The work began on the Model School in Limerick in 1853, and the official opening took place in 1855. The plaque over front door reads: Limerick Model National School 1853. The school is located on O’Connell Avenue in Limerick City.
The building consisted of four schools at the time: an Infant School, the Girls’ School, the Boys’ School and the Mariners’ School. The Mariners’ School closed shortly afterwards due to lack of demand. Then later in 1966, The Girls’ School and Infant School were amalgamated.
In 1832, the Education Commission founded Model Schools in Dublin, then in 1835, the Commission announced plans to found additional Model Schools throughout the country. They decided in 1846 that each of these schools would consist of an infant school, a girls’ school and a boys’ school. The first Model School was established in 1843 and, in time, 25 in all were established.
On Saturday, 3rd September 1977, the building on O’Connell Avenue was burned almost to the ground. Gerry Andrews was a witness to this fire and took some incredible photographs.
Former pupil David Geary remembers that “The school relocated to the premises of the old Jesuit school at the Crescent and we spent some the year in that building – a great experience in itself. After the prefabs had been erected we returned to the grounds of the Model School.”
The prefabs were in use until 1986 when the original building was rebuilt and extended to include an additional 16 classrooms.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage of Ireland has a full appraisal of the building.
The picture at the top of the article was taken in 1933, eighty years after the opening of The Model School. Below is the key to the picture:
2 – J. O’Brien
3 – Sean O’Dwyer
4 – Tom Ryan
5 – Charles Stewart
6 – Frank Murphy
7 – Patrick McCarthy
8 – William Robinson
9 – Joseph O’Connor
10 – Leonard Kempson
11 – Donal Quinlivan
12 – William Kirwan
13 – William Darcy
14 – James Harold
15 – Joseph O’Shaughnessy
16 – Brian O’Sullivan
18 – Thomas Moloney
19 – Thomas Ryan
20 – Patrick Copues
21 – Christopher O’Brien
22 – Alfred Hanley
23 – Patrick Carmody
24 – Gerard Conway
25 – Alfred Kerr
26 – Sean Meany
27 – Jerry Murphy
28 – Conn Shanahan
29 – John Manly
30 – Patrick Sims
31 – Timothy Conway
32 – Stanley Fitzmaurice
34 – Oliver Meany
35 – Kevin McCarthy
36 – Randall Howlett
37 – John Whelan
38 – Al. Fitzmaurice
39 – Michael Scanlan
40 – Gerard O’Regan
41 – Liam Butler
42 – Frank Nash
43 – Hugh McNeice
44 – John McAteer
45 – Patrick Keane
46 – James Murphy
47 – Murrough Carrick
