Legend of Athlone education to retire
After almost half a century on the teaching staff of Athlone Community College, a remarkable educational era in Athlone is set to draw to a close with the retirement of principal Eileen Donohoe this summer.
One of the most influential figures on the local education scene for generations of secondary school children in Athlone, the Clonbrusk native of Athlone is set to officially retire on July 18, saying she has loved “every single day” of her long teaching career.
“I just have a passion for education, and I have been blessed all my life with the energy and drive for the job,” she says.
Despite the many challenges she faced in her career, particularly during her term as principal for the past 15 years, Eileen feels “very privileged and lucky” to have given the best part of her life to a job she loves.
With the new compulsory retirement age for public service employees now set at 70, Eileen Donohoe says it was “like winning the lotto” when she received a phone call to inform her that she could continue her work at Athlone Community College beyond the age of 65.
As someone whose motto is “to be happy, keep busy” she freely admits she she is “not really ready for retirement yet,” but wistfully says “time stops for nobody and life goes on”.
Having arrived in Athlone Community College in 1977 as a business studies teacher, the current principal has seen the transition of the school from just 228 students to its current enrolment of 1,173 students and over 100 staff, making it one of the biggest secondary schools across the Midlands region.
That transition also saw the building of a brand-new state-of-the-art school building on the site of the original school on Retreat Road.
The opening of the new Athlone Community College ten years ago was a particular highlight for Eileen Donohoe, in a career peppered with highlights, but she is keen to point out that the huge increase in student numbers and the new school building “didn't happen by chance” but were the result of “years of planning, hard work and vision” by many people.
In paying tribute to former school principal Val O'Connor, whom she credits with being “the catalyst” for the transformation of Athlone Community College, Eileen also paid tribute to the generations of hard-working and dedicated teaching and support staff who have shaped the modern-day school.
“It is the sum of the parts that make the whole,” she points out, adding that the Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board (LWETB), Board of Management, Parents Association and the local community have also contributed in no small measure to the success of the school.
“If you give a child respect, then you will get it back in bucketfuls, so our ethos here is to respect the dignity of every student,” she says.
“What gives me the most satisfaction is to see our students leave here having fulfilled their potential, whether that is progressing to third-level, taking up a trade, or whatever other path they choose.”
As she plans for her retirement, Eileen says one of her mantras has always been “failing to prepare is preparing to fail,” but she has been so busy in her day-to-day job that she hasn't given much, if any, thought to retirement planning!
However, she is looking forward to spending more time with her husband of 45 years, Tom, her adult children, Claire and Thomas, and her precious grandchildren, Eliza and Dáire, who have supported her “every step of the way” throughout her career, as has her own family, the O'Rourkes from Clonbrusk.
She is also looking forward to taking part in the Dublin City Marathon later this year, which will be her sixth marathon since she first took up long-distance running at the age of 59.
* See full interview with Eileen Donohoe in next week's edition of the Westmeath Independent