Big change ahead for historic Laois school in Portlaoise

Laois County Council has taken a big step toward converting an old Portlaoise school building into housing for people who need social housing.

The local authority has published a notice seeking the green light for 11 homes for 12 occupants on the grounds of the former Maryborough National School on the town's Stadbally Road.

The council wants to convert the school into a two-bedroom house where up to four people can live. There are also plans to build 10 new homes on the school grounds, which covers almost 0.3 hectares beside SS Peter & Paul's Parish Church in Portlaoise.

The so-called Part VIII public notice in the Leinster Express says five of the new homes will be one-bedroom apartments which each will be able to accommodate two people. The other five two-bedroom apartments will be able to house up to three persons each.

A modern extension and side wings to the former Church of Ireland school property will be knocked down to make way for the new housing. 

The plan for the now vacant building was first mooted publicly in June 2023 when the Council revealed in a management report that an outline funding application would be made to the Department of Housing between July and September that year.

Originally built in 1897, the use of the buildings as a school ended in 2014 when the children and staff relocated to a new home at Summerhill.  MORE BELOW PHOTO.

Pictured: School has deteriorated 

It was subsequently rented out to a local sports group. A medical centre and pharmacy looked likely after planning permission was granted to Trovatore Limited, whose directors are pharmacist Marcus Breslin and Jayne Breslin. That 2018 permission has since expired.

The building has begun to deteriorate, with roof slates missing and the surroundings overgrown with vegetation. 

The old school is not protected, but it is located within the curtilage of the Maryborough School Residence, which is on the Laois County Council list of protected structures.

A history on the Maryborough NS website says the two-room structure was erected for 100 children at a cost of £381. The school building remained much the same until 1964 when some renovations and in 1989, an extension added a third classroom. In 2004 a prefab was placed in the playground.

It's the latest in a series of older buildings in Portlaoise to be renovated. The nearby Port Leix House is now offices thanks to Graham Developments. 

The Council has facilitated the redevelopment of the former convent school on Church Avenue for new social housing in a €27 million development with the Sophia Housing voluntary housing body.

READ ALSO: Parent driven phone-free school project expands in Laois

The council says the development will have no significant environmental impact, so no Environmental Impact Assessment has been carried out.

The outline plans for the development will be on public display until October 28 in County Hall, Portlaoise or online via the Laois County Council public consultation portal.

Submissions can be received no later than November 15.