Today 19th September marks the 130th anniversary of the opening of Cloonlyon National School in 1887. The school was built in 1886-7 at a cost of £800 to accommodate up to 300 pupils. On the site there were separate boys and girls schools, each with its own Principal.
On the opening day there were 183 pupils on roll, although just 106 attended. The school building remained almost the same throughout the years as in the picture below, which was taken in the 1940's. The door at the front is the entrance to the boys school. The girls school was accessed on the graveyard side through the existing porch door. There was a dividing wall at the rear of the school which would still have existed at the time of this photograph.
On the opening day there were 183 pupils on roll, although just 106 attended. The school building remained almost the same throughout the years as in the picture below, which was taken in the 1940's. The door at the front is the entrance to the boys school. The girls school was accessed on the graveyard side through the existing porch door. There was a dividing wall at the rear of the school which would still have existed at the time of this photograph.
