Cnoc Mhuire Classical Co-operative is a homeschooling cooperative based in Knock, Ireland with a strong pro-life ethos. We had been provided with a free premises in Knock, a village where Our Lady appeared in 1879, but are looking for a more permanent (and larger) home as we look forward to welcoming more students at the end of August. A suitable location has just become available in Knock and we are praying for miraculous donations to cover the cost of it.

 We started nearly two years ago on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross 2023. Up until now, classes have been held in the private homes of various parents whose children are enrolled  Looking back over the last two years, we have seen rapid development. We have grown from 5 teachers to 15 (plus two volunteers who assist with professional counselling and transportation), and from 8 students to 22 (including a child with special needs). Several open days have filled us to capacity. We are at an exciting juncture as we prepare to go live with our website next month. At the moment, we are in the process of recruiting several more teachers and coaches (home economics, chemistry, biology, Irish dancing, Gaelic football and hurling) to complete our panel.

For the last two years, families have been able to leave toxic school environments due to us providing an alternative and several homeschooling families who had not been planning to take the leaving certificate exam (the usual requirement for entering university in Ireland) are now preparing for it with the help of our dedicated teachers. We are blessed to have Fr. Brendan Kilcoyne as our spiritual director and philosophy/logic teacher.  Other highly qualified teachers are preparing the students for exams, including the leaving certificate, SAT, SCT (Scrudu Ceol Tire), CILS (Certificate of Italian as a Second Language), etc... The curriculum includes music, art, drama, French, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek, physics, mathematics, English, Irish, history and business studies. We also provide woodworking, harp, ballet, piping, and tin whistle classes. 

In terms of our financial situation, the co-operative has been operating on a shoe string budget.  Some teachers are volunteers and the rest receive only a small stipend. Enrolled families contribute a small amount each month if they are able.

Despite the troubling new developments happening in the mainstream secondary schools, there is only one similar initiative in Ireland at the moment. Our project is unique in that we have a primary class (with a separate mother-and-toddler Montessori room for 1-3 year olds) as well as secondary classes in the same location. We also have one-day and two-day enrollment options for homeschoolers who cannot attend full time.

Any support you can give towards purchasing our own schoolhouse would be greatly appreciated.