school, Toom

Detached four-bay two-storey school, built c.1840, having gable-fronted porch to front (west) and stone steps giving access to upper-storey to rear (east). Now disused. Pitched slate roof with rendered chimneystack and recent rooflights. Whitewashed rubble stone walls. Square-headed window openings with timber lintels and rendered sills with windows blocked to first floor, two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows to ground floor. Square-headed door openings to rear elevation with timber battened door and over light opening to flight of stone steps having whitewashed enclosing wall. Rubble stone enclosing wall with square-profile piers, located adjacent to church.

This substantial former school is a notable structure in the small village of Toom. Ornamentation is limited and the modest design indicates that a greater emphasis was placed upon the functionality of the structure. The first floor entrance clearly articulates the separate entrances and classrooms for girls and boys, which was a common feature of the educational system in Ireland in the past. The school is prominently sited adjacent to the church.