Here in St John’s Primary school pupils are encouraged to participate in all areas of Irish culture and sports. We are now very proud of the linguistic diversity which our immersion experience brings to the school. This immersion has helped to excite the whole school to use their native tongue even if it is only a cúpla focal in the playground.

Most (but not all) of the children in Rang a hAon/Dó received their pre-school education through Irish at Naíscoil Ghreanacháin which is a self-contained unit on Michael Davitt’s GAC site.  

In St John’s we seek to ensure that pupils experience not only the highest standard of education through the medium of Irish but are also fully integrated members of the wider school and parish community. Children in the Irish immersion are involved in all the common activities for P1-P7 such as trips, concerts, choir, sporting achievements, cultural opportunities etc. They have opportunities to play with their wider school friends at break time and at dinner time.

Children in Rang a hAon/Dó have opportunities to participate in events and competitions which are particularly welcome for Irish-Medium children. One highlight of the year takes place in May when pupils celebrate ‘Feis Charn Tóchair’ which includes art competitions, traditional songs, language and poetry competitions all through Irish.

If you choose to have your child benefit from bilingual education with our Irish immersion, we can assure you that he/she will receive the same full curriculum entitlement as their counterparts in the rest of the school. The class teachers plan regularly with all the other teachers in the mainstream classes to ensure that the pupils are following the same topics in all the curriculum areas.

English is taught formally as a “second” language from P3 onwards. Children in the Irish immersion will sit the equivalent tests to children not in the unit throughout their years in St John’s and we would wish to stress that the only difference in their experiences will be in the language that they use.  Irish Medium Education equips children with the ability to speak two languages confidently by the time they complete their primary education.