What has been described as "the first new Church of Ireland school since the foundation of the State" has opened in Co Meath to meet the needs of an influx of parishioners from Dublin and overseas.
St Peter's national school, Dunboyne, formally opened its doors yesterday to 43 pupils, providing a tangible example of how Ireland is changing demographically.
Some of the pupils come from African, Asian and European states but still more come from families originally living in Dublin who have moved to Co Meath to escape rapidly rising house prices in the capital.
Local rector Rev Janice Aiton said Church of Ireland numbers had increased significantly in the parish, thus confirming an upward trend highlighted in the 2002 Census.
The number of Church of Ireland adherents in the Diocese of Meath and Kildare is said to have doubled to about 9,000. The census showed most new members of the church were immigrants, whose presence has helped to reverse a long period of decline in Protestantism in Ireland.
A spokesman for the diocese said St Peter's was the first Church of Ireland school to be opened at a new location since the foundation of the State.
Some other schools belonging to the church had opened in recent years but only in locations where a school had previously been in existence, and was temporarily closed due to dwindling numbers.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said yesterday's opening was "an historic occasion" and added: "I am also aware that the school has a number of pupils from other denominations and also from international backgrounds, a fact that mirrors the intercultural diversity of modern-day society in Ireland."
Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath and Kildare Dr Richard Clarke, under whose patronage the school will operate, also attended the opening.
The school, which will cater for children from Enfield to Ashbourne, was built next to a long-standing Protestant church of the same name. Parents demanded the local facility after experiencing difficulties in enrolling their children at popular Church of Ireland schools in Trim, Lucan and Castleknock.
Trevor Holmes, a member of the interim board of management, said the opening was part of a five-year strategic plan for the development of the parish.
The plan included the sale of a church rectory at Batterstown to help concentrate parishioner activity in St Peter's, where a parish hall is now being planned. "There is now a church-going community of about 50 in Dunboyne, when it would have been single digits 10 to 15 years ago," he said.
The Minister acknowledged the "considerable efforts" of the interim board, and also paid tribute to the "commitment and courage" of parishioners who brought the new school to fruition.
