regional road with Naas. The latter starts in the south end of the town heading west and proceeds through a natural gap in the hills of Glending Forest and Eadestown. The route is treacherous during heavy winter snowfalls, and is sometimes closed in severe conditions. Since August 2021, Blessington has been served by route 884, a Mon-Fri public bus service operated by TFI Local Link Kildare South Dublin, which connects the town with Naas and Sallins railway station. The arrivals at the railway station are scheduled to link in with departures to, and arrivals from, Heuston railway station in Dublin. Dublin Bus route 65, starting at Poolbeg Street in Dublin City Centre, takes approximately 1 hour 15 minutes and passes through Rathmines, Terenure, Templeogue, Tallaght, and Brittas on its way to Blessington. A limited number of daily services on route 65 are also extended to Ballyknockan and Ballymore Eustace. The Ballymore service routes via the N81, as does the Ballyknockan service. Bus Éireann route 132 (Dublin-Bunclody) routes via Tallaght Hospital, Blessington, Baltinglass and Rathvilly en route to Bunclody. One journey is extended weekly to Wexford and Rosslare Europort. Education The town and its hinterlands are served by several primary schools and one secondary school. The local primary schools include St Mary's National School, a Roman Catholic national school, which comprises St Mary's Junior National School (infants to 2nd class) and St Mary's Senior National School (3rd to 6th class). As of 2019, the combined coeducational school(s) had over 600 pupils enrolled. The local Church of Ireland national school is known as Blessington Number 1 National School, and had approximately 200 pupils enrolled in 2018. Gaelscoil na Lochanna (School of the Lakes) is a gaelscoil which was founded in 2006 to cater for those in the area who wished to educate their children primarily through the Irish language. As of 2018, it had 215 pupils enrolled. A nearby Educate Together national school was founded in 2006 on the site of a long-standing school and has a large sports field. The only secondary school in Blessington, Blessington Community College, is on the Naas Road and had an enrollment (in 2019) of over 500. Notable people Former or current residents of the town have included: Sir Alfred Lane Beit (1903-1994), British Conservative Party politician, art collector, philanthropist, honorary Irish citizen and owner of Russborough House. Gerald Boland (1885-1973), Irish Fianna Fáil politician who