This article is from page 31 of the 2007-04-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 31 JPG
production.
“It enabled the musical society to make the gesture to the college, one that constitutes a huge contribution to the culture of music there and to the experiences of the students in- volved,’ a spokesman for the college Sr AKOe
“The east Clare region boasts a rich heritage of music-making that has been carefully nurtured and handed down from generation to generation, so that it is still intricately woven into the fabric of life in the area,’ the spokesman added.
“The college is endeavouring to continue this tradition.”
This is bourne out by the fact that music 1s an integral part of the cur- riculum at the college. Up to fifty students currently study the subject at either Junior or Leaving Certifi-
cate level.
And “Music World’, the college of music founded in 1999, which pro- vides tuition in a variety of instru- ments, continues to thrive, with more than 100 students of all ages taking part in the various programmes on offer.
The 265 students, their teachers and support staff returned to their newly refurbished building on February 12 after being in temporary accommo- dation on site for the past 18 months.
The €2.5 million roof replacement and general refurbishment was un- dertaken for health and safety rea- sons after an asbestos roof began to leak. Said Sean Daly, principal, “We had buckets in the corridors gathering the rainwater. It called for a complete redesign of the roof, and
we were very lucky to have Terri as the architect. The way it has been designed has brought so much more light into the building.”
As well as replacing the roof, the school has replaced all the floor cov- erings. The practical rooms have been refurbished and re-equipped, and all the furniture has been replaced.
As an added bonus, the school gained an extra car park, when the temporary car park created while the work was ongoing was turned into a permanent one.