1960 – St. Joseph’s School for Blind Boys, Drumcondra, Dublin

St. Joseph’s School for Blind Boys was opened by the Department of Education in 1960 as a special national school with boys from all over the country attending the school as residential pupils. Since 2003, the school at Gracepark Road has been co-educational and is known as St Joseph’s Primary School for Children with Visual Impairment.

Basil Boyd Barrett (1908-69) was appointed an assistant architect in the Office of Public Works circa 1934. The rest of his career was spent with the Office of Public Works, where his particular interest was school design. He became chief schools architect in 1947, and deputy principal architect in 1968, shortly before his death. He designed schools throughout Ireland, solidly built to standard plans of simple design. Boyd Barrett’s school is still in use today but this gable end photographed is now obscured by portable buildings.