Brian McLaughlin: Former principal fondly recalls his time at St Oliver Plunkett PS

The ‘baby’ of the teaching staff when he joined St Oliver Plunkett Primary School in 1981, Brian McLaughlin retired as principal in 2018.

Looking back over his 37 years in the school, Brian said he could almost date the photographs at the recent celebratory reminiscence event from the gradual fading of his hair from bright red to grey. 

“Seamus Johnston was the principal of St Oliver Plunkett PS when it opened in January 1975,” said Brian. 

“The children all came from the old Enagh Primary School on Temple Road, on the way into Strathfoyle. The former chapel was down there as well,” he added.

“St Oliver Plunkett PS was built to replace Enagh PS, and not before time; it had been built   around the start of the Twentieth Century. 

“Originally St Oliver Plunkett PS was designed to be open-plan.

“There were three classrooms around a shared area and there were no doors on any of the classrooms. The entrances were about 15 feet wide. That very quickly changed by September 1975 because teachers were saying, ‘I can’t hear what I’m doing’. Melodion doors were installed then. 

“When I arrived, my mentor was vice principal Adrian Hegarty. I was teaching primary six and primary seven and I really enjoyed that experience. 

“I applied for the position of principal in 1989 and was successful in 1989, which was a shock to me, never mind anyone else,” laughed Brian. 

“St Oliver Plunkett PS has always been very, very good at the community side of things,” he added, “especially because the chapel was beside it.

“Back in the day, the primary three, four, five, six and seven children were timetabled to go to 9 o’clock Mass every morning. Most classes went to Mass once a week. 

“Not only that, the parents and grandparents of the children were very much involved in the school. They were the workers, the dinner ladies, the cleaners, and that ethos of being a community school has continued on. 

“That was always my way of thinking - St Oliver Plunkett PS was a school in the community, for the community,” said Brian, who was also principal during the time large numbers of the Polish community made their homes in Strathfoyle.

“When I meet them now, they tell me it was great we accepted them so well when they came into the school,” said Brian.

“We had a Polish helper in at one stage. She taught the children and helped with the language,” he added.

“I recently met one of those Polish students on the train coming from Belfast. She has now qualified as a teacher. That was great to hear. 

“One of my proudest memories as principal was the ‘Save the Squirrel’ campaign organised by then vice principal, Peter Monaghan, as a result of which we succeeded in diverting the road into the then under-construction Westlake. 

“Originally the developer intended to come up Judges Road but there was a Red Squirrel habitat there, so the developer had to go another way to get his houses built. Mr Monaghan and the pupils involved in the campaign received an environmental award in Belfast as a result,” said Brian, who retired on the same day as Ms Mabel White, the St Oliver Plunkett secretary who worked at the school for an astonishing 42 years. 

“Then there was another teacher, Aidan Hegarty who would be well known to older former pupils of St Oliver Plunkett PS for his love of English and poetry. He was a very special teacher. I still meet parents who compliment Aidan Hegarty and his poetry,” added Brian.

“I had a great time at the school,” he reflected, “and I am delighted to see the development that has taken place there over the past seven years, in terms of the autism unit and the nurture unit. 

“I would definitely endorse current principal, Mr Eamonn Moore, when he says the children in St Oliver Plunkett PS are ‘looked after second to none’.