The Year of Magical Thinking…
‘Learning from Each Other’ – since 1994
Our very first home was Murlough House, a sort of Victorian summer palace, in Georgian style for the 4th Marquess of Downshire. Shimna would open with just sixty students eight teachers, (principal Kevin Lambe, Ellen McVea, Derek Bailey, Rose Murray, Jeanette McConnell, Hazel Brandon, Vivien Palmer, Helen Thompson) and administrator Jennifer Redmond.
Ellen and Hazel shared an upstairs bedroom as a classroom for English and maths. Rose and Helen shared another as a classroom for history and geography. Jeanette had the luxury of the sitting room for languages. Vivien had a sort of glasshouse for art and technology. The glorious grounds and the croquet lawn provided our sports facilities, though we didn’t take to the croquet! Best of all though was the purpose build science laboratory for Kevin and Derek for assemblies and science classes. Jennifer and Kevin had an office each and there was one wee spare classroom space for extras.
Our time in palatial surroundings is a very special memory for founder students and staff. Most students arrived together in Rooney’s Highwayman bus, which collected everyone up in Dundrum before the trek over the causeway and along the drive to Murlough House. Volunteer taxi from Ballynahinch was provided by founder parent Eileen Tate, and an actual taxi service came in from Killyleagh. The road sign read ‘Slow. Badgers Crossing’ and the best mornings were when the hedges sparkled with a thousand million magical spiders’ webs. We know that our memories are rose tinted, but nobody remembers rainy days. We remember trips to the beach to hear the seals sing, cross country runs with Thelma Walker and marathon runner Jeanette, and of course we all remember Daniel climbing the tree! Thomas, Andrew and Niall decided to walk to Newcastle up the beach one day, but they’d miscalculated the distance and soon headed back. Kevin did his best to cover up his love of city life and fear of nature, and gradually acclimatised. He never forgave the rook who jumped in his office window one day and ate a chunk out of his diary, nor for the day the rook tore the trim off the side of his car.
Our very first assembly brought together parents, students, staff, governors and Tommy Sands who came to sing and celebrate Shimna, where his niece Eimear was a founder student. Our first Remembrance Day assembly focused on family memories of WW2 and featured rather a lot about smuggling! St Patrick’s Day featured Rebecca Murphy’s festival dancing and Claire O’Connor’s step dancing. That was an Integrated triumph in itself. Those two special assemblies set the pattern of marking those two days in the year, each belonging to everyone, but each with a history of appropriation and exclusion to be overcome.
Open Day was an exercise of hope over experience, as we welcomed parents and P7s to Murlough, while convincing them that the build really was taking shape at the Lawnfield in Newcastle. One day Christopher arrived in very upset because a passerby at his bus stop had told him there was no such school as Shimna. Finally, in the last week in June, those foundation students were able to move from Murlough, with very mixed feelings, and have the run of the Lawnfield before anyone else arrived. The history of building Shimna year by year means that every year group had an experience which was special, but for the foundation students, the year in Murlough and the move were the most special experiences of all. There was definitely a school called Shimna!
