Micheal “Mike” Johnston, who has died aged 89, was the son of writer and broadcaster Denis Johnston and Shelah Richards, actor and theatre director, and brother of novelist Jennifer Johnston.
Micheal, who was born on October 29th, 1935, died on October 4th.
He attended secondary school in England and went to Cambridge University in the 1950s where he became interested in rowing.
When he returned to Ireland in the early 1960s, he became a strong supporter of the sport in Ireland, coaching at a number of Irish clubs. He was secretary and subsequently president of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union (later Rowing Ireland) in the 1970s.
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He was an umpire at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 and in Barcelona in 1992 and was regularly a steward at the annual Henley Royal Regatta. In 1992, he wrote the definitive history of the senior eights championships, The Big Pot.
Micheal was appointed as one of the first television producer-directors with RTÉ when the television station opened in 1960, covering sport as well as other areas until his retirement. He became interested in education in the early 1970s, completing a higher diploma in education in Trinity College in 1974. At around the same time he became a strong proponent of multi-denominational education.
The Church of Ireland school that his children attended, St Patrick’s NS Dalkey, initially welcomed and included pupils of all religions and none, but when demand began to exceed the space available in the school, the rector, supported by the then minister for education, decided to prioritise the enrolment of Protestant children.
Micheal led the campaign to set up a new type of national school, called Educate Together, where no child would be an outsider. It was a difficult challenge, the movement was opposed by church and State. But Micheal’s leadership and unwavering determination were central to its success.
The Dalkey School Project NS, the first Educate Together school, opened in 1978. Today there are 118 Educate Together schools, 97 primary and 21 second-level, attended by more than 41,000 students.
Michael served as chair of the national Educate Together organisation after it was established in 1984 and remained an active member of the movement throughout its life. He also served as chair of Newpark Comprehensive School in the 1990s.
Micheal was a true pioneer whose enthusiasm and love of life were infectious. Until his last decade he was a year-round swimmer in the Forty-Foot, near his home in Sandycove. His kindness and graciousness and the values that he lived by were examples to all.
In 2011, Trinity College Dublin conferred an honorary doctorate on Micheal in recognition of his contribution to Irish education.
Micheal was above all a family man. He is survived by Pat and his children, Brigid, Becky, Anna and Josh and to his grandchildren and extended family. Sadly, his son Luke predeceased him in 2015.
At his own request, Micheal’s body has been donated to the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland for medical research.
AH
