'I was now a qualified secondary school teacher'

'I was now a qualified secondary school teacher'

Frank remembers qualifying as a secondary school teacher.

Frank Gaynor

Trinity College Dublin

1969

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Frank Gaynor

Adolescence and Early Adulthood

Life Story

Delvin, Westmeath

1960's

By July my objective had been achieved; I was now a qualified secondary school teacher, looking for somewhere to teach. The daily papers were carrying two or three columns of posts to be filled. For some unknown reason I decided that I wanted to teach in a small school. Free secondary education was being introduced at that time. Also, new legislation made it possible for a lay person to establish a secondary school. Eugene Doherty availed of this opportunity and opened a small boys' secondary school in Delvin, County Westmeath. I spent the next three years teaching in Eugene's school in Delvin. Everybody liked Eugene. He was a very entertaining conversationalist and told very amusing tales of his father's escapades as a Garda in rural areas of County Cavan. He related very well with his students - relaxed, informal and friendly. His friendliness with everyone he met resulted in bad time - keeping. Over the three years I worked with Eugene he became more and more interested in hurling and seemed to lose enthusiasm for developing the school. The first hour of the school day was too frequently spent on the phone discussing GAA matters. With the best of management it would have been difficult to develop the school into a viable education institution. When the catchment areas for the free school transport scheme were announced in 1969 it was obvious that Eugene's school would not survive. Students in Delvin area were given the choice of travelling to Athboy, Mullingar or Oldcastle, where they would find a secondary school that had better facilities and offered a wider range of study options. In August of that year Eugene closed his school in Delvin, and I was on the road again.It was around this time that I was asked to organise some entertainment for a friend's wedding. I followed a lead to the house of two brothers who played and sang in pubs and at various functions. When I reached their home they were out. Their mother invited me to wait in the kitchen until they returned. It was a large kitchen/livingroom. To the right of the fireplace a young woman was sitting, with open eyes staring ahead. She did not appear to be looking at anything in particular, and did not speak during my stay. On the floor in front of her a one year old child was staggering around. A frail old woman was sitting to the left of the fireplace. The musicians' mother was busy around the kitchen. As she moved towards the fireplace carrying a pot she tripped slightly over the old woman's legs. When she left down the pot she grabbed a sally rod from beside the fireplace and smacked the old woman's legs: 'Didn't I tell you to keep those legs out of my way'. In silence the old woman's face twisted as she struggled to pull back her legs. Soon the two brothers arrived and filled the kitchen with laughter as they exchanged jokes among themselves. They were great craic. Within minutes we had agreed that they would do the wedding, and I was on my way but upset by what I had witnessed in the kitchen.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)