placenamesKilnamona
Cill na Móna
Kilnamona's school building records successive community projects, while contemporary newspaper reports preserve the beginnings of its Gaelic League branch.
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
- Cill na Móna · Irish · main form · validated name
- Kilnamona · English · main form
Place & story
The stone school and its first extension
Kilnamona National School dates its original stone building to 1889. Its two classrooms formed the front of a school that expanded substantially over the following century. In 1989, the community added another two classrooms, toilets and a cloakroom. The school's own building history distinguishes these stages from the larger development of 2009, allowing the older building to be understood as part of a continuing local educational institution. [2]
Planning for a growing school
The Clare People's report of the 2009 extension records a project costing €500,000, officially opened by Bishop Willie Walsh. Board chairman Tony Barrett described planning between 2003 and 2007 as staffing rose from three teachers to five. Architect Eddie Grace and Pat Carmody Construction worked on the extension, using land provided by the parish. Barrett emphasised retaining the older school's architectural character when joining the new accommodation to it. [3]
Irish classes in 1903
Kilnamona's Gaelic League branch began in October 1903, with Francis Lyons as secretary. Ronan Hegarty's research in contemporary newspapers identifies Patrick O'Dea as its first Irish teacher. Classes began the following month, after Mass. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Kilnamona. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- About Our School: School History · Kilnamona National School
- New school ushers in a new era · The Clare People, 2 June 2009, page 24
- The Gaelic League in Kilnamona · Ronan Hegarty, History of Kilnamona
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.