It is a place where people move to so that their children can attend a particular school. A four-unit prefab located less than one mile from the east Clare village of Tuamgraney is the location for one of the most radical departures in Irish primary education since the foundation of the State.
Thirteen years ago a number of parents in the area established the first school in the State to educate through the Steiner-Waldorf method.
Today Cooleenbridge School has five teachers and 110 pupils, with plans to have its first permanent building open by September. T Plans to establish a secondary school using the Steiner method are also being considered.
However, all is not as smooth as it sounds.
Since its establishment in 1986, the school has been funded solely by parents of the children attending through weekly voluntary contributions and fund-raising. In 1991 the school decided to seek funding from the Department of Education.
However, the then minister for education, Ms Niamh Bhreathnach, refused in February 1995, forcing Cooleenbridge School to take a constitutional action seeking to compel the Department of Education to fund and recognise it. The court hearing lasted 20 days.
The school, which has attracted families to the area with the specific purpose that their children be educated at a Steiner school, was born partly out of frustration with the Irish education system.
In 1986 a qualified teacher, Mr Steve Symes, withdrew his son from a primary school to teach him at home following his continued dissatisfaction with the State school system and curriculum.
Mr Symes was also unhappy at the overemphasis placed on homework, which he regarded as unnecessary for young children. Shortly afterwards he withdrew his son from school, a move quickly followed by three other families in the area.
A public meeting at his home seeking to establish a school was attended by 32 people. Further meetings were held, and a school was established in November 1986, taking in 21 children aged between four and 11.
According to the current school development director and former schoolteacher, Mr Pierce O'Sheil, it was an immense achievement to have established the school and keep it going in the early years.
"They were really an extraordinary group of people that started the school. They had to be quite a cohesive group to carry off something like this."
Today a high proportion of the pupils are sons and daughters of parents of Irish extraction who have returned to Ireland or children of foreign nationals who have moved into the area.
According to the chairman of Mountshannon Community Council and Clare County Council member, Mr Paul Bugler, there has been little integration between the two communities since the establishment of the school.
He says it has been difficult to integrate because the pupils come from such a wide catchment area, not just one parish, though efforts have been made by Mr O'Sheil to forge links with other schools in the area.
"The High Court case has increased the profile of the school and people have become more interested, but up to then people have been largely ignorant of what kind of education is practised at the school. As far as I know there are very few from the indigenous population going to the school."
Mr Symes acknowledges that to some extent in the early stages the children were guinea pigs as the school developed its own identity.
A company, Cooleenbridge Ltd, was incorporated in 1988 with charitable status in an attempt to streamline affairs at the school. Today the school, under the direction of Mr O'Sheil, is much more organised, says Mr Symes.
The school is currently administered by a council of elected parents and teachers, two friends and an administrator responsible for finance and building, with teachers carrying full responsibility for all matters related to education.
Having moved from an old schoolhouse in 1994 to its present building, the school currently has two kindergarten groups which children attend up to the age of six and four classes for children to the age of 13.
A passionate educationalist, Mr O'Sheil says one of the main difference between the Steiner method and orthodox schools is the Steiner view that in general children should not begin to learn to read and write until they are six. "All the evidence supports that contention," he says.
Great emphasis is placed on play. Each day school begins with 20 minutes of stories, poetry, song and games in each of the school's four classes.
After singing and some poetry, the class furniture is cleared to allow the children to walk around in a circle, synchronising stamping and clapping as they walk.
Mr O'Sheil says: "None of that stamping around or clapping is haphazard. The rhythmic sequence might look from the outside like games but these complex rhythms are very learning-potent experiences for children. They're learning mathematics in their bodies, you might say.
"When we say play, we mean very deep social play, imitating what goes on at home, what goes on around the school where they are completely absorbed in it. That kind of play is crucial for children's later development.
"Play is work, play is education. These children are being educated, but they are being educated in a way that is appropriate to their stage of development," Mr O'Sheil adds.
After 20 minutes of activity and play, the main lesson of the day is conducted until 11 a.m. This covers the main academic disciplines, English, maths, Irish, German, history and geography. Pupils then enjoy a half-hour break. Senior classes have extra main lessons throughout the week.
The Steiner-Waldorf method extends to the lifestyle of the children, offering recommendations on such subjects as diet and watching television.
With an annual budget of £120,000, Mr O'Sheil says that the school, which is multidenominational, has never been in the red.
To fund it, parents pay an enrolment fee of £50 and make a weekly voluntary contribution of £26.50 per family, while also becoming involved in fund-raising. (In Britain parents are asked to pay up to £1,000 per term at Steiner schools.)