Reach Out And Touch Faith…?

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t’s a simple enough request, and one that could be viewed as particularly generous and understanding.

Given the ridiculous situation St Patrick’s Church Of Ireland seemed to have gotten themselves into with the current school admissions controversy.

It’s a controversy that might be seen as some as merely a storm in a sacred cup, but, for many – especially those close to the church – there’s plainly still work to be done here.

And the above letter, sent out by the PTA, was seen a step towards getting that work done, and letting both the St Patrick’s National School and the church get back to some kind of normality.

Unfortunately, that letter hasn’t quite worked. As the PTA have pointed out tonight with this message…

All,
Firstly thank you to all those parents who put themselves forward for election, and congratulations to those who were successful.

You may be aware after the AGM it was decided in conjunction with the Chairperson of the Board of Management that a meeting would be held on Thursday the 4th of October.

Parents have been looking for mediation since the summertime, at the meeting on the 4th a formal proposal was put forward. (See attached)

You will see from the document that this involves all parties putting their current positions on hold, to allow mediation take place.

In this regard we sought and got confirmation from the public appointments commission that there was no obstacle in suspending-cancelling the appointment process to replace Principal Jackson.

The meeting on the 4th went very well and there seemed to be a genuine committment to move forward to mediation.

Canon Galligan committed to reverting by Monday evening to indicate if the Patron would be amenable to the mediation process.

Unfortunately, Canon Galligan did not come back to us during that time, and during that time appointment letters were sent to applicants to attend for interview to replace Eileen as Principal. These interviews are scheduled for next week.

It is our hope that our attempt to broker mediation is not being used to stall matters so that a legally binding offer can be made to replace Eileen.

Today we have again asked Canon Galligan to confirm if she and the Patron are agreeable to engage with the mediation process attached and have asked for a response by tomorrow morning.

We have a number of scheduled meetings over the weekend with various parties interested in pursuing this matter.

We are acting in good faith and genuinely believe that an earnest engagement with the attached mediation process can return our school to the great place we know it can be. We hope that our commitment to this process will be matched by a reciprocal engagement of the Chair, Board and Patron.

As we still have no access to the school PTA email system, please feel free to forward and circulate this email.

Regards,
PTA Sub-Committee

Wish we weren’t the bearer of sad-verging-on-mad news again and again on this subject. Hopefully, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel soon. And here’s hoping it won’t be another oncoming train.