Carn National School

Carn National School was founded in 1887 and was refurbished in 1987 when three new classrooms were built. The new playground opened in 2007. The school itself has two teachers and enrolment of almost 50 pupils. Carn school has a great tradition of sport and culture with some famous past pupils such as John McDonnell - the athletics coach in the USA, Anthony Finnerty - Mayo Footballer and Fergal O’Murchú - founder of Ragus. The school has an I.T suite, playground and a vegetable garden tended by the pupils. The school has secured two green flags from An Taisce.

Carn N.S, Moygownagh, Ballina, Co Mayo. Tel +353 96 31832. Email: carnns@gmail.com

Play the Video from the Time Capsule

Carn NS 20/20 Project

A special mass took place on Sat 10th June 2023 in remembrance of all the deceased members of our school community. That was followed by a very special open-day celebration at at Carn school, to highlight the opening of our ‘Time Capsule’. This had been originally organised by the late Pat Dowling NT over 20 years ago when principal of the school. He organised his pupils to ‘send records of everyday and past years into the future’, by placing these into a specially made (by Jimmy Finnerty and Paddy Regan) container and burying it in the adjacent green lawn. A full house of past pupils gathered with their families in the sunshine to witness the opening.

All the records proved to be remarkably intact, including video and audio files which were played for the attentive audience! This ‘Time Capsule’ had something of interest for everyone in the community and a big thank you went out to all who came out to help dig it up and organise the celebrations afterwards.

Two trees were planted in the school grounds in memory of former principals Peig Jennings and Pat Dowling. May they both rest in peace.

Moygownagh

Moygownagh (Gaelic - Magh Gamhnach) is a rural village and parish in North Mayo. Situated between the towns of Ballycastle and Crossmolina, it has a population of 585. The parish derives its name from an ancient 7th century legend where a wandering St. Cormac met St. Daria, the abbess of a monastery along the banks of the Owenmore river. She treated him so hospitably that he blessed her and her lands so that they would abound in milch cows (fertile cows with milk) thereafter the area became known as "the plain of the milch cows" or "Magh Gamhnach".