Our Staff
Ms McArdle
Principal
Ms McArdle is Principal of River Valley CNS. She is so proud of the wonderful community that River Valley CNS has grown into since it opened in 2019. This year Ms McArdle is working as a support teacher with the students in 2nd to 5th class. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis, running and spending time with her friends and family.
Ms Kenny
Junior Infants Teacher
Ms Corry
Third Class Teacher
Ms Corry is our Third Class teacher this year. She is a native of County Dublin. Ms Corry
has a keen interest in physical education, Irish Sign Language and Art. She would love to
bring this knowledge and passion to Rivervalley CNS. Ms Corry also enjoys baking, reading
and running.
Mr Duignan
Sixth Class Teacher
Mr. Duignan is our Sixth Class teacher this year. He is from County Roscommon but has taught in Dublin for the past 20 years. His interests include sport, art and music and he enjoys incorporating these into his teaching. Mr Duignan loves his class to be full of kindness and creativity!
Ms Murray
SNA
Ms. Murray is one of our SNAs. She is currently working in our Junior Infant class. Ms. Murray joined River Valley this year.
Ms Kildea
Deputy Principal
Ms Kildea is Deputy Principal of River Valley CNS. She is also one of our our support teachers this year. She will be working with all our classes from junior infants to third class. Ms Kildea, who is a Swords native worked in Colmcille’s BNS for fourteen years before joining River Valley CNS in 2019. She brings a wealth of experience to her role in River Valley CNS including a passion for active learning and integrated play. Ms Kildea successfully completed a post graduate diploma in special education with Maynooth University recently.
Ms O'Connor
Senior Infants and First Class Teacher
Ms O’ Connor is a Swords native and is very excited to teach in the local community for the coming months. She loves reading and creative writing and hopes to encourage this in the classroom. She specialised in history education in college and is looking forward to teaching a diverse range of histories through active and enquiry-based learning. She would like her classroom to be full of active learning and full of fun.
Ms McCaughey
Fourth Class Teacher
Ms Fennell
Support Teacher
Ms O'Sullivan
SNA
My family have lived in Swords for generations, I therefore have a strong connection to my hometown.
Having worked in Catering Management for many years, I opted for a career change and qualified as an SNA in 2008 and have worked in this field along with raising my 3 girls since then.
I love baking, music, singing and dancing and always have a spring in my step !
Sandra
Secretary
Sandra is our secretary. She is originally from Raheny but living in Swords the past 23 years. When she is not running around after her 3 lovely boys between GAA & Scouts, she loves to garden, read and enjoy the gym in her spare time.
Looking forward to getting to know all pupils and parents this year.
Ms Colclough
Second Class Teacher
Mr Beirne
Fifth Class Teacher
Mr Beirne is our Fifth Class teacher this year. He is a native of Longford but has been teaching in Dublin for 11 years. He has a keen interest in all sports, history and children’s wellbeing. He loves his classroom to be kind and a place where all children can be free to express themselves and their personalities.
Ms Kennedy
SNA
Ms. Kennedy is one of our SNAs. Ms. Kennedy works within many classes in the school. She joined River Valley CNS in 2020.
Ms. Kennedy has been a volunteer leader with Irish Girl Guides for the past ten years.
Ms Coffey
SNA
Ms.Coffey is a member of our SNA team and is working with Junior Infants this year. English born but living in Ireland for over 20 years, Ms. Coffey has two children and lives in Swords. She enjoys travelling, cooking and reading. After spending 20 years working in marketing, she happily started her career working with children with special needs in 2024 and has never looked back!
Welcome to River Valley
Community National School!
Welcome to River Valley Community National School! We opened in September 2019 under the patronage of Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLTB) as a Community National School.
As Principal of River Valley Community School, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our school website. I hope our website will provide useful and current information for both current and prospective students and their families, for our school staff and the wider River Valley and Swords community.
River Valley CNS is dedicated to the holistic development of every child through the use of high quality, future-focused teaching and learning approaches which strive to develop each individual’s academic, social, moral, emotional, spiritual and creative capabilities. We are committed to the core values of respect, inclusion, equality and fairness, where diversity of belief, language, cultures, traditions and views are not only acknowledged but celebrated.
Our school motto is “partners in learning.” A core value of River Valley CNS is partnership, where staff, parents and members of the wider community work together to enable all of our students reach their full potential in an educational environment which is welcoming, child-centred, stimulating, future-focused, wholly inclusive and reflective of a diverse 21st century Ireland.
Anne McArdle, Principal