History of our School

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St. Patrick’s GNS Hollypark is a large vertical girls’ primary school located in the parish of Foxrock, in the Hollypark housing estate, between Newtownpark Avenue and Kill Lane. It was established to cater for the Catholic community of Foxrock Parish and its environs. However, pupils of all religions and none are welcome to attend, and we are delighted that our school is becoming increasingly culturally diverse.

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Hollypark was originally founded as a co-educational school to serve the needs of the rapidly growing area of Foxrock. It started as a three-teacher school, housed in prefabs, situated where the Lyceé Français d’Irlande now stands. It opened its doors for the first time on 1st October, 1966 to three classes of Junior Infants. Mrs. Honor Byrne was appointed as Principal.

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Construction of a permanent building, designed by the architects Guy Moloney and Associates, began almost immediately. The building comprised two sets of five parallel classrooms linked by an entrance foyer, offices and a school hall. Upon completion, in September 1969, Hollypark BNS and Hollypark GNS separated into two single-sex schools, but were still housed in the original building. Each school occupied a set of classrooms and some pre-fabs, as by this time there were seven classes of girls and eight classes of boys.

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Mrs. Byrne continued as Principal of the newly formed Girls’ School, and Mr. Colm O’Shea was appointed Principal of the Boys’ School.

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In 1970, following the 1969 Franco-Irish Cultural Agreement, the LFI or ‘French School’, as it is popularly known, opened on the Hollypark campus housed in some of the vacated pre-fabs. Initially the French School pupils joined their age-appropriate classes in the girls’ and boys’ schools for some subjects and then went to the French School for instruction in the French Curriculum. This practice changed, but Hollypark pupils still benefit under the terms of the Cultural Agreement, as they receive French language tuition in 5th and 6th classes.

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Further expansion of the Hollypark schools continued. In 1971 a ‘glass corridor’ and six further classrooms were added. The schools continued to thrive and in 1974 a new building was constructed to accommodate Hollypark GNS only. Hollypark BNS remained in the original building.

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Our school continued to grow. Two new classrooms were constructed on the first floor creating our unique ‘tunnel’ area. Administration areas were added and in 2015 two further classrooms were added. Plans for an additional four classrooms, to include two Special Classes for Autism, are at an advanced stage of development.

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Today our school is situated at the heart of the Hollypark campus with Hollypark BNS to our left and the Lycée Français d’Irlande (LFI) to our right. The school grounds incorporate playgrounds, an all-weather astro pitch, garden areas at the front and staff car-parks. The play-areas are used intensively for break-times, P.E. and after-school activities. Granada, the nearby public pitch, is also used.

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The curriculum of the school is that prescribed by the Department of Education and the girls benefit in addition, from many extra-curricular activities such as sports, music, dance, STEAM and art activities and languages.

Both the school and the parents have very high expectations of the children. These are reflected in the aspirations of the pupils themselves. Parents display a very keen interest in their children’s education. There is a culture of school support and involvement amongst the parents, which is greatly encouraged by the Principal. On a daily basis the children’s homework is monitored and signed by their parents. The school library is managed by our ‘Library Ladies’. Help and support are always readily forthcoming for charitable projects, transport to matches, fund-raising events etc.

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The parent-body is ably represented by the very active Parents’ Association who add enormously to the fun element of the school for both pupils and staff. They hold an Annual General Meeting in the first term of the school year. Throughout the year they organize events such as a Coffee Morning for parents of Junior Infants, pre-loved uniform sales, the annual Cake Sale, the Santa Visit, guest speakers, celebrations, fund-raising events, sacramental receptions, as well as assisting at events such as the Book Fair, Grandparents’ Day, Sports’ Day and 6th Class Graduation.

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Principals of Hollypark

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Mrs. Honor Byrne 1966 - 1972

Ms. Sinéad Bradley 1972- 1983

Mrs. Una Foy 1983 - 2007

Ms. Joan Casey 2007 - 2015

Ms. Bernadette Gunning 2015 – to date

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