A primary school that was forced to close last year after parents withdrew their children, will reopen this September under new patronage.
Scoil Náisiunta Bhrighde in Faughart in Co Louth remained shut last September, when the parents of almost all of its 55 pupils declined to re-enrol for the year.
Today, the Department of Education has announced that the school will reopen under the patronage of local Education and Training Board, LMETB.
The school was previously under the patronage of the Catholic Church which owns the school grounds.
A joint statement from the Department and the Catholic Archdiocese of Armagh states that the archdiocese has agreed to make the vacant school property available to the department for educational purposes, "subject to an appropriate agreement".
A Department of Education inspection of the school, published in May of 2017, made a number of critical findings.
They included that "leadership for learning within the school was not prioritised sufficiently", and that there was "a significant variation in the quality of teaching of certain subjects, ranging from outstanding to poor".
Five years previously more than 100 children had been attending the school.
Last August, parents said they felt they had no choice but to remove their children from the school.
This evening parents said they were very happy that the school was reopening. They said they felt vindicated, and that the community would now be able to rebuild.
One parent welcomed the news but expressed regret that the reopening was too late for his daughter.
Eoghan Jones, along with other parents, moved his daughter to a different primary school last September.
With his daughter settled in her new school, and going into fifth year, Mr Jones said he regretted that the school's reopening was "too late for us".
Education and Training Boards Ireland has welcomed today's announcement.
Nessa White, General Secretary of ETBI said, "I would like to commend the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board, the Archbishop of Armagh and the Department of Education and Skills for their collaborative work on ensuring that the community of Faughart will be served by their local school in September".
She said the inclusive ethos of Community National Schools along with the educational and governance supports is making them an attractive model for school communities across the country.
