The Department of Education has said it is "fully supportive and remains committed to the establishment of a Gaelcholáiste in the Dublin South City Area".
It says it is "currently working with the Edmund Rice Schools Trust on the successful transition of Synge St CBS to a co-educational Gaelcholáiste on a phased basis from September 2026".
The Department statement follows news that both the school's Board of Management and Synge St teaching staff have rejected Department plans to transition the school to a Gaelcholáiste from next year.
Staff said the decision not to proceed with the change was because a lack of engagement in the five months since the unexpected announcement of the plan and because their concerns for their jobs and the future for the community they serve had not been addressed.
The school's refusal to comply with the decision was communicated to the Department of Education by its patron body ERST at a meeting yesterday.
Last September, the then Minister for Education Norma Foley announced unexpectedly that the single-sex boys’ school would become co-educational and a Gaelcholáiste from 2026.
The news, which was communicated to staff at the school just one day before the public announcement was made, took staff by surprise and they expressed anger and dismay at the plans.
Read more: Sudden announcement to switch school to Gaelcholáiste
The decision not to proceed was taken by the School’s Board of Management and was communicated to the school’s patron body the ERST with a request that they would inform the Department.
In a letter the Board of Management said: "We will not be proceeding with the Gaelscoil enrolment for 2026."
It continued: "In line with our usual practice, planning for student recruitment for September 2026 begins now. We will be proceeding with...our normal practice of visiting our English-speaking feeder schools and recruiting from them for September 2026."
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The decision puts Synge St CBS in direct conflict with the Department of Education.
"There has been growing pressure for a Gaelcholáiste to be established for the wider south Dublin area in which Synge St is located and the decision to turn Synge St into one was seen as a way of meeting this demand."
On Wednesday, parents and children from a number of primary Gaelscoileanna in the south Dublin area protested outside Leinster House over concerns about a lack of clarity and progress towards getting an Irish-speaking second level school.
The Department plan is for Synge St to begin the transition with a first year Gaelcholáiste intake in 2026.
Students in other year groups will be able to 'see out' their education through the medium of English.
ERST met Department of Education officials yesterday and communicated the school’s refusal.
Teachers at Synge St issued a statement via their union, the ASTI, backing the Board of Management decision.
They have expressed their deep concern regarding the proposed transition.
They said that despite the "monumental impact" of the decision "staff and other valued members of our school community were not consulted prior to the announcement on September 11th".
"Since then, we have received no meaningful communication from either ERST or the Department of Education on how this change would be implemented or how we, as educators, would be upskilled in order to continue teaching here."
The teachers say that in a survey, 90% of them were not in favour of the transition to a Gaelcholáiste.
However, they say that close to 90% are in favour of a change to a co-educational school.
"We fully respect and value the Irish language and its promotion within education and agree that there is a need for a Gaelcholáiste in the area.
"However, we believe that a transition of this scale should be guided by transparency, collaboration, and careful consideration of all children’s needs.
"As an all-boys DEIS school we are dedicated to supporting a vibrant and diverse school community, encompassing a range of nationalities, cultures, and socio-economic backgrounds," the statement said.
Many of the staff at the school do not have the level of Irish that would be required to teach through the language or may not wish to teach through Irish.
They are concerned about their jobs and say that despite five months passing and putting questions to the Department they have received no answers.
The staff concerns also centre on what they believe will be the plan’s detrimental impact on the community that they serve.
Synge St has a long and illustrious history of educating boys from across the city and beyond, but in recent decades the DEIS school has drawn students from mostly local working class or immigrant families.
"We are totally willing to adapt, including becoming co-educational, but this radical solution will displace both staff and students," ASTI staff representative Adrian McMahon told RTÉ News.
"Our working class and immigrant families are likely to find the challenge of sending their children to a Gaelcholáiste too great. We have a hugely diverse student population.
"A large part of our student body is Muslim or they come from other immigrant backgrounds, including from war-torn countries.
"Some are living in direct provision. These students are the life and soul of Synge St and we give them 100%."
In recent times Synge St has enjoyed unparalleled success at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition, with its students winning the top prize more times than any other school.
They include Aditya Joshi and Aditya Kumar, who in 2022 as third year students took the top prize for their project entitled 'A New Method of Solving the Bernoulli Quadrisection Problem'.
"We have a really motivated staff who really care for our students, but we have not been given any clarity and our voices have not been heard," Mr McMahon said.
In the staff statement, they said their "unwavering commitment is to the students and families we serve".
"We call on the Department of Education to immediately engage with staff, provide clear information, address our concerns, and outline comprehensive supports for our school community."
No proper consultation - ASTI
The ASTI said it is seeking an urgent meeting with the Department of Education and the ERST over the proposals.
ASTI Deputy General Secretary, Diarmaid de Paor, said the school was given no proper consultation about the change and that if the change was to go ahead, a certain cohort of students would be excluded from the school community.
Speaking on RTÉ's News At One, he said that staff want immediate answers about what happens next, and do not want to have to wait until after the midterm break.
"We would like a meeting urgently with the department and with the patron body. At this stage, people are in the dark whether people are going to pay any attention to the board's decision.
"There certainly has to be meaningful and consultation and explanation as to why this is happening and of the consequences would be. The staff have made it very clear that they are more than willing to switch to a co-educational model.
"There has been no meaningful communication from either the department or from the patron body with the staff. They don't know where this will leave them, in terms of upskilling for Irish or if that's possible or feasible, where their futures lie, and they're concerned both about their own conditions, but also about the community they serve".
Meanwhile, the Edmund Rice Schools Trust said: "ERST had a productive meeting with the Department of Education today [Thursday] which covered a wide range of issues, including matters raised by various stakeholders in the school community.
"The Trust will be providing a full update on what transpired at the meeting with the department through a series of meetings with the board, staff and other stakeholders immediately after the midterm break."
The Gaelcholáiste 2468 campaign said it believes that the lack of communication from the Department of Education has done huge damage to the development of the Gaelcholáiste.
"We are calling on the minister to publish a timeline for the Gaelcholáiste and if the Gaelcholáiste is to be located at an alternative site then we need to know this also. It is essential to move on this now, to communicate with all stakeholders and to make up for lost time," it said in a statement.
