Scoil Aodha Naofa means the school of Saint Hugh and Rahugh means the fort of Hugh. Our school was named after a saint from the 6th century, Hugh or St. Aedh Mac Brice. St. Hugh was the great, great grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages who is said to have brought Saint Patrick to Ireland as a boy slave.

In the 6th century Saint Hugh founded a monastery in his birthplace, Rahugh.  A headache stone and a holy well is s still to be found at the site of the ancient monastery. It is said to have healing powers for anyone who lays their head in the hollow of the stone. The first school in Rahugh was situated at Ardan from the 1840s until a school was built near the church on a site given by Robert Bagnall. The first enrolments for pupils took place on November 2nd 1886 by Mr. McHenry. He was replaced by Mr. Kavanagh and later by Mr. Thomas Abbott. Patrick Munnelly was principal when a new school was built across the road in 1952.

In 1950 Fr. Patrick Bartley,  the curate in Rahugh asked Joseph Dunne, Monsette, to sell him the site of two and a half acres to build the new school. It is said that Joe willingly offered the site and would not take any payment. The school community has enjoyed this wonderful spacious site to this day thanks to Fr. Bartley and Joseph Dunne. 

Many teachers came and went since 1952. Kathleen Doyle of Kilbeggan taught for 40 years and retired as principal in 1989. Annette Lynam of Durrow the present principal began on the 4th of September 1989 with the late Connie Cloonan RIP, a newly qualified teacher from Kilbeggan. Rahugh is at present a two teacher school. The senior class teacher Claire McNally of Ballinamere began teaching in Rahugh in 2004.

The school has been fortunate to have had many dedicated supplementary staff such as secretaries, special needs assistants and special education teachers and caretakers. Among the longest serving were secretaries Miriam Bracken and Helen Cunningham both from Tyrrellspass and at present Caroline Harte, Pallas, a native of Rahugh. Our SNAs included Breda O` Brien, Moate and at present Charmaine Corrigan Earley, Rochfortbridge. We have had many Special Education teachers working with our pupils and at present we have Avril Watson from Tullamore in that role. Sean Harte, Pallas and Aisling Daly, Tyrrellspass have been held the position of caretakers at the school for many years.

The school could not function without the voluntary work of successive Boards of Managements down through the years. John Harte RIP, Pallas was the longest serving member and served for fifteen years as chairperson of the BoM. The hard work of these members oversaw many refurbishments of the school. These include the addition of a new classroom a new roof, new windows and doors and extensive insulation along with the upgrading of electrical and plumbing works, a security system and a new well for a constant supply of fresh spring water.

The grounds have been improved at different stages with the addition of a new games court, resurfacing and new car parking area and boundary walls. Our pride and joy, the football pitch was levelled and developed with the generous donation from the late Joe Dunne of Dunne's Workshop and his wife Anne.

The present chairperson Norah Daly is the first female chairperson of the board and is a grand-niece of Joseph Dunne the generous benefactor of the school site. The school has depended largely on the volunteerism and generous donations from the friends of the school. Much maintenance work continues with the help of Noel Dunne, brother of Joe Dunne RIP and with the help of our present Board of Management. A special mention must be made of the Late Anthony Reid RIP who worked tirelessly and voluntarily in maintaining the school for many years. Without the dedication and generosity of these people our school would not be the happy and thriving place it is today.

The school has won many awards down through the years. Our proudest moments came when we won the Westmeath Cumann na mBunscol football finals in 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012 and were finalists many times under the guidance of Tom Wyer. Many of our pupils have gone onto play Gaelic football at inter county level , notably Martin Flanagan Lowertown, Keith Scally Pallas, Tommy Newman, Cornaher and presently Nigel Harte, Pallas to name but a few. 

Music and the arts have also been an important part of school life down through the years. There was a wonderful school accordion band years ago and many of our talented pupils have gone on to perform internationally with the Midland Youth Orchestra and in bands who have been very popular nationally and globally on the internet.

Our school’s history goes back for generations. The respective school communities down through the years have received a rich and varied education. The methods of teaching have changed dramatically over the decades. From the first stone slates and chalk used in Ardan to the ipads and laptops in our school now in Kiltubber, from black boards and chalk scratching out the first letters to interactive white boards beaming the universe in full technicolour and surround sound into the classroom, school has become a very different place. Pupils still learn the alphabet to read and write but also learn to code with computers to communicate into the future.

Pupils of Rahugh School have gone on to achieve great things. A large percentage of pupils have taken up the educational mantle and have become teachers themselves and regularly return to the school for work experience and substitution work in the classroom. We have past pupils who have become very successful in business with politics, law and medicine among the many other pursuits. In this rural community farming has always been a vital industry and remains so today with many pupils coming from farming families. One such family, John Joe and Brigid Coyne, Attyconor have seen the return of their children to settle in the area. Of their grandchildren 17 were enrolled in the school at the same time in the last decade. This family have done their part to keep up the enrolment at the school.

The Catholic faith has always been an integral part of Rahugh NS. Every year pupils prepare for and receive their sacraments of First Penance, First communion and Confirmation. One of the most beloved past pupils, Father Shane Crombie has returned to celebrate Mass in his alma mater where he learned his first prayers

The Rahugh school motto is Tús maith, leath na hoibre and we hope that it was the good start that our pupils received at Scoil Aodha Naofa that gives them a solid foundation upon which to build their futures.