Mr Tom Lande met the Minister for Education and Science at An Gum's stand at the Education Show at the RDS. "For a 12-year-old you had an extraordinary interest in politics," he reminded Mr Martin. "We were blessed to have a Fine Gael guy in the class who challenged him about everything," the man who taught the Minister in sixth class in Scoil Chriost Ri in Cork told his entourage of officials. "I wrote, directed and produced my own radio programme with this man," remembered the Minister. "He didn't prepare us for the entrance exam for secondary school, but he was where my political formation began."
Mr Martin was opening the three-day Education Show, which is supported by The Irish Times and all of Cork seemed to be there. On the Sail Chernobyl stand Ms Mimi Doran, who is tracking the Coveney family from Cork as they sail around the world raising money and awareness for Chernobyl, reported: "The website has 1,000 hits a day. They're in the Suez Canal today and their mother, Pauline, has now joined them." Topstudy.com is a brand new Cork company which started yesterday to provide online tutorials and examination papers from the past 10 years for second-level students. Geometry is the first subject, Mr John Prendergast and Mr Tom Raftery explained to the Minister.
Mr Martin was delighted to renew acquaintance with Mr Stuart Lawler, the first blind person to complete a B. Mus degree at UCC, with Department of Education assistance.
"I now work for Jackson Technology, a company doing work for the blind and partially-sighted. We give access to Windows, the Internet, scanning and reading software for people who are blind," he explained.
In the Siemens' Computer Gym - there are now five mobile computer training vehicles travelling to schools North and South - the Minister met Ms Maire Roycroft, principal of St Luke's Primary School in Douglas, Cork.
"Another day off," he joked. Later they both left for St Patrick's Cathedral for the enthronement of the new Bishop of Cork.