Editing Banagher (section)

== Education ==

St. Rynagh's [[National school (Ireland)|National School]] (NS) caters for children between the ages of 4 and 12 and accommodates approximately 200 students.<ref name=DevelopmentPlan>[http://www.offaly.ie/NR/rdonlyres/86AC4405-19E1-436B-AB49-56A025F35515/0/Volume3BanagherTownPlan.pdf Offaly County Council – Offaly County Development Plan – Banagher Town, 2006, p.71.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126045735/http://www.offaly.ie/NR/rdonlyres/86AC4405-19E1-436B-AB49-56A025F35515/0/Volume3BanagherTownPlan.pdf |date=26 November 2007 }} Retrieved 3 November 2008.</ref> Secondary education is provided by Banagher College (Coláiste na Sionna), a multi-denominational school under the responsibility of Laois and Offaly [[Education and Training Board]]. Banagher College is an amalgamation of La Sainte Union Secondary School and St. Rynagh's Community College. La Sainte Union is a voluntary Catholic School run by the Sisters of [[Holy Union Sisters|La Sainte-Union des Sacrés-Coeurs]], a congregation founded in France in 1826 by Abbé Jean-Baptiste Debrabant to promote Christian education. The school was their first in Ireland and opened its doors in 1863 in a house on Main Street when the Abbé arrived with Mother Anatolie Badger and three sisters of the order.<ref name=MaddenHeritageTrail/>

St Rynagh's CC, originally known as Banagher Vocational School, opened in 1953 with 40 students enrolling under the guidance of the first principal, Ms Elsie Naughton. Amalgamation discussions began in 1999 and by November 2005 it was agreed that a new school be constructed on the La Sainte Union site.<ref>[http://www.bccns.ie/indexdetail.php?entid=26&pageid=1&pgurl=index Banagher College Website – ''History to Amalgamation'', 2007.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306093727/http://www.bccns.ie/indexdetail.php?entid=26&pageid=1&pgurl=index |date=6 March 2008 }} Retrieved 3 November 2008.</ref> The school accommodates approximately 500 students.<ref>Offaly CC – Offaly County Development Plan – Banagher Town, 2006, p.72.</ref>