THE DEMAND for Catholic schools remains strong and enduring, President Mary McAleese told a Catholic school management conference yesterday.
She said this demand endures “even as multi-faith and secular constituencies are assuming ever greater responsibility for wider, more customised choice in education”. Addressing the inaugural conference of the Le Chéile Schools Trust, she said the investment by Catholic religious in Irish education was “legion and unquantifiable”.
Catholic education in Ireland is a story of our considerable indebtedness to the religious who made the education of Ireland’s young their life’s work, she said.
“Their teaching created educational opportunities for Ireland’s children which would never have materialised without them. Their salaries were invested not in themselves but in the schools.”
The Le Chéile Schools Trust was established by some of the State’s best-known religious teaching orders to run their second-level schools. It is designed to protect and nurture their Catholic ethos when the fall in vocations has led to a huge decline in the number of religious in schools.
The President said “our country’s journey from poverty to prosperity was shortened by the religious orders that brought high-quality education to every corner of the country. In each generation, we have seen the gradual leavening impact of their work as access widened and achievement levels soared, bringing an inexorable tide of qualifications and of confidence which have been individually and collectively transformative.”
Mrs McAleese said the founding of the Le Chéile trust represents a significant innovative development in the provision of Catholic education. Le Chéile, she said, is built on no greenfield site.
“It is built on hallowed, ancient ground, on timeless values and legendary selflessness, on a vision for Ireland and humanity that is grounded in the belief that working together we can heal this broken world. Your starting point is the education of our children. We have seen the enormous benefits this country has harvested from widened access to education and importantly access to high quality education.
“You have been crucial drivers of quality education and enhanced quality of life for countless Irish men and women. Through Le Chéile you are ensuring that into the future, your school communities will offer the very best education to the pupils from all backgrounds and of all abilities whose parents place their trust in you.
“In these tougher economic times where so many families are facing the added stress of unemployment, debt and the threat of marginalisation the schools you provide are oases of hope and equality of opportunity.”