Kerry County Councillors are to write to the Minister for Education, appealing to her to keep a rural school open.
The Gap of Dunloe National School in the Black Valley is to close its doors at the end of this school term (June).
The Diocese of Kerry and members of the Black Valley community are meeting to discuss the closure at this afternoon.
Independent councillor Dan McCarthy brought an emergency motion on the issue before the recent Kenmare MD meeting.
Cllr Dan McCarthy says the closure of this school would be the death-knell on the area’s rural heritage and culture.
He’s calling on the council to write to Minister for Education and Kerry Fianna Fáil TD Norma Foley to see if anything can be done to keep the school open.
He says buses are transporting children from rural areas to more urban schools, and feels this could be done in reverse to support rural schools.
Cllr McCarthy received strong support for the motion from his fellow Kenmare MD councillors.
Cathaoirleach of the MD, councillor Michael Cahill feels more can be done particularly with Ukrainian children now looking for school places, while councillor Johnny Healy-Rae stated this closure would be a disaster for the community.
This was echoed by councillor Norma Moriarty who said if an area loses a school, it loses a sense of identity and councillor Patrick O’Connor Scarteen said the Black Valley was the last place to get electricity and says the place still has to fight for everything.
