Co. Clare | Disused School Houses

Kilnaboy National School, Kilnaboy townland, Co. Clare

(dated 1884)

NGR: 127450, 191785

Kilnaboy National School, Co. Clare - 1884 — Kilnaboy National School, Co. Clare – 1884

Located near the village of Carron and the large turlough, (or seasonal lake) situated there, Kilnaboy National School sits in a landscape that is rich in historical and archaeological sites, with more than 90 megalithic burial monuments in the area. However, the Burren also contains monuments from the more recent past: namely the vernacular architecture of the past two centuries.

Travelling from Corofin toward Leamenah, you will pass the little village of Kilnaboy (any fan of the Father Ted TV series will know this as the location of Craggy Island Parochial House). The village is most notable for its imposing eleventh-century church which is visible from the roadside, and so the quaint features if its eighteenth-nineteenth century streetscape is very often overlooked. In recent years, the former post office here has been turned into an exhibition space, aptly named ‘X-PO’. And close by is a former schoolhouse, built in 1884, but now derelict and empty. Continue reading Kilnaboy National School, Kilnaboy townland, Co. Clare →

Drumbonniv National School, Drumbonniv townland, Co. Clare

(dated 1890)

NGR: 140469, 183557

The townland of Drumbonniv (sometimes spelled Drumbaniff) is situated in the parish of Crusheen in Co. Clare, not far from the towns of Gort and Ennis. It is a quiet, rural area which suffered from rural depopulation until recent years – in winter it can a particularly damp and cold landscape. The bare and harsh land is on the fringes of the Burren, with shallow soils and frequent limestone outcrop and hazel scrub. Small trees and shrubs that today encroach on the school house today provide some shelter from the elements.

The building that stands today dates to 1890 and comprises a detached, three-bay single storey, single classroom school house with a projecting entrance porch. It has a pitched roof with brickwork chimney stacks and plaster rendering. The plaster rendering is scored to give the impression that the building is constructed of cut-stone blocks. The walls are rubble built with the original sash windows still in place. A hole in the ceiling reveals the lattice and plaster-work construction in the roof – typical of school houses of this time.

Although much of the interior remains in a relatively good state of preservation, a large hole has recently been knocked in the gable end of the building to allow large machinery into the building. To the rear of the school stand the remnants of a stone built toilet block, now collapsed.