New principal for Athlone's largest school

An Athlone woman who has been working in Dublin for the last 15 years is returning home to take up the top job in the town's largest school.

Lisa O'Kennedy, who grew up in Cypress Gardens, was appointed this summer as the new principal of Athlone Community College.

On September 1, she will take up the role, succeeding Eileen Donohoe who is retiring after 47 years at the school, the last 15 of which were as principal.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent on Monday, Lisa O'Kennedy described her appointment as "a real pinch-me moment" and a milestone in her career in education.

"Athlone Community College has been a fantastic school to read about, and to follow the students' achievements. To be in a position now to lead in this school is a huge, huge honour for me," she said.

"I'm conscious that Val O'Connor was the principal before Eileen Donohoe, and that Eileen was deputy principal and then principal, so to step into their shoes is going to be a huge challenge.

"But I'm hoping people will be open to a change, and will work with me, that I will work along with them, and that we will see the school continue to do as well as it always has been doing, and expand on that.

"That would be my hope, that we can embrace the change."

Lisa is married to another Athlone native, Ross Sheriff from Cartrontroy, and the couple have two daughters, aged eight and four.

Lisa's parents, Gerard and Cecilia O'Kennedy, now live in Cornafulla, and she has a brother, Alan, and a sister, Michelle (Daly).

After attending secondary school in St Joseph's College, Summerhill, Lisa went to college in Galway for seven years. She completed a teaching placement in St Aloysius College, Athlone, before moving to Dublin to start working in Old Bawn Community School in Tallaght, where she taught French and German.

After twelve enjoyable years there, she was appointed deputy principal of Firhouse Community College in 2021, and had been in that position for the last three years.

"I have always loved teaching, and from a very young age I knew it was the career that I wanted to pursue," she said.

"I love that whole thing of helping students... seeing them come from something that they don't know how to do to then seeing it through to completion.

"Seeing them progress brings me great joy, so that's what I want to continue doing now in a leadership role with the staff and students."

With more than 1,100 students, Athlone Community College is not only the biggest school in the town but also one of the largest regional schools in the country.

However, Lisa said she was no stranger to working in such environments, as the two Dublin schools she worked in previously had over 1,000 and over 800 students respectively.

"I am well used to a big school, and managing the numbers. So I'm going to embrace the challenge and I'm looking forward to it," she said.

She found out in mid-June that she would be the new Athlone Community College principal, and she and her husband put their house in Dublin up for sale the following week.

When asked if moving home to Athlone was something she had been thinking about for a while, she replied: "Yeah, it was always in the back of my mind.

"I have great love for the town. My husband's from the town as well, so it was always a dream of ours that we would one day come back and raise a family here when the opportunity presented itself.

"And I was never going to get an opportunity like this again, really. We had a good chat about it, and decided I would go for the position. And I was absolutely delighted when it came my way."

Lisa met with Eileen Donohoe in recent weeks, and is now getting ready for the move to Athlone and the start of this exciting new chapter in her working life.

"It's going to be extremely busy, and I have two little girls to settle into school in Athlone as well, but I'm looking forward to getting to know everybody," she said.

"That's going to be the biggest challenge for me, I think. Making sure I can find the time to get to know the staff and the students. My plan is to take that time, and get to know everybody.

"The school has been doing absolutely amazingly, so it wouldn't be my intention to come in and think things need to change immediately.

"I am going to take my time to get to know the staff, get to know the students, and get to know the school because as an external (appointee) there's a lot for me to pick up on, not having that advantage of being an insider."

Cllr Frankie Keena, who has served as chairperson of the school in recent years, thanked Eileen Donohoe for her "fantastic 47 years of service to Athlone Community College," and said he wanted to wish Lisa O'Kennedy well as she takes up the principal's role.

Cllr Keena noted that the school was large and growing, with its patron, Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board, currently working to develop further special needs classes and additional classrooms there.