Deele College, formerly Raphoe Vocational School, is a mixed non-denominational secondary school in Raphoe,

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

, Ireland. The population of the school is roughly about 800 students and 50 teachers.

History

In 1958, the provision of another school in Raphoe in addition to the existing Royal School was recommended. This would eventually become Raphoe Vocational School, which opened on 29 March 1965 (by the Minister for Local Government at the time,

Neil Blaney Neil Terence Columba Blaney (1 October 1922 – 8 November 1995) was an Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) representing Donegal East. A high-profile member of the party, Blane ...

, T.D.) on two acres and on which the school stands today, albeit with a further seven acres added to it on which the school building was extended in 1985. The school was later renamed Deele College, being renamed after the

Burn Dale The Burn Dale (Irish: ''An Daoil'', meaning 'the Black One' Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 54. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.) is a burn or small river in the east of ...

, which is also known as the

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur ma ...

Deele or the River Deele, a 'burn' which flows about two miles to the south of Raphoe. ''Discovery Series'' Sheet 6 (4th Edition).

Ordnance Survey of Ireland Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI; ga, Suirbhéireacht Ordanáis Éireann) is the national mapping agency of Ireland. It was established on 4 March 2002 as a body corporate. It is the successor to the former Ordnance Survey of Ireland. It and th ...

(O.S.I.),

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, 2012. The Burn Dale flows on through

Ballindrait Ballindrait () is a townland, village and census town in County Donegal, Ireland. Located near Lifford, the village and townland of Ballindrait is in the civil parish of Clonleigh and the barony of Raphoe North. The Burn Dale flows through th ...

, and enters the River Foyle about a mile north-north-east of

Lifford Bridge Lifford Bridge (in Irish ''Droichead Leifear'') is a cross-border bridge spanning the River Foyle in Ireland. It connects Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and Lifford in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, joining the A38 ro ...

. One of the highlights for Deele College in recent years came in November 2002, when

Her Excellency Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the right ...

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitu ...

, visited the school. Other such visitors to the school have included Nobel Prize–winning politician

John Hume John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the recent political history of Ireland, as one of the architects of the Northern Ire ...

and former head of Coca-Cola and television personality Sir Gerry Robinson . Students who have attended the school have gone on to many in third level institutions all across the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in recent years.

Facilities

The school contains first class sporting facilities with a gym, three pitches (one of which is astroturfed). Prefabricated Accommodation was erected at the school in 2008. A school library was constructed in 2009 and a new staff room is to be completed in 2010 Due to increasing number of students attending Deele College, provision has been approved for a new extension to the school, costing approximately €3 million. The new extension will consist of 2 new floors added to the school, linked via a corridor connecting to the old school building. New science facilities, art room and computer labs are just a few of the many facilities that will be provided. In January 2013, the design plans were complete and approved by the Department of Education and Skills. The extension also provides a fitness suite for the adjoining sports hall. The extension was officially opened in May 2016 by

Joe McHugh Joe McHugh (born 16 July 1971) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Chair of the Committee on European Union Affairs since September 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since 2016, and previously ...

, T.D..

Alumni

* Tyler Toland (b. 2001) - professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

; Blackburn Rovers W.F.C.

References

External links

{{coord missing, County Donegal Raphoe Secondary schools in County Donegal 1965 establishments in Ireland Educational institutions established in 1965