In
the early 1930s, after the condemnation of the old school by the Public
Authorities, the decision to build a new school was taken. The site was procured
from John Hovenden. The foundation stone was laid by Most Rev. M. Cullen,
Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin in July 1934. The school boasted a modern central
heating system and" a perfect system of sanitation and drainage".
The total cost for the new school was £5600; £3600 of which was granted by
the Department of Education. The remaining £2000 was raised by running the
Ballylinan Carnival in 1935, 1937 and 1939. The first child registered in
the new school was Patrick Conway on the 1st April 1936. The staff at this
stage consisted of Thomas Roche, Jane Roche, Mary Fleckney and Laurance Dunne
and there were some 240 pupils on rolls. In 1945, Thomas Roche retired and
was replaced by Stan Reynolds as Principal.
In
the early 1970's the 'New' school was renovated. At this stage,
Frank McNulty, Stan Reynolds successor, and the Principal and the Assistants
were Florrie Armstrong, Mary Murphy and Sile Graham. The sanitation was updated
and the toilets were moved into the main buildings. The modern heating systen
which had been installed in the 1930's was replaced by an oil fired system.
The glass and wooden partitions which divided the classrooms were removed
and replaced by soilid walls. The staff room was also dated from this period.
With the improvements in the pupil-teacher ratio, the number of teachers increased.
In 1979 with the appointment of Clare Cotter, a prefabricated classroom was
built to accommodate the expanded staff. In 1985 Frank McNulty was appointed
Principal of Athy C.B.S. and Enda Condron succeeded him as Principal of Ballylinan
National School.
The
present Principal is Mr. Fran Moloney, who was appointed in 1988. In January,
1995 Mary Murphy retired after 25 years of service in Ballylinan and was replaced
by her daughter Mary. With the appointment of Louise Nolan as a resource teacher
in September, 1994 the number of teachers in Ballylinan rose to six . The
current staff members of Ballylinan are as follows:
Mr.
Fran Moloney (Principal)
Mrs.
Síle Graham. (Deputy Principal)
Ms.
Claire Cotter. (Special Duties Teacher)
Ms.
Mary Kavanagh (nee Murphy).
Mrs.
Marie MacGlinchey. (Learning support teacher)
Mrs.
Bláth McDermott.
Ms.
Geraldine Curran.