Garafine National School, County Galway

What is recorded here

Garafine National School in Scarreth became a private house but kept the school’s name over the door. You could own the whole place outright and your mother would still pass at eleven and wonder why you weren’t in.

Detached four-bay single-storey T-plan schoolhouse dated 1926, with projecting gabled porch to middle bays. Now in use as private dwelling, and having recent single-storey lean-to extension to rear. Pitched natural slate roof with brick chimneystacks to gables, and replacement uPVC rainwater goods. Overhanging eaves to gables with timber soffit and exposed rafter ends. Rendered and painted walls, datestone to gable of entrance porch reading 'Garafine National School 1926'. Square-headed window openings with four-over-four pane timber sliding sash windows to entrance porch, six-over-six pane to front elevation and six-over-nine pane to gables, with painted stone sills, and render reveals. Square-headed timber sheeted entrance door with render reveal and stone entrance step. Set back from road on elevated site accessed by concrete steps to front, random rubble limestone retaining wall to road with chamfered stone coping.

With an attractive symmetrical form, this schoolhouse retains its original fabric and detailing and is a fine example of early twentieth-century Irish rural school design. The retention of the timber sash windows and brick chimneystacks are particularly notable. Though now a private dwelling, originally this schoolhouse catered for both the boys and girls of the local community and was an important building in the area.

From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 30406008

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