Vandalism at school ‘an attack on the community’

A PRINCIPAL in Strabane has outlined her supreme disappointment following a spate of vandalism which took place at the site of a new school build.

Maire Ni Dhochartaigh from Gaelscoil Uí Dhochartaigh was speaking after the new school build on Strahan’s Road was broken into on Saturday and three newly-installed windows smashed.

She commented, “It’s very disappointing that this happened at the weekend and we certainly hope that it will not happen again. It has been a long road for everyone involved with the school and the Education Authority to bring the school to this point and anything which would impede the progress of the new school build is not something we would want.

“The new school is not just for us at the school, but the whole community and it hurts us to think that someone would engage in such an act. This is not just an attack on us, but an attack on the whole community who have done nothing but support us over the past 25 years. We implore whoever is responsible to desist from further attacks.”

The £7.2m development on Strahan’s Road has long been in the pipeline, with work beginning in January this year on a school which is expected to open from April next year. It will replace Gaelscoil Uí Dhochartaigh’s current site in the Ballycolman Estate.