TEACHER'S PETLike everyone else, Mary Hanafin was greatly surprised by Bertie's abrupt decision to retire. Hanafin had expected to remain in Education until around September of next year.
But after three-and-a-half years, she is expected to leave Marlborough Street in the forthcoming reshuffle of senior ministers.
In Fianna Fáil, if not in the media, Hanafin has gained a great deal of credit for her unflinching support of Bertie. She was first to defend him publicly on Prime Time when the payments story broke last year.
Mary Hanafin has never been part of Brian Cowen's inner circle, although her brother, Senator John Hanafin, boarded with Cowen at Cistercian College in Roscrea.
After her strong performance in Education, Hanafin is expected to gain another senior ministry in the forthcoming reshuffle - most likely Foreign Affairs or Enterprise and Employment.
Already, there is no shortage of speculation about who might replace her. It may be that a senior minister will be moved downward to Education in order to accommodate Messrs Ahern (Dermot) and Martin. And Tom Kitt has been mentioned.
But two other young contenders are in the frame for Education, Tony Kileen from Clare and Pat Carey, who - with Ahern's resignation - could become the only minister based on the northside of Dublin.
Both have considerable knowledge and experience of the education brief. Kileen as chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Carey as a former deputy school principal.
Watch this space!
• The awkwardly-named Friends of the University for the South-East or FUSE for short assembled an impressive cast to turn up the heat on the Government this week.
As you might expect, it included senior business and academic figures, as well as some very interesting names such as Sir Anthony O'Reilly, artist Pauline Bewick, and John O'Shea, the Waterford-born Manchester United footballer.
• We are all for our universities competing to secure the best. But it was still a surprise to see candidates for the senior education post at the University of Limerick being directed to recruitment experts in London.
• Now that the dust has settled on the conference season, the reviews are in - and they are mostly positive.
The new TUI general secretary, Peter Mac Menamin has hit the ground running, helped by his press officer, Conor Griffin. Signs of life also at the ASTI, where the next president/vice-president "dream team" of Pat Hurley and Joe Moran can make a huge impact.
