38 per cent.
There are now 268 students attending compared to 403 in 1988/1989.
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