Total of 275 children sign up for language lessons.
While most of the effects of the Celtic Tiger have faded away in recent months, one aspect of Irish life that began during the boom years is still strong in our society. The diversity of cultures that arrived with migrants from Eastern Europe, particularly from Poland, has led to our shores having to adapt to meet their needs, leaving an imprint on Irish life that has not gone away.

However, while many Poles have also embraced Irish culture, there are fears that their children may be losing awareness of the traditions, lifestyle and language that make their Eastern European nation so unique. It is to fix this problem that a new Saturday school for Polish children opened its doors in Galway city last weekend.

Located in the Holy Trinity National School in Mervue, the Polish school is the brainchild of school principal Agnieszka Grochola and Chairperson of the Polish School in Galway Association (PSGA) Bogna Truszczynska-Griffin.

“I was looking for a place to get my three year old daughter to learn to speak Polish,” said Bogna, when recalling how her involvement with the project began. It was then, in May of this year, that she met Agnieszka, who already had been working to get a school up and running in the city for the past three years. With the same goal in mind, they decided to form the PSGA.

Soon, the pair found the ideal premises in the Holy Trinity NS, which they rent each week for a nominal fee. Bogna is hugely grateful to the school’s principal, Peter Woods, who, she says, has been “more than accommodating”.

Interest in the Polish school has been high, with 275 children attending classes last Saturday, and more expected to enroll in the coming weeks.

Bogna hopes to stay in the Holy Trinity, which can accommodate over 400 pupils, for the foreseeable future, but hasn’t ruled out the possibility of having to move to another building should demand reach levels that the Mervue school cannot hold.

While the main aim of the school is to teach Polish, it is structured to help children that are due to return to Poland to ease them into the Polish

education system. Classes begin at 10am each Saturday during the regular school year and finish at 2pm, with 16 teachers in charge of pupils ranging in age from three to 15 years of age.

“There are two preschool classes, two for five to six year olds, three first classes, one second class and two third classes. The rest are from fourth class to secondary level,” says Bogna. “The children are

coming from the city and county … some parents used to have to drive to a school in Limerick.”

For third classes and younger, the teaching emphasis is mainly on the Polish language, while for the older children they are also taught Polish history and geography. All teachers have earned their qualifications in Poland, having being certified by the Polish Ministry of National Education.

While Saturday schools have become common across the country, the Mervue establishment is one of the first to use a system of education that is intended to prepare the children for a return to Poland, and also the first to not receive funding from the Polish government through their embassy in Ireland.

“There’s a good few (Polish schools in Ireland) but there’s been a little bit of a struggle with this one,” says Bogna. “They’re changing the law in Poland in funding the schools. They used to be funded by the Polish embassy, but not anymore – that’s why it’s taken so long.”

The lack of funding has meant that the Polish school in Mervue is, strictly speaking, a private fee-paying one. However, due to costs being kept to a minimum, such as teachers being paid only for their expenses, it costs just €3 each week for a parent to bring their child to the school.

The official inauguration of the school year took place last Saturday and was attended by Deputy Minister of National Education in Poland Krystyna Szumilas and Head of the Department of International Cooperation in the Ministry of National Education Malgorzata Krasuska.

They were joined by Polish Consul Grzegorz Jagielski, Deputy Mayor of Galway Terry O’Flaherty and Primary District Inspector Delores De Bhál. After the official ceremony a meeting was held among the Polish Minister, the Deputy Mayor and the Primary District inspector in nearby Flannery’s Hotel.

While it’s still early days, Bogna is confident that the school will be around for years to come, albeit in a slightly different format over time. The high numbers of children under six means taking part in the school lessons means that they’ll be around for some time yet, and as they grow older, their education needs will change. “In the future we could be preparing kids for going to universities in Poland,” says Bogna.

“The needs might change but for the moment we’ll continue with what we’re teaching them.”

Galway City Tribune 18/09/2009