Memories of St Mark's in Kilcullen

When St Mark's Special School was established 40 years ago, it was temporarily in the JFK boxing hall in Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne, thanks to the good offices of the late Paddy Nugent of KDA and Pat Lynch, then chairman of the Boxing Club.

Rena and pupils list (blanked).

And though they officially celebrated that anniversary in March, the school in Piercetown, Newbridge, had another event in its 40th year celebrations last Friday with a reunion day for staff and students. Among them was Rena Kelly, one of the original teachers who started in Kilcullen with Patricia Green when it all began in March 1974.

Rena, originally from England ('no one place, my father was in the RAF and we moved a lot') had previously been working in Athy with KARE, the organisation founded in Newbridge in 1967 which pioneered education services for children with intellectual disabilities. Coming to the embryonic St Mark's was a whole new experience. But Rena had form in 'self-help' for this kind of cause.

With some other local women, she had tried to set up a remedial class in the school in Athy, but the effort wasn't going anywhere. So the group set up their own voluntary operation, and went to organisations like the ICA seeking support. "Eventually, after we proved that intensive work could show results, the school got sanction for a remedial class. But I couldn't teach in it, because I was trained in England and didn't have Irish. However, I used to sub for Elizabeth Bermingham in St Anne's School in Newbridge when she was on maternity leave. She was English trained too, so she was sympathetic." The matter of establishing St Mark's was at the time very active, and that was how Rena got the chance to take a fulltime position there at the Kilcullen-based startup.

"We started on the 13th, we had a day off on St Patrick's Day, and in between the Inspector arrived. I remember him asking me, 'what are you going to do with them?' and I said that between then and Easter I was just going to get to know them. While I was talking to him, one of the children took a scissors and started cutting the hair of another child, and we wondered how were we going to deal with things like this? It was a case of just taking the scissors and getting on with it. We also had to buy our own equipment. I brought a big box of Lego, lots of plasticene, paper, crayons, paint, scissors ... basic things like that."

Hot soup for St Mark's.

Rena recalls that a lot of the pupils didn't talk, in a cohort that ranged in age from 5-10 year-olds, and which was divided up into two groups in the JFK Hall between herself and Patricia. All of those present were bussed in from other parts of the county, some from as far away as Rathangan and Edenderry.

"There were reports on all the children, but we hadn't seen them at that stage. And it was probably just as well, because we just took them as we found them. But within two years, those boys who weren't talking when they came were saying a prayer at their First Communion. They were all involved. I remember one boy in particular, he had no words at all when he came, and I was so proud of him saying his prayer.

Staff list of St Mark's in JFK Hall days.

"There was just myself and Patricia in Kilcullen until September, and then we took in Esther Kerrigan (also at the reunion), and John Keaney, an American like Patricia. When John went back to America, we took on Kevin O'Malley. We had some others, and during this time I also taught in Paddy Nugent's mother's house, which he gave us the use of rent free."

When Rena was going back to Athy in 1977, though they all had 'been thrown in at the deep end', she had become very attached to the pupils. So much so that she didn't tell them at the beginning of the summer holidays that she wouldn't be returning. "I didn't want them to be worried through the holidays about who their new teacher was going to be."

Display of pictures from St Mark's in JFK Hall days.

Back in Athy, Rena started a special class in Scoil Mhichil Naofa. She eventually retired in 2004, but for her last three years she worked as a resource teacher, just to be there for the teacher who took over the class. "I wanted to be available with my experience, because I knew what it was like to take over a special class with nobody there. I used to come over to St Mark's also, and down to St Lazerian's in Carlow, just to chat with the teachers, and see what they were doing."

There were none of her own former pupils at Friday's Reunion Day in St Mark's, but she was very happy to hear others tell of what they are doing, many of them holding down jobs in the 'normal' world. "There's a tremendous satisfaction to see what has developed from it. You have to hand it to Michael Bermingham, Elizabeth Bermingham, Dan O'Donovan, all those people who started KARE."

The Kilcullen temporary location ended in 1978, when the new school was opened at Piercetown, Newbridge.