The long-awaited amalgamation of two local schools has finally happened.
From September, Killea Boys' National School and the Light of Christ Girls' School in Dunmore East will operate under the new name of Réalt na Mara National School.
It's an amalgamation decades in the making.
And newly-appointed principal, Ciara McSweeney says she's delighted:
"At last it's happening! Oh my goodness, the work that's gone into it. I suppose, I've only come in on the coat-tails really.
"There was a steering committee put in place October 12 months ago and then it was basically all systems go.
"You know, we were always told that the last thing that would happen would be that, once we were ready, the roll number would be given to us. And that day that we were assigned the roll number, everybody was ecstatic!"
Ciara also told Déise Today, that while it will remain a split-site school for the time being, she would hope that a single site can be developed at some stage in the future:
"I remember my own dad, when they were building the Light of Christ, going around collecting a pound a week for the building of the new school.
"I think the parents' association - they'll be cursing me for saying it - but hopefully some day we'll be doing the same; that we might have a single site in Dunmore eventually!"
Réalt na Mara will initially be able to accommodate approximately 182 children, and Ciara says that each class will have a separate teacher:
"Again, one of the things when I came into the role [two years ago] was they were saying, 'Now we'll look for a concessionary post', which is basically an extra teaching post over and above what we would be entitled to because of our numbers.
"So, yesterday we got great news that we have an extra post. It means that we will have 8 class teachers. Every class will have a teacher of their own, which will be fantastic."
