Benildus primary school

dogmatix

I was on the 75 bus for the first time in years last month and on passing through Kilmacud I noticed that they appear to be demolishing the old Benildus primary school for housing. I had a lot of happy memories when I attended the primary school back in the 1970’s – the prefabs for classes up to 4th and the main building for 5th and 6th class with their parquet wooden flooring, old desks with their obsolete sliding brass inkwells, the huge expanse of sports fields to the rear, the little wood behind the railway line, messing around in the derelict Holywell house during lunch breaks, etc...

Would anyone have any information on the old Benildus primary school? Such as when was the school opened (I believe it opened before the secondary school) and when it finally closed? It was still open and running at least as far back as 1986. Googling reveals almost nothing on it - just lots of links to the secondary school.

Tabnabs

AFAIK it closed about '92 or so. Wasn't it generally referred to as the 'prep'?

georgewickstaff

I went there from 79 to 84.

All in all happy memories apart from one teacher who we were unlucky enough to have from 3rd class until 5th class. Dreadful woman.

Brother John was a fabulous teacher. Lucky to have had him in 6th class and to this day my only real positive memory of school!

dogmatix

I have very fond and happy memories of Benildus prep also. Joined in 3rd class from Ballinteer national school (I had a certain Tom Kitt teaching me from high babies to 2nd class).

I remember Brother John very well – we had him for sixth class. A great teacher – but not one to tolerate any messing in his class. Very fond of playing tennis he was too. He was originally known as Brother Cyril but changed his “religious” name to John in 1977/78 for some reason. Maybe Saint Cyril had fallen out of Vatican favour for some reason.

Who was the teacher who followed you from third class? When I was there the teachers stayed strictly in their years and it was the pupils who moved to a new teacher each year. Did the teachers surname begin with a “J”?

georgewickstaff

The teacher I had in 3rd, 4th and 5th was Mrs O'N...

Even at that young age it was more then apparent she did not really want to be there, felt no warmth for her pupils and viewed it all as a dreadful inconvenience.

Yard League in 6th Class! Best days ever!