This article is from page 30 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 30 JPG
PLEAS have gone out to Clare Coun- ty Council to put safety measures in place at a school before a car ploughs into a child.
In a chilling warning to the local authority, principal of Scoil Mhuire National school in Meelick, Dan Gra- ham, said it will be “too late when a four-foot coffin is being lowered into the ground and people are laying flowers on the roadside. Something is always done after a tragedy but that will be no comfort to a child’s griev- TbOrcap ec Ree DOA VAM
The entrance to Scoil Mhuire Na-
tional School is situated on a deadly bend, where cars regularly slam into rele emelealss
Some years ago, a driver was killed when his car went out of control and hit the front gate of the school.
The tragedy happened during the summer when there were no children around but Dan fears that a similar tragedy “is waiting to happen when children, staff and parents are walk- Tbeycaelel mae
“The road is used as a rat-run by motorists rushing to work and throughout the day. All it takes is for a five-year-old to step out and, between the poor visibility and the
speeds these cars are doing, that will be it. Over.”
The school’s request for a lollipop lady has been turned down. “I’ve been here 23 years and this needs to be tackled now. It’s urgent and if there is a fatality, then the council will be responsible,” the principal said.
Dan says he cannot understand why neighbouring Parteen National School “has all kinds of safety mark- ings and precautions, which is what should happen. Yet they are on a side road and we are on a very busy main road and we can get can noth- ing done”.
Local councillor, Cathal Crowe, 1s
a teacher at the school, which has 15 staff and 146 pupils.
He is calling on the local authority to put a footpath and safety railing in front of the main gate.
‘Almost three years ago, flashing lights were erected approximately 100 metres either side of the school gate. These lights tell the law-abid- ing motorist to slow down but they do very little to protect the school chil- dren and passing pedestrians from speeding cars,” he said.
“I feel that a footpath running the length of the bend and linking the school to the church would go along way to making the road safer for all.