Two highly regarded and dedicated Tipperary teachers retire

MRS EILEEN FITZGERALD, TEACHER

Mrs Eileen Fitzgerald retired from Holy Trinity N.S., Fethard on September 1st, 2019. Eileen’s teaching career in Fethard started in St. Patrick’s Boys’ N.S. in 1982. St. Patrick’s Boys’ N.S. and Nano Nagle Primary School amalgamated in September 2010 and the newly established school was called Holy Trinity N.S.

Eileen was known for her good humour, dedication and hard work all through her teaching career. She taught many class levels throughout her teaching career in both the boys’ national school and Holy Trinity N.S. and was always held in very high esteem by pupils, parents and colleagues. She was a valued member of staff and loved chatting in the staff room, getting all the news and discussing the latest hurling match, especially if it involved a local team! She was an excellent teacher, very professional in her work and a great mentor to new members of staff. Her passion for sport shone through in the two schools no matter what classes she taught, always encouraged children to be physically active.

Eileen is well known in her home of Ballingarry and in Fethard for her love of all things sporting, especially Tipperary GAA and hurling. It was fitting that the Tipperary Senior Hurling team were crowned All-Ireland Champions in 2019 and when the Liam McCarthy Cup came to visit the school in September, Kevin Halley, co-ordinator of GAA in primary schools, paid a special tribute to Eileen’s dedication to the game all through her teaching career and thanked her for all the time she gave so generously to developing children’s skills in the game of hurling and camogie.

Eileen helped train so many school teams during her time in Fethard and there were great celebrations in May 2017 when our U13 girls won a county camogie final in Semple Stadium. It was a proud day for Eileen and indeed for all the school community. Two more titles followed shortly afterwards, an U11 county football title in November 2017 and an U13 county football title in November 2018. Eileen has certainly left school sports in a good state upon her retirement.

Eileen was instrumental in helping the school to achieve its first-ever Active School Flag in April 2018. Eileen helped us all become more educated about physical education and thanks to her we are all more physically active every day in school as a result! For one of her retirement gifts we decided we’d have to get a School Shield and dedicate it to Eileen Fitzgerald for all that she has done for the school. We now have The Eileen Fitzgerald Perpetual Shield which we hope Eileen will present each June to either the children or the teachers in the annual ‘Take on the Teachers!’

We wish Eileen every health and happiness as she embarks on her retirement. It is well earned and well deserved and if we know Eileen, she won’t be letting the grass grow under her feet! Enjoy this new phase of your life Eileen with your family – Tomás and Shane.

Mrs Margaret Gleeson who retired from teaching at Holy Trinity National School, Fethard, in September 2019

MRS MARGARET GLEESON, TEACHER

Mrs Margaret Gleeson retired from Holy Trinity N.S. on September 1, 2019. Margaret started teaching in Nano Nagle National School in 1982 before it amalgamated with St. Patrick’s Boys’ National School to become Holy Trinity N.S. in 2010.

Margaret’s love for teaching, her love for the environment, her sensitivity for those who needed a little help, her pleasant and helpful manner, her excellent teaching capabilities and her commitment to passing on the highest standards to her pupils were among Margaret’s fine qualities. Margaret taught Junior Infants for many, many years in the school and she was well known everywhere for her kind and gentle presence and the patience she had for the children in her care knew no bounds. The community of Fethard felt extremely lucky to have such a wonderful and dedicated teacher for their children in their formative years. She  was so well respected by all.

Margaret’s great work ethic and dedication shone through alwaysl, but especially in relation to environmental issues. Her love for nature and all living things set her apart and she been instrumental in fostering a sense of environmental awareness and care in all children and staff  in the school. She has worked tirelessly all through her teaching career to make the school a better place, encouraging exploration of the local environment so that the children would have an appreciation for all that surrounds them. She ensured that the school worked closely with An Taisce for the Green School Flags. She paved the way for success in securing our flags for Litter and Waste, Water and Travel. She also worked closely with Tipperary County Council on funding projects and so the school were recipients of grants that always helped.

Margaret’s eagerness to highlight the importance of environmental issues means that all the children have a much greater understanding of the need to protect and care for the earth – and that it starts right here at home. She has helped to change everyone’s way of thinking both in school and at home. It was only fitting that on the day of her retirement, the school presented Margaret with a beautiful plaque dedicated to her and the legacy she leaves behind – the wood at the back of the school will henceforth be known as ‘Gleeson’s Wood’ in her honour and every time we venture into the woods, we will think of Margaret and her love for the woods and all the wildlife within it.

As Margaret embarks on new adventures in her retirement, we wish her and her family every health and happiness for the future. We will miss her kind and caring way in the school and her ability to listen and help whenever there was anyone in need. There is no doubt that she has made a remarkable impact on the school, one that will be felt for many years to come.

We wish Margaret all the very best for her retirement with her family – Dan, Mary, Sarah, Brendan, Neil and Danny.