Fáilte and Welcome to St. Michael’s NS, Kill, Rathmolyon. We are a small, rural school set in an idyllic location in Co. Meath. The current school building dates back to 1961, when a committee formed by Fr. Patrick Dillon PP, found a suitable site on which to build a new school for the growing number of children in the local area. Originally, the site was chosen for its’ proximity to what was at the time, the local Church. Mr. Patrick Jordan and family were approached and very generously gifted the present site to the school. We are delighted to have a Great Grand-Son and name-sake of the same Patrick Jordan in our school at present. This in itself is testament to the strength and resilience of our whole school community and part of what makes St. Michael’s NS such a special place to be.
Site preparation began in 1960, but was stopped for a short time when medieval skeletal remains of two people were discovered. These were sensitively re-interred in the local cemetery, and to this day, their identity remains unknown. The foundation stone for the new school was formally laid in September 1960. The school opened on Monday the 10th of April when Bishop John Kyne and Fr. Pat Dillon PP con-celebrated Mass in the new school. The school was named after St. Michael because reverence to him was part of the Christian tradition in the community going back to Reformation times. This was again borne out when the new Church in the town was also called after St. Michael, when it was built in 1963. The school opened with a total of 102 children, 50 boys and 52 girls. At present, there are 77 children in total in St. Michael’s NS, with 49 boys and 28 girls. There have been five different Principals who have steered the course of St. Michael’s over the years: Mr. Paddy Broderick, Mr. Oliver Cooney, Mr. Niall Moynihan, Ms. Carol Caffrey, Mr. Michael Daly and the current Principal, Ms. Mairead Feely. On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the school in June 2011, Mr. Sean Downey, a long-standing stalwart and current Chairperson of the Board of Management reported that in those 50 years, one thousand one hundred and twelve children had attended St. Michael’s NS. At every school event the main corridor of the school is often thronged with these now adult children looking to re-trace their steps in history and find themselves in the many photographs that line the walls of the school. Family after family point themselves out and delight in the fact that their time in St. Michael’s was important, marked and documented. The children of these children delight in spotting their Mammies or Daddies, uncles, aunts, cousins, sisters and brothers, particularly those photographs from the eighties, the era of the big hair and shoulder pads!
St. Michael’s has adapted to a lot of change over the years, and this has been a factor in its’ resilience and longevity. The latest adaptation has just been approved by the Department of Education and work on our newest extension is due to begin in the Summer of 2023. We look forward to welcoming the coming generations of children to St. Michael’s NS, the newest members of our wonderful School Community.
