Scoil Cholmcille

The History of our School

Newtowncunningham (Irish: An Baile Nua - literal translation: "The New Town"), known as "Newton" to locals, is a village in the Lagan Valley of east County Donegal, Ireland, located midway between the towns of Derry in Northern Ireland and Letterkenny.

Most communities in Ireland will trace their history back to the days of the 'Hedge Schools' and there is no reason to believe the Lagan was any different. It is generally accepted that the old Scoil Cholmcille was built on the same site as the first primary school in the village.

The school was opened in 1929 and was extended at a later date to meet the needs of an expanding community, because of the increasing child population in the district it became inadequate for the needs of the community and was closed in 1984.

The new Scoil Cholmcille with eight classrooms, a general purpose room, staffroom, principal's office and a full range of modern educational facilities was opened in February 1984.