Celebration to mark the retirement of long serving school Principal
THE retirement of long-serving teacher and school principal Mrs Olive O’Meara was marked on Saturday evening last in North Tipperary.
The 6.30pm Mass in St Ruadhan’s church in Lorrha commenced the retirement celebrations for Olive who was a teacher in Lorrha National School for 35 years and Principal for 24 of those years. The Mass included the pupils in much of the celebrations such as readings, symbols and choir while two of her daughters Eimear and Saoirse brought the bread and wine to the altar and her third daughter Caoimhe read the reflection.
In welcoming and thanking everyone for their help in preparing the evenin'gs celebrations, chairman of the Board of Management (BOM) Philip McGrath told the congregation that Olive Dooley was born and raised in the parish of Borrisokane where she also attended school. After secondary school she studied at Mary Immaculate College of Education and graduated with a Batchelor of Education.
Philip said “Olive took up her first teaching post as 2nd assistant in Lorrha school in September 1988 and I suppose at that time little did she know that she would dedicate her entire working career to Lorrha school”. He went on to say that “35 years later, we honour that career and thank her for her service and dedication to the education of the young children of Lorrha, both academically and spiritually”.
Detailing her time in the classroom, Philip mentioned how Olive maintained “a high standard of education in the school”, how “students moving on to secondary school had a higher than average standard of education to children coming from other primary schools”, her “grá for the Irish language” and her commitment to the overall education of the students.
“During her stewardship,” said Philip, “developments included the school extension which was opened in 2007, progression from blackboards to whiteboards, new IT system, laptops and IPads, and in 2022, the school was designated as a DEIS school and the introduction of free school meals commencing in September of that year and before she retired, the free summer camp last June. This DEIS status has opened up these grants to the school and also for future grants in the years to come,” he said.
Philip mentioned that “there were many more activities organised by Olive such as music, Irish dancing, speech and language, drama, arts and crafts, German, French, safe walking and cycling to school, talks from An Garda Siochana and local Fire Service, swimming, cross country running, tennis, rugby, hurling and football. And what a way to retire,” he said, “North Champions in hurling and football and county champions in both, it’s any managers dream”.
Concluding, Philip thanked Olive on behalf of the present BOM and all previous boards, for all she has done for the school and the parish of Lorrha and wished her and her family every health and happiness for many years to come.
In his homily, Fr Michael Cooney Co-PP, likened the Gospel of Sowing the Seed to Olive’s career and retirement. He mentioned how former pupils mentioned to him how she prepared them for the Sacraments and how they appreciated that and have fond memories of it. “She was kind, caring, helpful and proud of every child and their achievements in her school and we give thanks here to God for the way she did her job so professionally.
“Her work ethic was to keep everyone involved,” said Fr Michael as he recalled his many visits to her class room. “Reflecting on the Gospel,” he said “we can only hope that as a teacher some of the seeds you do scatter will take root and will grow into the person they can become and indeed you Olive have seen that over your career where people have achieved great things being able to listen and sowed the seed of their life.”
In her address, Olive thanked everyone for coming to celebrate with her and her family. She mentioned that the night was her farewell to her time as principal and how she would cherish the memories of the moments together. “I was on my bike, my mode of transport, when I started in 1988 and occasionally my dad would drive me to work,” she said. “I was told at the time that the position was a temporary one, however, 35 years later here we are”.
She mentioned her greatest critic’s, her own children, who would give her the feedback on the day spent in the classroom on the “dreaded car journey home” in the evenings. She said she advised them, if you want to complain about your teacher, just talk to your dad, so James got many earful of complaints,” she said.
She mentioned how delighted she was to see so many of her pupils, both past and present, come out to the celebrations and said “it was a great privilege to be part of your life and I would love to hear how you are getting on and I will always be proud to celebrate your achievements personally and professionally whether it be on the field of education or on the field of sport”. Olive had the congregation in laughter as she shared some comical experiences she encountered during her time in the school as she also shared some of the more serious moments in the classroom.
She went on to thank all the staff both past and present and thanked all the Board of Managements, and paid tribute to all the parents and guardians for allowing her to be part of their lives and for trusting her with the education of their children. “It has been a pleasure,” she said.
In conclusion Olive wished her successor John Skehan the best of luck in the future saying “I would like to assure him that he is surrounded by a great team. I look forward to the next phase of my life as I explore new opportunities,” she said as she mentioned the walking group she has joined and the musical group ‘Mid Life Crisis’. She described her new role as “not an end but just a turn on the road” as she thanked her family for their support to her down through the years and she finished by reading a poem ‘My Wish’ which she dedicated to everyone present.