derrybeg

See also - catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000740419/HierarchyTree catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000740416/HierarchyTree catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000740422/HierarchyTree catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000740424/HierarchyTree A school opening ?

fantastic

Based on some of beachcomber australia's "see alsos", I think this is Scoil Mhuire in Derrybeg, Gweedore. There's a recording from the opening of the school on Youtube, which gives the date 4th April 1959 for the official opening by then Taoiseach Éamon de Valera.

Sharon Corbet That has got to be it !

Sharon Corbet beachcomber australia Yep! Saturday, 4 April 1959...

Gaeltacht Secondary School Opened And Blessed Historic Occasion In Derrybeg Ard Scoil Mhuire, Derrybeg, the first secondary school to qualify for a grant under the new scheme of Roinn na Gaeltachta to promote secondary school training in Irish speaking areas, was formally opened on Saturday by An Taoiseach, Mr. Eamon de Valera. The ceremony was attended by a large gathering of clergy and laity from the parishes of Gweedore, Annagry and Cloghaneely who came to mark an event of great significance in the development of Gaeltacht amenities. The school was blessed by his Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. McNeely, Bishop of Raphoe. The splendidly equipped college, was built and furnished at a cost of £11,000 and in honour of the occasion the building and grounds were decorated with bunting and flags. An Taoiseach, who was accompanied by his A.D.C, Lieut. Col. Sean Brennan, on arrival inspected a guard of honour of Gardai under Inspector J. Sheehan. Chief Supt. M. Walsh, Letterkenny, was represented by Supt. C. V. Convery, Milford...

(Donegal Democrat, 10 April 1959)

The AIB calendar in the background is open at May/June 1973, and I see a State Examinations Calendar from 1973 over her shoulder too.

Looks like my mo'-in-law wearing jackboots. She was a school teacher for about 50 years.

I think she's called May. Though she could be June ...

the contents of the rubbish bin ( bran crackers) and the mellow instant coffee - great period pieces. hand on globe - maybe a geog teacher?

and the classroom ashtray !

its all there in the picture , murdered in 1889 , at Gweedore in the line of duty , an R.I.C officer

Here's an account of his death... freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal/deathi...

RTE did a radio documentary on the incident. But it was in the land campaign that he became famous. When the landlords agents arrived at one house to evict a tenant, Fr McFadden stood in the doorway. He withstood the bailiffs and orders were given for his arrest the following Sunday as he was saying Mass. This was too much for the people and they resisted it, in the process accidentally killing the police inspector. But the police returned another day and succeeded in taking Fr McFadden, and forty two others from Gweedore, into custody and brought them to trial for the murder of Inspector Martin.

More from the Nation, Saturday, 9 February 1889...

The Rev. J. McFadden was arrested at Gweedore on Sunday at the conclusion of the ordinary service in the chapel. In his address to the people after Mass, Father McFadden exhorted the people to be quiet and peaceable under any circumstances that might arise. When the congregation left the chapel a body of police under District-Inspector Martin, of Ballyshannon, was posted by the chapel door. The people stood by to see what would happen. As soon as Father McFadden made his appearance the police moved forward to arrest him. Simultaneously the people made a move to save the priest from being captured, and during a melée between them and the constables the priest escaped from the crowd, and ran towards his house. He was, however, followed by the police, and just as he was mounting the steps to his house door, Inspector Martin caught him by the coat. Seeing this the people at once hurled stones at the officer, and one of the missiles struck him on the back of the head. He fell insensible down the steps, his face being crushed as he reached the ground. He dide not recover consciousness, and died about three o'clock in the afternoon. He was attended by Dr. McFadden, of Gweedore, who happened to be returning from Divine Service at the time. Father McFadden, seeing what had happened, submitted to arrest, and was taken to the police barracks at Gweedore. Father McFadden left the Gweedore Hotel for Londonderry at half-past six, escorted by a detachment of the 60th Rifles and a body of constables.

As dearbhaile2 mentions, some of the context is given in the plaque itself. But certainly not all of it. As it happens, this image could very easily be added to the Tríd an Lionsa sequence that we saw on this stream in late 2015, as it relates to some of the images (including those below) shown during on particular episode of that TG4 program. (The episode is unfortunately now gone from the TG4 player). What the plaque doesn't reflect is why and how the named RIC member was killed. It was during the Land War, when the inspector attempted went (maybe inadvisably given the outcome) to arrest the local parish priest immediately after mass. The parishioners were (perhaps unsurprisingly) taken-aback at armed men seeming to pursue and accost the priest, and the inspector was struck and killed in the melee that followed. The TV program covered it well I thought. Though the main point of the program was how photography was used in the case that followed (in that, in 1889, the trial was one of the first in Ireland to use photographic evidence). www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland/23350774204/