A south Roscommon primary school says it's very happy to have a more secure future for now thanks to the enrolment of pupils from Ukraine.
Lismoil NS near Curraghboy in Roscommon had just 9 pupils last September and faced the prospect of losing one of its two teachers or possible closure.
The arrival though of Ukrainian families in nearby Athlone brought security in the form of a total of 14 extra pupils with numbers now up to 23.
The children are brought on a bus from Athlone each day, and Principal Mary McDermott says their parents are delighted their children can be sure of one-to -one attention given the low numbers at the school.
The school has been supplied with a language teacher four days a week as well as a special education teacher.
Mary McDermott says while the school is safe for the present because of the Ukrainian pupils, she hopes they can attract more students from areas nearby for the future.
"We've a number of families who are travelling to us and have done over the years because we're small and we can give the extra attention. Some people wouldn't dream of moving outside their area to go to school but we do have a lot ot offer to children attention wise and we have everything the bigger schools have sports wise and music wise and that kind of thing. I would be hoping by highlighting our school in the news that people would see it and see the positive aspects of going to a smaller school. There are children who haven't started in schools who might see us as an option".
