Tragic Eileen Flynn's lessons in courage, determination and love
- Published: 20 September 2008
By Sarah Slater
In the Eileen Flynn story, it must surely be the greatest irony of all. She has been laid to rest just 20 feet from the entrance of a convent secondary school where, as a Catholic teacher, she was dismissed after it was revealed that she had conceived a child by a married man.
The personal life of the English and History teacher divided the nation in the early 1980s as TV pictures captured her reaction in her failed attempts in the Circuit and High Courts and Employment Equality Tribunal to be re-instated.
Her story was based around love; that was why she took the case to law. At its core was whether her private life was her own affair. She was seen as a mother out of wedlock who should be shunned.
She did not get her job back -- even though she married her lover Richie Roche 11 years ago.
The very public airing of a very private affair transformed her life. Her solicitor and close friend Simon Kennedy said this week that she quickly became a "very determined and outspoken woman. She stuck by the one thing she believed in -- and that was that she was in love. Until the day she died last week there wasn't another man for her. She was true to her feelings."
She would not give her child up for adoption when her concealed pregnancy was challenged by Sister Pauline Leonard at the all-girls Convent School on the outskirts of New Ross, Co Wexford. At first, the Galway University graduate denied she was pregnant but then admitted she was.
The baby was born five days after the school closed for summer break in June 1982. Two months later, she was dismissed with four months' pay of €2,539 when she refused to resign.
In the years following Eileen's case she never once regretted her decision because she believed that "she stuck with the truth", said Mr Kennedy, a former seminarian. But she became the subject of abusive phonecalls. Even her mother who lived in Co Laois became the target of ridicule. And Mr Kennedy himself received several death threats for taking the case on.
"Her case would cause a scandal and it had to be gotten rid of. That is how the Catholic Church viewed it and how they handled such matters. Eileen never wanted to cause controversy nor did she want publicity."
When Mr Kennedy served the summons of pending court action at Maynooth College, the teaching ground of young priests, the reception the young solicitor received was, he recalled, "less than cordial".
Did he feel at the time that they would win the case? He said that if an offer was made to settle he advised Eileen to take it. "She knew from the start that she was up against it, but she was a straightforward person who liked to follow things through.
"We would have liked to have gone further with the case to the Supreme and the European courts, but neither Eileen nor I had the finances to pursue it further," said Mr Kennedy.
"The passion of Eileen struck me when she had lost her case for the second time. She went to the Sisters. . . and shook hands with every single one of them. And from there on she went and pursued her case with the determination of somebody with the conviction of her own belief in who she was and what she was.
"When she lost her case for the last time (in 1985) she bore no resentment and never did all of her life."
But she retreated into the background and worked alongside Richie in the family's two pubs.
It is now 26 years since Eileen Flynn became national news and Irish society has since embraced change on social and moral issues. But Mr Kennedy believes a similar case could occur again despite the introduction of equality and divorce legislation in latter years.
"Attitudes have changed, yes, and relevant legislation has been passed. But the conservative nature of the legal bench can influence and twist the outcome of such cases."
But perhaps, in the end, Eileen did win her case to be re-instated as a teacher. In 2001, following a conversation with CBS Primary School Principal Brian McMahon, Eileen was offered a position in a Catholic school again. Last year her position was made permanent. She was much loved and respected by pupils, parents and her teaching colleagues.
Her pupils formed a guard of honour as she was laid to rest in the cemetery grounds of the Church of the Assumption in Rosbercon.
Eileen, aged 53, passed away last week a day after her wedding anniversary. She died suddenly while out with friends in the Three Bullet Gate pub in New Ross town.
Describing herself and Richie as the "odd couple", Eileen lived her life the way that she wanted.
"She left her mark in this town; she left her mark on all of us. Most especially, she left her mark on her family. Most especially, what she left were her children," said Mr Kennedy.
"Perhaps," he added, "the truth is you end up where your heart is and that's the bottom line."
Eileen ended her days with the man and family she loved and back at a job she adored -- teaching.
Wexford school takes Department to the High Court over order to enrol two boys
- Published: 19 September 2008
A COUNTY Wexford primary school has taken High Court judicial proceedings against the Department of Education which ordered it to enrol two boys with autism when only one place was available.
The case opened before Mr. Justice Kevin Feeney in the High Court last Wednesday and was heard again on Tuesday of this week before being adjourned to October 24.
It arises from a decision of the school earlier this year to informthe parents of a 10-yearold boy that there was no place available for him.
The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was fourth on a waiting list for a place at the school which provides specialist education for autistic children.
The parents appealed to a committee established under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 which allows appeals on behalf of children whose school enrolment applications have been refused.
The committee ruled that the child's placing on the list was unreasonable and the Department of Education ordered the school to enrol him.
As a result, the parents of a four-year-old child who had been offered a place because he was at the top of the waiting list, were told that their child could not start at the school.
The also took a Section 29 appeal which was heard by a committee of different people. That action also resulted in the Department ordering the school to enrol the four-year-old.
The board of the school instituted High Court proceedings seeking the quashing of the Department's decision. It is also seeking orders that the Section 29 committees had no jurisdiction to entertain the appeals and acted in breach of natural and constitutional justice.
The school claims that it did not refuse to enrol the 10-yearold but acted within its enrolment policy and the appeals committee was not entitled to disregard that policy.
Mr. Justice Feeney described the case as a 'catch 22 situation' in light of the 'conflicting orders' that the school received.
He adjourned the matter to yesterday (Tuesday) and when the case resumed, counsel for the Department of Education informed him that extra resources had been made available to the school to facilitate the enrolment of the two boys.
Meanwhile, a question mark still hangs over the enrolment of four other boys who did not receive places in the school and on whose behalf Section 29 appeals were also taken.
The results of these appeals have not yet been notified to the school which is continuing with its judicial review action against the Department.
During Tuesday's hearing, the school was described as being, to some extent, the victim of its own success in running an autism unit which has attracted a high level of enrolments.
OKeeffe hints at more cuts to services
- Published: 19 September 2008
FURTHER cuts to education services look likely after next months budget as Education Minister Batt OKeeffe hinted there would be little or no increases in spending.
He also stressed the need for greater efficiency from public bodies like Vocational Education Committees and possibly centralising the payment of their 8,000 school teachers into his department.
He was speaking at the annual congress of the Irish Vocational Education Association representing the 33 VECs which manage second level schools, further education colleges, adult education programmes and youth work services.
They have already been told they must cut their pay budgets next year by 3%, with an exemption given for teachers and special needs assistants.
Similar cost reductions have been sought from third-level colleges and agencies funded by the Department of Education.
But Mr OKeeffe hinted at further cuts or freezes across the education sector when he set out the economic context in which he will be discussing education spending in the coming weeks with Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.
I must be realistic and the education sector must be realistic that the priority in the year ahead will be to take the right decisions, to ensure past improvements in services can be consolidated and improved upon into the future.
I will be working within the fiscal parameters set down by the Finance Minister to ensure we can maximise the return for taxpapers money in education investment.
We must still ensure that efficiencies are achieved wherever possible and that we get optimal performance across the sector, including VECs, he said.
But IVEA president Cllr Mary Bohan warned they have no room for significant belt-tightening despite the 3% pay bill instruction from the minister.
Insisting on this crude cut will cause a significant reduction in their capacity to deliver effective programmes targeting disadvantage and a consequent less-than-efficient use of Government investment in these programmes, she said.
Concerns were raised at the conference about the ability of VECs to operate student grant schemes which they are due to take over from next year, if their administration staffing has to be cut.
But Mr OKeeffe said that, just as the IVEA is discussing centralising the processing of all grants, he may consider centralising payroll of teachers in VEC schools into his department.
We pay all the primary and other second level teachers and why should it be any different for the VECs? So it isnt a question always of necessarily making additional resources and more money available, he said.
While such a move would probably not be opposed by teacher unions, it could cause difficulties among those representing VEC administrative staff who process teachers pay.
Drive to officially back hijab in schools
- Published: 19 September 2008
GUIDELINES for the wearing of religious clothing such as the Muslim hijab in schools have yet to be agreed by the Government, despite a request for direction going back almost a year.
A group campaigning for official recognition of the hijab within all schools claimed yesterday that a number of Muslim girls were prevented from wearing the headscarf in their classrooms.
We want people to see that the hijab is not a subversion of any culture, said Mujaahid Liam Egan of the Irish Hijab Campaign yesterday.
Mr Egan and his wife Suad Beverley McKenzie, whose daughter Shekinah, 14, is allowed to wear a hijab at Gorey Community School, have held meetings with a number of politicians in a bid to get the hijab recognised by the Government.
The Department of Education yesterday said: The issue is currently being considered by officials in the department.
The family recently featured on Arabic TV news station, Al Jazeera, which filmed a report in Gorey and broadcast it in Arabic.
We want the Government to allow and protect the hijab and we want legislation that protects this, said Mr McKenzie.
While Shekinah McKenzie can wear her hijab to school, her parents say that other children have been prevented from doing so in other parts of the country.
They want guidelines put in place for all schools.
The issue sparked debate earlier this year when it emerged that Gorey Community School principal, Nicholas Sweetman, wrote to the Department of Education last October to seek guidance on the issue.
According to Mr McKenzie, who converted to Islam some years ago, integration minister Conor Lenihan consulted with 4,000-plus Irish school principals and only a handful of muslims in the last few months.
Education Minister Batt OKeeffe has also been involved in the process.
When you have ministers getting together to decide how a minority is going to integrate, then its not integration, its assimilation, said Mr McKenzie.
Education spending is one area where we need to do the maths
- Published: 18 September 2008
Irish Independent
By Brendan Keenan
THE great press baron Roy Thomson used to stay in the Dorchester Hotel, because it was the best hotel in London, but have his breakfast in the café round the corner, because it was just as good as the Dorchester's, and a tenth of the price.
Perhaps that is why he became a great press baron -- owner of the London "Times" (and the "Belfast Telegraph") -- and Lord Thomson of Fleet. But why does his behaviour in saving money on breakfast seem odd to most of us -- even reprehensible?
It was a sign of meanness, you will say. But giving money to the Dorchester Hotel is not an act of charity. For all I know, Lord Thomson may have been a great philanthropist as well. His behaviour was entirely rational. But then, few of us are entirely rational when it comes to money.
Especially, perhaps, public money. Last week, the OECD's annual "Education at a Glance" was published. Some glance! The document contains more than 500 pages of incredibly detailed statistics covering the OECD's 30 member nations.
The report is deeply mined by policymakers, academics, teachers' unions and all who have a professional interest in education. That includes the education correspondents of the newspapers and broadcasting stations. One can immediately see, though, that such a document does not really lend itself to media coverage.
Even so, the economic correspondents have to do a bit of mining too. It is a truth universally acknowledged that the improvements in Irish education were a major reason for the country's economic success, and that future success depends on continuing to improve the quality of the system. Such improvements were a key recommendation in last week's Services Strategy report, which says mathematics is a key skill in those services best placed to provide growth and exports.
Statistics
It is also universally acknowledged that, as a country, we do not spend enough on education. But are these "truths" actually true? The OECD statistics cast doubt on them -- or at least suggest that the truth is pretty complicated. There is, for instance, nothing particularly large about Irish class sizes and, when teachers' aides are included, Irish pupils have one of the best ratios of staff to students
But I leave that nugget to others. Things are certainly complicated when it comes to spending figures. Of course, they are bedevilled by the unusually large gap in Ireland between output (GDP), which is used in such reports, and national income (GNP), which is closer to what we actually have available for spending. But there is also the matter of Lord Thomson's breakfast.
As he realised, it is not enough to measure the quality of the breakfast merely by its cost. Equally, it is not enough to proclaim the quality of an education service, or a health service, by the percentage of national income spent on it.
Quite the reverse. If Ireland had the third lowest proportional spend on education and the third-best education system, it would be a matter of great rejoicing, not complaint.
While the Irish system is nowhere near third best, it is by no means third-worst. It ranks 10th in the proportion of younger people with a third-level qualification. We seem to be getting rather good value for our money.
However, comparing spending in the US and Mexico as proportions of GDP is like comparing the Dorchester and the roadside caff. A bit of a waste of time. Another spending measure seems to me to be more useful. This takes actual money spent, converts it to US dollars, and adjusts it for prices in the different countries. A dollar buys a lot more teaching in Mexico than it does in the USA; never mind Ireland, with some of the highest-paid teachers in the OECD.
With adjusted spending of just over $7,000 per student, Ireland ranks only slightly below the level of spending in the EU-15. Only Denmark spends more than $8,000 per student. Ireland's spending on primary and secondary levels is the same as in the bulk of EU-15 countries.
But, at just over $10,000 per student in third level, Ireland does lag behind. Education Minister Batt O'Keefe may reflect that, could he but raise €2,000 per student in fees it would propel Ireland to being one of the biggest spenders in the EU -- provided, ahem, that he did not then cut State spending.
Which he really should not do. Ireland clearly is a low spender on third-level education, especially when the figures are further adjusted for the different lengths of time spent in such studies in different countries. This does not fit well with Ireland's economic ambition, or indeed, the potential of its young population.
Observation
But one needs to be careful. The statistics suggest that Irish graduates are under-employed. The match between their qualifications and the jobs they do is poorer than in most rich countries. This ties in with the frequent observation that a lot of the proclaimed skilled jobs in Ireland are really not that skilled at all.
However, the most salient point which is nearly always missed in most discussions about public spending is the speed of change. Spending on education in Ireland increased by more than 50pc in the 10 years to 2005. This time, we come first in the whole OECD. Even in spending per student, the Irish increase was exceeded only by Korea, Estonia and Hungary.
Like most other things in Ireland, the increase came off a pitifully low base, which is why the total is still a bit below average. Which goes to show the naivety of concentrating only on that average. Irish public services have been overwhelmed, as much as helped, by the speed of increase in their funding. There is much to be done in training and re-organising them to bring their administration up to the level of their budgets.
Yet, if I were to stray into the territory of other colleagues, the qualitative statistics seem to suggest Irish education is doing better than the customary whingeing would have you believe. As far as I can see, Irish children do rather well at maths and science. True, degrees are skewed toward law and the social sciences, but maybe that is where our comparative advantage lies?
Most striking, though, is the upward social mobility created by the Irish education system, based on the educational levels of parents. This, too, reflects the low base of attainment in the older Irish population, but it does show the system doing well at what is surely its most important function. This week's remarkable figures on the improvements in Traveller education suggest that, in some areas at least, money is being very well spent.
