Thosaigh an turas fada le scoil a fháil ar an oileán chomh fada siar leis na seachtóidí. Bhí fís ag an Athair Mac Diarmada agus ag tuismitheoirí an oileáin ansin go mbeadh meánscoil ar Oileán Árainn Mhór. D’oscail an scoil ar an 8ú Deireadh Fómhair 1990. Bhí an scoil ina scoil lánGhaeilge ar feadh tamaill ach níor mhair seo i bhfad. Chuir tuismitheoirí an oileáin brú ar Choiste Ghairmoideachais Dhún na nGall ag an am an scoil a athrú go scoil lán-Bhéarla mar go raibh eagla orthu nach dtiocfadh a muintir ar ais ó thar lear dá mbeadh an teagasc ar fáil sa scoil trí Ghaeilge amháin.
Mar sin bhí an scoil ag feidhmiú trí Bhéarla amháin suas go dtí 2009. Mar is léir, tá stair chomhthéacs teanga na scoile agus an oileáin measartha casta. É sin ráite bhí an Ghaeilge iontach láidir sa scoil mar theanga chumarsáide le linn na tréimhse sin. Sa bhliain 2008, tháinig grúpa tuismitheoirí le chéile ar an oileán le hoideachas trí mheán na Gaeilge a fháil dá gcuid páistí sa scoil.
Sa deireadh thiar thall, thug siad a gcás chuig an Ardchúirt i mBaile Átha Cliath ach socraíodh an cás taobh amuigh den Ardchúirt agus cuireadh Comhaontú Breithiúnach i bhfeidhm dá bharr; comhaontú a thugann cothromaíocht, aitheantas agus cearta dóibh siúd a bhí ag iarraidh oideachas trí mheán na Gaeilge mar aon leo siúd a bhí ag iarraidh oideachas trí mheán an Bhéarla. Sa lá atá inniu ann is scoil dhátheangach í Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada agus tá sé de rogha ag gach dalta tabhairt faoi oideachas ina rogha teanga, Béarla nó Gaeilge. Anuas ar sin déanann an scoil iarracht mhór le cur le saol cultúrtha an oileáin agus ar ndóigh, le béim mhór ar chur chun cinn na Gaeilge. Tá nasc láidir ag an scoil leis an coiste pleanála Teanga ar an oileán, leis na bunscoileanna agus le heagraíochtaí eile le linn na bliana. Ní Gaeilgeoir gach tuismitheoir agus ar an ábhar sin déantar cuid d’obair na scoile (cruinnithe tuismitheoirí, mar shampla) trí mheán an Bhéarla nuair is gá, agus eisítear comhfhreagras dátheangach i gcónaí do thuismitheoirí.
Stair na Scoile
The journey towards establishing a school on the island began as far back as the 1970s. Father Mac Diarmada and the island’s parents envisioned that there would be a secondary school on Arranmore Island. The school opened on the 8th of October 1990. For a time, it was an all-Irish language school, but this did not last long. The island’s parents pressured the Donegal Vocational Education Committee at the time to change the school to an all-English medium, fearing that their families abroad would not return if the education was offered solely through Irish.
Thus, the school operated entirely in English until 2009. As is evident, the language history of both the school and the island is somewhat complex. That being said, Irish remained very strong as a communication language in the school during that period. In 2008, a group of parents on the island came together to seek Irish-medium education for their children in the school. Ultimately, they brought their case to the High Court in Dublin, but the case was settled outside of court, resulting in a Judicial Agreement. This agreement granted balance, recognition, and rights to those seeking Irish-medium education as well as to those who preferred English-medium education.
Today, Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada is a bilingual school, and every student has the option to pursue their education in their chosen language, either English or Irish. Furthermore, the school makes a significant effort to contribute to the cultural life of the island, with a particular emphasis on promoting the Irish language. The school maintains strong links with the island’s language planning committee, the primary schools, and other organisations throughout the year. Not all parents have Irish and accordingly some school business is conducted through English as required, for example parent teacher meetings, and all communication is issued bilingually to parents.