The Haring Is On The Wall

Strike a pose!

atest press release from St Catherine’s Special School, issued on Friday, December 12th 2025…

When the long stretch of white hoarding went up around the new site for St. Catherine’s Special School, we knew we couldn’t let the opportunity pass us by.

This blank canvas offered the perfect chance to announce the long awaited arrival of our new school. Many people in Kilcoole were unaware of what was being built on the site and were asking questions on local community groups, so we decided to tell our story in colour.

Ms McNamara

Our art teacher, Ashling McNamara, designed a mural that unfolds across three sections.

The first section proudly announces the future home of our school with a vibrant, photo interactive display of colours and shapes. The message reads:

‘Together we are building something special.
Kilcoole The future home of St. Catherine’s.’

The second section features portrait posters created by our pupils. The students had a wonderful time posing for their photographs and adding their own unique expression through colour, shape, and line. The result is a joyful celebration of our school community.

The third section pays tribute to our new home in Kilcoole, depicting local landmarks and wildlife including the geese, the sea, the little tern, and the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain.

The mural was completed just in time for our Turning of the Sod Ceremony that took place on 1st December and was attended by so many people from our school and community.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Transition Year students of St. David’s Holy Faith Secondary School, who worked alongside Ashling for two weeks to bring the mural to life. They showed up in all weather and worked tirelessly to ensure the mural was completed before last week’s Turning of the Sod ceremony.

Our sincere thanks also go to The Men’s Shed in Kilcoole and especially Paul Kelly for generously allowing us to use their facilities during the project. Their shed became a welcome refuge on rainy days.

And finally, thank you to the many passers by who stopped to admire the artwork, offer encouragement, and even drop off treats. Your support meant so much to us.

We captured the whole process in photographs and have created a short film documenting the making of the mural.

We would love to see members of the local community sharing their own photos with the mural. Please tag us if you do!

You can find out more about St Catherine’s Special School here, agus here, and follow on Instagram here or Facebook here, and get in touch on email here or by phone here.