A group of parents said they were “shocked” and “feel discriminated against” after a Catholic school initially declined their request to use the premises for a non-religious ceremony.
Parents of children attending St Laurence O’Toole’s in Roundwood, Co Wicklow, had hoped to use the hall there for a secular ceremony in May to coincide with the school’s First Holy Communion ceremony, though the request was declined last month.
“We were a little bit confused because we didn’t really get a reason for it,” said Naomi Steele, an independent celebrant who initially planned to host a ceremony solely for her seven-year-old daughter.
However, the issue subsequently “grew legs” after she was approached by other interested parents.
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“At the end of the day, we’re a group of seven out of a class of 30 that just don’t want our kids to be feeling left out,” she said.
Last month, she was told by the chair of the school’s board of management that the board “could not agree to your request”. This was based on the recommendation of the school’s patron, the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, he had said.
Ms Steele said: “I was really upset, just disappointed and angry for my daughter.”
She and other parents in the group were “shocked” and “feel discriminated against”, she said, saying the hall was often rented out for yoga and music classes.
However, after arguing the refusal appeared to be on religious grounds, she was told last week by the board that, following further consultation with the Archdiocese, they were permitted to use the hall after all.
She said there was no “acknowledgment or apology”, though the school said it would waive the rental fee “as a token of goodwill”.
While the group achieved the outcome they wished for, “it wasn’t until they were challenged that they rolled back”, she said.
The group was still deciding whether to use the hall, saying the initial refusal “put a dampener on it”.
“It made us feel like we were doing something wrong or something bad,” Ms Steele said.
Education Equality, which campaigns for “equal treatment” for pupils regardless of religion, said Ms Steele was one of “hundreds of parents” who had contacted the organisation with similar incidents.
“Parents seeking equal treatment for their children are too often met with opaque decision-making and refusals that appear to rest on religious considerations rather than legal obligations or public policy,” it said.
“This incident highlights a broader systemic issue – in taxpayer-funded schools, access to facilities and activities must never depend on a family’s religious beliefs.”
The school, its board of management and patron were asked for comment about the reason behind the initial refusal.
Neither the school nor its board of management responded, but the Archdiocese of Dublin said it had advised the school last week to allow the ceremony to be held in the school hall.
