There's been disappointment over the Department of Education's exclusion of Athlone from its list of planned school projects for this year.
In early 2026, the department published a list of 105 priority school building projects to move to tender or construction by 2027, but did not include any Athlone school.
Athlone councillor Aengus O'Rourke is on the board of management at the Marist College in the town.
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He says he has been working with the department for years to secure a preferred location and preliminary design for the school.
Councillor O'Rourke is now calling for Westmeath County Council to write a letter to Education Minister Hildegarde Naughton expressing their disappointment over this major setback:
