An avalanche of applications were received by a Gaeltacht community in Joyce Country offering a home rent-free for a year to a family with children of primary school age.

A total of 1,180 families applied for the ‘free house’ offered by Scoil Naomh Pádraig in An Chloch Bhreac (Cloghbrack) outside of An Fhairce (Clonbur).

It initiated the competition earlier this year to lure a family with young children to the rural parish in County Galway in a bid to boost enrolment – and save the school.

The Gaelscoil currently has two teachers (a teaching principal plus one other teacher) and a learning support teacher. But unless it has more than 12 pupils enrolled next September, it will lose one teacher for the following year, which is an existential threat.

It offered a five-bedroom home, rent free, to a family with children who can enrol in the school to maintain pupil numbers above 12.

A similar initiative on Inis Meáin last year reportedly attracted around 1,600 applications.

Scoil Naomh Pádraig principal Geraldine Feerick confirmed to the Connacht Tribune that 1,180 people applied.

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