After more than three decades in a role that has become increasingly challenging in recent years, an optimistic Monsignor Dan O'Connor is retiring as head of the Catholic Primary School Managers' Association
MONSIGNOR DAN O'Connor is a great man for a story. It's a good thing too, as a conversation about a career that has spanned over 30 years of the most challenging and interesting times in the church and education is bound to be complex in parts. In September, his involvement in that world will draw to a close as he retires from his post as General Secretary of the Catholic Primary School Managers' Association (CPSMA), and takes up a position in a parish in the Dublin Archdiocese.
Softly spoken and with a strong sense of justice, he was thrown sharply into the limelight when the story of non-Catholic children who could not get school places in Balbriggan broke last September. Looking back, he is both incredulous and quietly indignant. "We were compared by some to the apartheid movement in South Africa," he says in disbelief. "That was deeply offensive and caused terrible hurt to teachers and schools as well as our association."
Indeed, Catholic primary schools in the area were pilloried for prioritising Catholic students over non-Catholics when allocating places according to their enrolment policies. It was barely mentioned that the Archdiocese of Dublin had signalled to the Department of Education well in advance that there would be a shortfall of places that year. Nor was it said that the Catholic schools had expanded their intake significantly but there were still more pupils than places.
"The enrolment policy is only in place in the case of an oversupply of children," says O'Connor. "The Catholic schools are doing their best and in most cases it is working very well." He believes Catholic schools can be and are truly inclusive. "Muslim children attending Catholic primary schools, for example, really challenge the Catholic children because their knowledge of their own faith is so deep . . . These children have enriched our schools hugely."
MONSIGNOR DAN, as he is known by all who deal with him, was just 17 when he entered Clonliffe College to train for the priesthood. He had already developed a strong interest in schools and education, and after his ordination in 1975, he was sent as the priest teacher to St Finian's Vocational School in Swords. A massive school of about 800 students, his eight years there left a huge impression and a lasting respect for the Vocational Education Committees (VECs) and the work they do.
For the past 25 years, he has worked in the administrative side of education, holding the position of Director of the Education Secretariat in Archbishop's House from 1987 until 2002. As General Secretary of the CPSMA, he has been supportive of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's progressive attitude to the changing role of the church in education. He says: "There is a need for the church in education but it cannot be the sole provider." He believes that the Australian model for education, where a State system and a denominational system run side by side, open to all, is the ideal option. "It is important that parents have the freedom to make a choice for their children's education," O'Connor says.
It's easy to forget that while O'Connor represents Catholic schools at national level, the education, rather than the Catholicism takes up most of his time. Essentially, any primary-school problems that cannot be handled at a local level land on his desk. Most recently, for example, he has been at the front line of the row about water charges in schools.
Having seen many changes in his time, he cites positive developments such as: improved attitudes towards education among the travelling community; improved special-needs provision in mainstream schools; and the relationships that have been built between the various patronage bodies, unions and representative groups. The increased diversity of the primary-school classroom is to be welcomed, O'Connor says, although he warns that appropriate supports must be put in place for children and parents for whom English is a second or third language.
On the downside, as far as the church is concerned, the clerical abuse scandals are, still a source of "great hurt", says O'Connor. "Nobody knows or can understand the hurt caused to the children who were abused and how difficult it can be for that hurt to heal."
Educationally, the fact that class sizes have not reduced and show no sign of doing so is a huge problem. O'Connor is also concerned about the boards of management which have had responsibility heaped upon them by the Department of Education and operate without any real support and training provided.
Looking to the future of denominational education in this country, money is an issue that has perhaps been overlooked so far, according to O'Connor. The financial support provided by the church to schools has supported the Irish primary-school system for decades. "People forget that the education system is State aided, not State funded," says O'Connor. "That always implies a local contribution. Schools linked to parishes have an advantage there . . . They have a support structure that gaelscoileanna and Educate Together schools may not necessarily have."
State funding needs to increase, but in the event of an economic downturn, O'Connor is in no doubt that "schools will be the first to feel the pinch . . . The DEIS programme has been a big help, but the issue remains that there are schools out there still in serious debt.That's disgraceful in the post-Celtic Tiger economy."
SPECIAL EDUCATION is a particular interest of O'Connor's. Funding could be a problem there as well, he predicts. As well as almost 3,000 primary schools, the CPSMA also looks after 100 schools for children with special needs. O'Connor explains: "Most of those schools are in the care of the religious congregations. With the withdrawal of the congregations from education, there's going to be a serious issue for the special schools regarding funding. The congregations have ploughed millions into special education. That is a very serious issue for the future." Whether the Department of Education has anticipated these potential problems remains to be seen.
More promising for the years to come are plans for two new multi-denominational schools due to open under the patronage of Co Dublin VEC in September.
The new patronage model is welcome for all sorts of reasons, according to O'Connor. "There was never a problem of funding when I was working in the vocational school. You never had to fundraise. When you needed supplies for the classroom, you went to the VEC head office and you got your money. If there was need to paint a room, the room was painted. The schools under VEC patronage will receive a lot of support that neither the denominational schools nor the gaelscoileanna, nor indeed the Educate Together schools, will have."
O'Connor is optimistic about the idea of a real option for parents and children, whatever their religion or lack thereof.
"If the new community national schools have the same multi-denominational approach as the vocational schools and community colleges at post-primary level, I'd be very hopeful. The system is excellent at post-primary and the challenge for us all - the church, the state and the VEC - is: how do you deliver that at primary level? It's exciting and it's challenging and I'm just sorry I won't be there for that part of it."
