Tom Flahive retires after 23 years as Coosan NS principal

The first day of February in 1999 was Tom Flahive's first day as principal of Coosan National School. At the time, the school had 144 pupils and its ageing facilities were in need of an upgrade and expansion.

More than 23 years later, Tom is retiring from a 426-pupil school that is unrecognisable from the one he first inherited as principal.

A gathering took place in the school last week to mark his retirement, and Tom told the Westmeath Independent he would miss the Coosan NS community.

"It feels strange and I suppose it is sad, in one way, doing everything for the last time," he said.

"I am looking forward to retirement but there are aspects I will miss. I'll miss the staff, I'll miss the pupils, I'll miss the routine of coming to school every day.

"But it's only closing one door and opening another door, that's the way I look at it. There's a whole new life out there for me in retirement."

A native of Listowel, Tom trained as a teacher in Carysfort College in Dublin and then started teaching in St Mark's Senior National School in Tallaght in 1983. After more than 14 years there, he had a brief spell at the Sacred Heart National School in Williamstown, Galway, and then took up the role in Coosan.

Tom taught for his first few months in the school, before becoming an administrative principal in 1999.

"Back then there was no bedding-in period," he recalled. "I was a classroom teacher on Friday evening, and on Monday morning I was the principal. Things have improved a lot since then, with the INTO and the IPPN, because they now provide in-service (training) for aspiring principals.

"You get training on the job, you are guided and helped, whereas back then you just took it up and ran with it, did the best you could, and learned as quickly as you could."

He said there was always great camaraderie and goodwill among the teachers at the school, and paid particular tribute to his deputy principal Lorraine Harney, describing her as "my right-hand woman" and a "phenomenal" worker.

"Whatever adjective you use, you can't make it big enough! She has been the shoulder that I've leant on since her appointment (as deputy principal) ten years ago," he said.

Tom acknowledged that the new school building, which has been in use since January 2019, would be his legacy in Coosan.

The €7 million development, which included 16 classrooms and a Special Education unit, was almost 20 years in the making.

"It was a long road with a lot of twists, a lot of bumps and a lot of disasters, for want of a better word, because we appointed three design teams in total.

"Due to the economic recession and tightening of belts two of the design teams were disbanded. There was one appointed in 2008, and one in 2012. The third and final one was appointed in 2016, and we managed to get the building started in May 2017."

The new facilities have had a transformative impact on the school. "It's like walking into a hotel every morning, because it's bright, airy, new and fresh," he said.

"Everything is new and shiny. We have no draughts, no cracked windows, no leaks from taps. Everything is as it should be. That's the basic difference.

"And because it's nice and bright and airy, everybody seems to be in good humour; teachers, staff and pupils. The mood basically reflects the surroundings.

"The teachers can focus on teaching and learning, and we have all the modern technologies and all modern appliances available at their disposal."

His successor as principal of Coosan NS has not yet been announced, as the appointment process is currently being finalised.

Tom lives in Moylough, Mountbellew, and his family is steeped in education. Caitriona, his wife of almost 32 years, is also retiring from her job at St Patrick's National School in Fohenagh, near Ahascragh.

They have two daughters, Neasa and Caoimhe, both of whom are teachers in Dublin, while their son Gerard has completed his primary degree and is hoping to do a postgraduate in primary teaching.

Outside of school, Tom plays golf and is involved in the GAA, with his local club being Mountbellew Moylough. He is a keen follower of the fortunes of the Kerry footballers and the Galway hurlers.

As he and his wife departed from their jobs, he said they were looking forward to the new opportunities retirement would bring.

"The two of us are sailing off into the sunset, hopefully to do a lot of travelling of the highways and byways of Ireland and beyond," he concluded.