Glowing tributes as outstanding Tipperary teacher retires

Pupils, staff, past and present, and the Board of Management of Scoil Mhuire Knockavilla came together to honour Ms Anne Dalton, who retired from the teaching staff on September 1, having taught in Knockavilla for the last twenty-five years. 

The celebrations began with Mass in the school hall – a lovely ceremony made very personal by Fr Jim Egan P.P. who paid tribute to Anne’s many years of dedication and hard work in the school. Anne’s husband Seán, her sons, Timothy and Patrick and other members of her family, many former members of staff, representatives of the B.O.M. and of the parents and the current staff and pupils were present to honour Anne. 

 The beautiful Irish hymns, which have been firm favourites in Scoil Mhuire for many generations, and which Anne spent years passing onto the Knockavilla NS pupils, were sung beautifully by the school choir.  

Following the Mass,   principal Ms Eleanor O’Dwyer thanked Anne for sharing her considerable professional expertise, kindness and fun with the pupils of Knockavilla over the past twenty-five years. 

 Eleanor pointed out that ‘This parish owes you Mrs Dalton a great debt of gratitude. You have spent your entire teaching career in the parish of Knockavilla-Donaskeigh. Many of you here may not know that Mrs Dalton started teaching in Scoil Bhríde Dún na Sciath and taught there as an excellent Class Teacher for some years before she came to Knockavilla. 

Indeed it was in Donaskeigh NS that I came to know Anne Dalton, from Brosna, Co Kerry when I started my teaching career there, as a young teacher straight out of college. 

Past and present teachers photographed with retired teacher Anne Dalton at Knockavilla National School Back, Mary McDonald, Margaret King, Jennifer Killeen, Tom Hayes, Aisling Flynn, Katie Ryan, Michelle Greene-Hogan, Aoife Regfern, Joanne Collins, Helen Healy, Bridget O'Gorman, Lisa Fitzgerald, Tommy Farrell, Maria O'Donoghue, Minnie Comerford, Maura Stapleton. Front, Una Luddy, Eleanor O'Dwyer (Principal), Anne Dalton, Aoife Tierney and Kevin Moran. Pictures: Joe Kenny

Ms Dalton, or Ms Geaney as she was then, gave me great advice and friendship in my early days in the profession – sound advice and friendship she has continued to give me right up to the present day.

In 1994 she came to Scoil Mhuire as, what was at that time was called, a ‘Remedial Teacher’. Mrs Dalton was one of the first teachers appointed to this role in rural Ireland.

 The appointment of remedial teachers was a relatively new departure for the Department of Education. Before this there had been no support for pupils who needed extra educational support in most of the country’s rural national schools. 

Mrs Dalton started out in a teaching role which had not, as yet, been very clearly defined by the Department of Education. She had very few guidelines from the department and was expected to get out there and ‘just do it’! 

She was a true pioneer – a pioneer who was asked to do a near-impossible job, as her role involved travelling between five national schools in the area – Knockavilla NS, Donaskeigh NS, Anacarty NS, Garryshane NS and Ayle NS. 

 Mrs Dalton undertook this new role with enthusiasm and in the process became very familiar with many of the highways and byways in this part of West Tipperary.

Not alone did she become familiar with the roads, Mrs Dalton soon became an expert in the area of educational support. 

She undertook post graduate work in Mary Immaculate College Limerick and excelled in her course work there. Indeed throughout her entire career as a teacher Anne Dalton has enthusiastically under-taken continuous professional development by engaging in courses, conferences and seminars which have added to her vast store of knowledge and expertise – all of which has greatly benefitted and enriched the education of the pupils in Scoil Mhuire and her fellow teaching colleagues.

Ms Dalton’s enthusiasm for teaching is infectious. She has the amazing gift of being able to simplify and demystify tasks, which often to the rest of us seem to be complicated and convoluted. She can cut to the nub of the matter – a skill which makes her a wonderful teacher and a great asset to any teaching staff. 

Throughout her years in Scoil Mhuire Ms Dalton has helped and supported our pupils to become involved in many interesting projects – including many prize-winning history projects in the Tipperary County Museum Schools’ Competition and our great success in the first year of the National Decade of Centenaries History Project. 

 She has helped to engender an appreciation of and love of nature and environmental studies in all of our pupils, past and present, through her work as a gardener – planting a wide variety of vegetables and fruit in the school grounds every spring – her interest in our local Cappamurra Bog – organising field trips to this wonderful local resource and her bird-watching activities – we all remember watching the blue tit hatchlings on her nest box camera.  

Once Ms Dalton mastered ‘PhotoStory’ there was no stopping her! Her chronicling of so many of the learning and social activities in the school has become legendary.

All of this amazing work is done in a manner which draws little or no attention to herself. She is modest to a fault. She is very slow to take credit for her work and successes but will always be to the fore in giving credit to others. 

She is a born teacher - a woman with a love of learning, an open mind, an-oh so kind heart. She enjoys the children she works with and always encourages and supports them on to be the best that they can be. 

She has always been open to using innovative teaching methods, while understanding the great merits in what we educationalists term ‘good old fashioned teaching’. 

Her vast store of knowledge, her skill, her kindness and generosity of spirit will be sadly missed here in Knockavilla.

In the staffroom Mrs Dalton kept our break times full of fun and laughter. She has the ability to see the funny side in most situations – often in stories against herself - and we were nearly always sure to go back to our respective classrooms with smiles on our faces after she recounted some funny incident or story to us. 

When we needed sympathy during our short break periods Anne was often there to sympathise with us as she listened to our – to quote herself - ‘terrible’ stories!! Anne you have been blessed with a great ‘joie de vivre’ which can only serve to affect those with whom you come into contact. 

We, who have worked with you, have been lucky enough to experience this during the working days we have spent with you over the last years.

Ms Dalton has since her earliest days in the teaching profession been a dedicated member of the INTO. During her entire career she has been an active member of Dundrum Branch, and has served as the Staff Representative here in Scoil Mhuire for many years. 

This involvement has led in no small way to her sense of professionalism. 

Together with her teaching colleagues she has campaigned on many issues throughout her teaching career – campaigns which have led to improvements in conditions many younger members of the profession enjoy today. She has always advocated the importance of teacher involvement in the INTO if professional standards are to be maintained.

Like all teachers, Anne has always mentored and advised young teachers starting out in the profession. I think I can lay claim to being the first teacher she has mentored during my first years of teaching in Donaskeigh. 

In my early years as Principal Teacher here I asked Anne if she would be interested in undertaking more post graduate training, this time in Mentoring. She agreed and did the course in Mary Immaculate College Limerick during her own free time. 

In the past number of years Anne has mentored many, many young teachers who have been successfully probated here in Scoil Mhuire. This work she has undertaken with spirit, thoroughness and sensitivity, greatly easing this stressful period in young, inexperienced teachers’ professional lives and supporting them at the beginning of their careers.

 I know that all of them are very grateful to you Anne, as indeed am I for the assistance you have provided to me in this matter.

I could continue to extol the virtues of Ms Dalton for much longer and even though I have alluded to her modesty if I continue, even she may start to develop a big head – also she will probably not be too happy with me, may even say that it is ‘terrible’ – but before I call a halt to this song of praise I have to say how I as a friend will miss working with you. 

I started my teaching career with you and now you have finished your teaching career with me. You have been a huge support to me in my role, a great sounding board and a dispenser of good and sound advice when I needed it. Your good sense and practicality have been invaluable to me. I always knew that any advice you gave me was worth listening to and considering.  Thank you Anne for all that selfless, kind help.

I join with all your colleagues, teachers and non-teachers past and present in thanking you for your dedicated service to the pupils of Scoil Mhuire Knockavilla. Your great service to our pupils and this community is greatly appreciated by the BOM and the parents. Your friendship and sense of humour and fun is appreciated by all who know you and who have worked with you.

A Áine, tá súil againne go léir anseo i Scoil Mhuire go mbeidh saol fada buan agat as seo amach. Go raibh míle míle maith agat as ucht an méid oibre iontach atá déanta agat anseo i gCnoc a’ Bhile. .Go néirí an t-adh leat i gcomhluadar do chlann agus do chairde i gconaí. And remember don’t ever be a stranger in Scoil Mhuire.

Tributes were paid to Anne by Kay Beardmore, Cathaoirleach BOM and Fr. Jim Egan P.P Knockavilla-Donaskeigh. These speeches also emphasised Ms Dalton’s professionalism and kindness and a sense of fun throughout her career.

Following the speeches and tributes Ms Kay Beardmore presented Anne with a beautiful painting on behalf of the BOM of Scoil Mhuire. Pupils, Lilly, Patrick, Sofia and Ciara presented Ms Dalton with some beautiful pieces of pottery and a card signed by all the pupils.

The celebrations ended with a lively rendition of ‘Brosna Town’, a song the children and staff had learned as a ‘surprise’ for their great friend, Anne Dalton.