placenamesGrange
An Ghráinsigh
The school’s own history records changes in organisation, language and buildings in this west Waterford district.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Ghráinsigh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Grange · English · main form
Place & story
Separate schools and teaching couples
Micheál Gildea’s history for Saint Mary’s records the division of Grange school into boys’ and girls’ schools in 1868. Michael Sexton headed the boys’ school and his wife Mary the girls’. Both resigned in 1888; after a short closure, Patrick Crowley and Kate Roche became the respective principals. The account gives a sequence of teachers and interruptions, rather than treating the school as an institution unchanged across generations. [2]
Irish teaching and a replacement building
Deaglán Ó Cuilliú, described in the school history as an Irish-language enthusiast from Ardo, became principal in 1903. During his tenure the school adopted Irish as its teaching language. John Cashman became principal in 1942, and a replacement school was built while he was there, before his move to Ardmore in 1958. The new building marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2006, a separate milestone from the much older history of teaching in Grange. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Grange. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Our School History: SaintMary’s Grange, westWaterford · Micheál Gildea, Saint Mary’s National School, Grange
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.