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Barr na gCnoc: University Assisted Community Schools Initiative
Barr na gCnoc is a community partnership that marries UCC’s commitment to community engagement with our research and teaching missions, to bring academic, human, and material resources in the Irish language into action for the benefit of the community. In 2017 a community partnership was formed between UCC and Terence MacSweeney Community College, Knocknaheeny, Cork, to support the establishment of an Aonad Lán-Ghaeilge in the school, where all subjects would be taught through Irish from first year to Leaving Certificate. The proposal to establish the Aonad came from the local community’s demand for educational choice in an area of high socio-economic exclusion. An invitation to UCC to become involved resulted in the collaboration titled Barr na gCnoc, led by Professor Pádraig Ó Macháin, Head of Ionad na Gaeilge Labhartha. The Aonad (Gaelcholáiste Mhic Shuibhne) opened its doors in 2019, and UCC support is ongoing. Barr na gCnoc was among the five winners under the Higher Education Authority (HEA) Performance Funding 2023 awards.
Our Approach
As it progressed, Barr na gCnoc drew on international evidence from the University-Assisted Community Schools programme at the University of Pennsylvania’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships to develop a theoretically and empirically informed education-improvement model.This model embraces the idea that those learners who have access to culturally appropriate language-learning, holistic community resources, and equal opportunities, are better equipped to develop and flourish in society.
Advocacy through engagement with parents and key stakeholders at public meetings and other fora, and hosting visits by parents and students to UCC campus.
Student Support consisting of
a scholarship scheme, sponsored by UCC, for first year entrants to the Aonad. An annual scholarship award ceremony is hosted by UCC.
sponsorship of Gaeltacht residency courses for pupils in UCC’s external campus, , in the Kerry Gaeltacht.
sponsorship of an undergraduate student-volunteer programme (event organisation, homework clubs).
Teacher Support is provided through upskilling classes in the English-speaking parent-school to enable transfer of teachers, when required, to the Aonad Lán-Ghaeilge, and continuing this support within the Aonad itself. These classes are sponsored by An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta.
Parent Support including engagement through information nights, and support for language acquisition/upskilling through evening classes in Irish.
Knocknaheeny is one of six Cork City Learning Neighbourhoods, and to celebrate this year’s Cork Lifelong Learning Festival, Barr na gCnoc hosted three events at Gaelcholáiste Mhic Shuibhne, to promote Irish language and culture.
‘Irish for the Terrified’, a one-hour session for anyone scared of the Irish language, was hosted on Wednesday 10th of April. Professor Pádraig Ó Macháin and eight UCC students facilitated the event and supported parents and local community members in learning how to order lunch in Irish. Participants put their skills into practice and enjoyed a light lunch in a fun and inclusive learning environment.
On Friday the 12th of April, the local community were invited back to Terence MacSweeney Community College to enjoy the Barr na gCnoc Ceilí Mór. They were joined by school staff and students who took the opportunity to brush up on their Irish dancing skills, while accompanied by a full Ceilí Band.
Barr na gCnoc’s final event of the programme introduced staff, students, and the local community to the therapeutic delights of bashing a bodhrán. At the one-hour session hosted on Monday 15th April, participants learned how to play one of Ireland’s oldest musical instruments.
This series of Barr na gCnoc events enabled participants to build a greater connection with the Irish language and Irish culture and empowered them to step outside their comfort zone and try something new. The events demonstrated the potential of societal engagement and how community co-designed initiatives produce positive outcomes.
Impact
This initiative is firmly based on community demand and community engagement, and responds to national DEIS school baseline data on educational disadvantage. Barr na gCnoc created a mutually beneficial partnership that is improving the quality of life and learning in the school and the community and empowering the community while advancing UCC’s community engagement. Noteworthy outcomes to date are:
The 2019-2020 cohort were the first group from Knocknaheeny to sit state exams through Irish. The Junior Certificate results of 2022 matched non-DEIS schools, overcoming a trend where DEIS schools show lower attainment scores in State exams (S.M. Nelis et al., Beyond achievement (2021); E. Smyth et al. Learning from the Evaluation of DEIS (2015).
Community participation was crucial to the establishment and growth of the Aonad, which originated in parents’ advocacy for educational choice as a human right. The establishment and continuous development of the school was supported by strong community participation, leading to improved levels of social capital – the gelling of societal connections for the betterment of all.
Improved educational aspirations was an outstanding impact of Barr na gCnoc as the beneficiaries of the project now see higher education as a realistic future possibility. A study commissioned in 2021 stated that parents and pupils of this new Irish-medium school, without exception, expressed the view that third-level education, and specifically UCC, had now become an aspiration of parents/guardians and an ambition of all pupils.
"It seems clear that one of the reasons for this remarkable shift in attitude is the presence of University College Cork throughout the establishment process of this new school, and their continued presence and involvement as the school develops”.
There have been many achievements from the Barr na gCnoc project including a range of awards for Gaelcholáiste Mhic Shuibhne:
The President’s Gaisce Award
Foras na Gaeilge’s Gaelbhratach
Euroscola at European Parliament for pupils to be MEP for a day
National Ríomheolaíocht Award at the Kinia Tech Féile
A major achievement for the students in 2023 was winning The Virgin Digital Innovators Award for the bilingual book and app written and designed by the pupils of the Gaelcholáiste, Códú 4 U.
Virgin Media Digital Innovators Award
A group of Gaelcholáiste Mhic Shuibhne and Terence MacSwiney Community College students received the Virgin Media Digital Innovators Award for their project, ‘Class Connections’. The students developed a prototype for an app designed to maintain contact with students who experience extended absences from school. By facilitating connections with friends, teachers, and school staff, the app aims to alleviate feelings of isolation and anxiety associated with returning to school after an absence.
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