Without God On Their Side

Peter Browne at the new national school site 23FEB18

he man has one of those faces that, hey, you’ve definitely seen somewhere before…

It took until the end of the interview this afternoon to finally realise that this particular Peter is the same Peter who featured in a somewhat hilarious but hugely-popular House Hunters episode last October, as he moved his young family back from Texas to his hometown of Greystones.

The reason we’re meeting today is actually that young family, Peter and his wife, Susie, having more than a little trouble finding a school place for their five-year-old son, David.

The distinct lack of new school places for the town’s ever-growing population is a major concern for every young parent, but Peter and Susie found that they had another major obstacle in their path – namely, the fact that David isn’t baptised.

Again and again, as they handed in their meticulously filled-out forms, David and Susie were asked why their son’s baptism cert wasn’t there. With September fast approaching, these young parents got desperate enough to check with the local Catholic priest about the best plan of action. For David to get baptised, Susie would first have to make her confirmation.

Ah, Ted, you couldn’t make it up. No church should have the power to decide if a young child deserves an education or not. Even when the priest in question is the kid’s father.

We decided to meet up at the approved site for the new Greystones Community National School, their hope of an extra classroom being put on hold this year until the Department Of Education actually deliver the promised new Portakabin at their temporary Rugby Club site. The school has been let down before, more than once, and have refused to guarantee those 27 school places until they have a classroom to put the new arrivals. All going to plan, the confirmation should come in May.

Which is far from ideal for those parents still scrambling for a local school spot for their kids. In frustration, on a business flight to New York, Peter set up a Facebook page, Greystones School Problems, in the hope of starting the discussion between those with the power and those with the young, outcast kids…

You can check out Greystones School Problems on Facebook here.