Naíscoil: The McCracken Connection
The McCracken Connection
Naíscoil/Bunscoil Mhic Reachtain take their name from the McCracken family, a very influential family in and around North Belfast and beyond in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Henry Joy and Mary Ann are perhaps the most well known members of this family and it is from Mary Ann that we take our inspiration for education.
Living to the age of 96, Mary Ann devoted most of her life to charitable causes and the education of children from poorer backgrounds was a cause to which she dedicated her full time and attention.
Mary Ann fostered a sense of self respect in generations of children whose well being was not paramount in the society in which they lived. The impact she made on the educational welfare of these children was without precedent and much to be admired.
The McCracken family and their contemporaries also played a hugely significant role in the preservation and promotion of the Irish Language and culture, which at that time, faced a very real threat of extinction.
Without them, we may have lost most of what we know of our native tongue and heritage. They preserved a very rich, colourful linguistic and cultural history for us to enjoy today.
It is with great honour and pride that we carry the name of this inspirational family in our shared history and we hope that in doing so we can inspire future generations to follow their lead.