Published
The Teaching Council is pleased to announce the election of Eamon Dennehy as Chairperson by the members of the Council. Originally from Kerry, Eamon is a teacher of engineering at Heywood Community School, Ballinakill, Co. Laois.
To date, Mr. Dennehy has chaired the Teaching Council’s Registration Panel and he is also a member of the Registration Committee, the Registration Review Group and the Finance Committee.
Eamon Dennehy said, “I’m honoured to be elected as Chairperson by the members of the Teaching Council. I believe we must continue to foster an environment where teachers are supported, valued, and motivated around the highest professional standards of teaching in Ireland. I’m keenly aware of the broader challenges facing education and I am committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders in the interests of the teaching profession and its central role in our education system.
Teaching is a role of critical importance which prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of the future and so it must be promoted as an attractive, vibrant, and rewarding career choice. The education system must continue to be empowering for teachers with programmes and initiatives that support their creativity, capability, and capacity to deliver a high-quality education for learners. Equally important is the role of regulation in maintaining continuously high standards and ensuring that the profession is fully aligned with best practices in teaching.
Together, we must all strive to ensure that teaching in Ireland is not only continually recognised as a profession of critical importance but also as a vibrant and rewarding career choice, preparing our students for the challenges and opportunities of the future.”
Eamon joined the Teaching Council in 2022 as a nominee of the ASTI and is a former president of the ASTI. Having graduated from Thomond College, Limerick with a Bachelor of Technology in Education degree, Eamon served on the National Executive Committee of the ASTI in the mid-90s, and from 2014 to 2020 and was elected President of the association in 2021.
Eamon commended the contributions of outgoing Chairperson Michelle Keane and Deputy Chairperson, Ann Mulcahy and wished them well. “Both have shown great dedication and have made an excellent contribution to the work of the Teaching Council throughout their tenure and I warmly thank both Michelle and Ann for their great commitment in their roles.”
Eamon also welcomed Mary Curley as incoming Deputy Chairperson and 17 new members of the Council (listed below). Mary is from Ennis, Co. Clare and has 35 years’ experience as a teacher and teaching principal in Co. Clare. A graduate of Mary Immaculate College, she began her teaching career in Sixmilebridge N.S. before becoming principal of Doora N.S. Mary has been a member of the Teaching Council since 2020, and has served on the Investigation Committee, the Registration Committee, and the Registration Review Group.
Since retiring as principal of Doora N.S. Mary has maintained her interest in education through her work as co-ordinator of the Gort area Small Schools Research Project, as secretary of CPSMA Munster Provincial and as chairperson of Sixmilebridge N.S.
The Teaching Council has 37 members including 22 members of the profession (primary and post-primary), and others including nominees of the Higher Education Institutions, teacher unions, school management, National Parents Council, IBEC and ICTU, as well as Ministerial appointees. The current membership of the Council (including new appointees) can be viewed on our website.
The Teaching Council, including staff and Director, Dr Lynn Ramsey extend best wishes to the new Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and members as they take up their roles.
New members of the Council, appointed on 04 April, 2024.
Adrian Guinan – Voluntary Post-primary, Midlands-North-West
Adrieanne Healy – Voluntary Post-primary, Dublin & South
Patrick Knightly – Voluntary Post-primary, Dublin & South
Ursula O’Connor – ETB, Midlands North-West
Claire Ní Mharcaigh – ETB, Dublin & South
Noel Cronin – ETB, Dublin & South
Clodagh O’Hara – Post-primary (Community & Comprehensive), Connaught, Leinster, Munster, Ulster.
David Fagan – Primary, Dublin
Marcella Nic Niallaigh – Primary – Dublin
Aileen Horkan – Primary, Connaught-Ulster
Desmond Cogan – Primary, Connaught-Ulster
Hazel O’Connor-McWey – Primary – Leinster
Joseph McKeown – Primary – Leinster
Máire Kenefick – Primary, Munster
Mary Curley – Primary, Munster
Paul Moroney – Primary, Munster
Liam Doran – Ministerial Appointee
The Teaching Council is the regulator of the teaching profession in Ireland. The Teaching Council’s role is to protect the public by promoting and regulating professional standards in teaching. This is carried out through the statutory registration of teachers, ensuring a highly qualified teaching profession, whose members meet and uphold high standards of professional competence and conduct.