SCHOOLHOUSE ruins are a common sight in the Irish countryside. Within their collapsing walls, lessons were learned and friends were made. Belief systems, traditions and moral codes were imprinted on young minds.
SPIKE ISLAND NATIONAL SCHOOL—constructed from corrugated-iron, was not of the typical designs supplied by the Office of Public Works at this time, with corrugated-iron rarely if ever being used as a building material for schools. Given it’s atypical design it is quite likely that the OPW were not involved in the construction of the school. This may be due to the fact from 1938 to 1979, the Irish Army, especially the Artillery Corps, Coast Defence Artillery (C.D.A.), were garrisoned Spike Island, primarily to man the six-inch guns.
The building was a three-roomed school house, with classrooms divided by sliding screens.
Off a long, central corridor were cloakrooms and bathrooms. The building itself was located at the edge of an old quarry and sheltered to the south by the imposing military fortifications.
ENDA O’FLAHERTY’s work as an archaeologist has brought him to the most isolated parts of Ireland, where he noticed and grew ever more intrigued by these ever-present features of the landscape. He began actively seeking them out, photographing over 240 schools in total, researching their histories and interviewing those who attended them.
Speaking ahead of the launch of the exhibition, curator Dorota Gubbins said: “Each empty building has a story to tell, and gathered in this thoughtful collection, they whisper a poignant narrative of a disappearing Ireland – of changing needs, desires and ways of life.”