News
Marie Meets…….Rory D’Arcy who is saying goodbye to St Oliver’s after 20 years
School has been part of Rory D'Arcy's life since the age of three. As he bids farewell to his teaching career and begins a new career as a Senior National Advisor to Catholic Primary Schools with the Managers Association, our new columnist Marie Carroll-O'Sullivan caught up with him for a chat to find out how he's feeling.
‘Enter to learn & Exit to lead’. What an appropriate sign to greet me as I visited exiting Principal, Rory D’Arcy at a much quieter St Oliver’s National School this week. It was lunch time in Ballycasheen and the Spúnóg take away was on the menu which I enjoyed with Rory as we chatted in the beautiful 20 degree sunshine.
Principal Rory D’Arcy has been attending school since the age of 3. “The 1st Sept 2021 will be the first year I am not in attendance at school in some shape or form. I was an early starter to ‘make up the numbers’ in Sligo Marie. I did my Leaving Cert at the age of 16 and was teaching in Ballyboden in Dublin at the age of 19, in May 1988”.
After almost two decades as Principal at St Olivers NS, Rory will remain working in education as a Senior National Advisor to Catholic Primary Schools with the Managers Association in September 2021, over seeing project work and giving advise on training to many of these 2,800 primary schools in Ireland.
No better man for such a position I thought. An inspirational, innovative man with magical leadership qualities.
As we ate lunch I asked about the outdoor covering in my view, which stretched across an internal play area. It was magnificent. A cream tent like cloth covering complete with equally impressive perimeter bulb lighting. The Shire eat your heart out!! “We got ahead of the pubs on that one Marie. We use it for daily assembly and recently held the 6th Class Graduation here also” Rory explained. That’s Rory all over. Always thinking ahead in thinking of others.
“So what brought you to Kerry” I asked. “Love is a wonderful thing!” Rory laughed. I met my wife Siobhan who is a teacher & Deputy Principal at Barraduff National School. We were both attending St Pat’s together. We spent 11 year in Dublin. Siobhan in Kocklyon and myself between Ballyboden & Tallaght before I took up my four and a half year post at Raheen NS. “Will I meet you at the gate?” I
‘Enter to learn & Exit to lead’. What an appropriate sign to greet me as I visited exiting Principal, Rory D’Arcy at a much quieter St Oliver’s National School this week. It was lunch time in Ballycasheen and the Spúnóg take away was on the menu which I enjoyed with Rory as we chatted in the beautiful 20 degree sunshine. Principal Rory D’Arcy has been attending school since the age of 3. “The 1st Sept 2021 will be the first year I am not in attendance at school in some shape or form. I was an early starter to ‘make up the numbers’ in Sligo Marie. I did my Leaving Cert at the age of 16 and was teaching in Ballyboden in Dublin at the age of 19, in May 1988”. After almost two decades as Principal at St Olivers NS, Rory will remain working in education as a Senior National Advisor to Catholic Primary Schools with the Managers Association in September 2021, over seeing project work and giving advise on training to many of these 2,800 primary schools in Ireland. No better man for such a position I thought. An inspirational, innovative man with magical leadership qualities. As we ate lunch I asked about the outdoor covering in my view, which stretched across an internal play area. It was magnificent. A cream tent like cloth covering complete with equally impressive perimeter bulb lighting. The Shire eat your heart out!! “We got ahead of the pubs on that one Marie. We use it for daily assembly and recently held the 6th Class Graduation here also” Rory explained. That’s Rory all over. Always thinking ahead in thinking of others. “So what brought you to Kerry” I asked. “Love is a wonderful thing!” Rory laughed. I met my wife Siobhan who is a teacher & Deputy Principal at Barraduff National School. We were both attending St Pat’s together. We spent 11 year in Dublin. Siobhan in Kocklyon and myself between Ballyboden & Tallaght before I took up my four and a half year post at Raheen NS. “Will I meet you at the gate?” I
"Enter to learn and exit to lead" - what an appropriate sign to greet me as I visited exiting Principal Rory D’Arcy at a much quieter St Oliver’s National School this week.
It was lunch time in Ballycasheen and the Spúnóg Take Away was on the menu which I enjoyed with Rory as we chatted in the beautiful 20 degree sunshine.
Rory has been attending school since the age of three.
“September 1, 2021 will be the first year I am not in attendance at school in some shape or form. I was an early starter to ‘make up the numbers’ in Sligo. I did my Leaving Cert at the age of 16 and was teaching in Ballyboden in Dublin at the age of 19, in May 1988.”
After almost two decades as Principal at St Olivers NS, Rory will remain working in education as a Senior National Advisor to Catholic Primary Schools with the Managers Association this coming September, overseeing project work and giving advice on training to many of these 2,800 primary schools in Ireland.
No better man for such a position I thought. An inspirational, innovative man with magical leadership qualities.
As we ate lunch I asked about the outdoor covering in my view, which stretched across an internal play area. It was magnificent. A cream tent like cloth covering complete with equally impressive perimeter bulb lighting. “We got ahead of the pubs on that one Marie. We use it for daily assembly and recently held the Sixth Class graduation here also,” Rory explained.
That’s Rory all over. Always thinking ahead.
A KILLARNEY CAREER
“So what brought you to Kerry,” I asked. “Love is a wonderful thing!” Rory laughed. "I met my wife Siobhan who is a teacher and Deputy Principal at Barraduff National School. We were both attending St Pat’s together. We spent 11 years in Dublin, Siobhan in Knocklyon and myself between Ballyboden and Tallaght before I took up my four and a half year post at Raheen NS.
“Will I meet you at the gate?” I remember Principal Brendan Walsh (RIP) asking me as I arrived at the gates of St Oliver's.
"Not at all I said to Brendan. I remember that first day so well and the butterflies I had at the size of the school and my new position. I then thought to myself how it must feel for a little child entering the gates on their first day. In my opinion one of the most important things is a welcome, no matter what industry you work in. My aim was to welcome every child no matter what, even if they broke your heart the day before,” Rory laughed. “I think it’s so important.”
FROM PUPILS TO STAFF
I thought to myself the number of welcomes Rory gives daily and asked how many pupils are in attendance at St Oliver's.
“When I arrived at St Oliver's there were 410 students and today we have 680. We help more children with additional needs than any other school in the country, some of which travel the Ring of Kerry to school daily. We have 60 teachers and 26 SNAs and would you believe some of our teachers today were pupils during my term as principal too - Aoife O’Carroll, Gavin O’Shea, Amy O’Shea and Gemma O’Mahoney to name a few.”
“And how many nationalities attend St Oliver’s,” I asked.
"One” Rory replied. I loved that answer and I knew exactly what he meant. “All the children at St Oliver’s NS are Irish Marie. We have a colour coded system here - light blue and dark blue - the colours of our uniform, and red and yellow. You will get green if you mix blue and yellow and you will get orange if you mix yellow and red. Together with white they are the colours of the Irish flag. I remember one little girl who arrived at school in the most beautiful Bangladeshi clothing. I admired her appearance and asked her where she was from to which she replied "I am from Pinewood". There’s your answer Marie. As John Hume said "difference is an accident of birth". We are proud to say that we have many Irish speaking awards from Conradh na Gaeilge.”
I later noticed the rock over Rory’s shoulder which reads St Oliver's in Ogham script, a medieval alphabet used to write the early Irish language.
To conclude we needed a photo to go with my chat with Rory so we took a walk around the back of the school. Another forward thinking COVID friendly classroom, 'The Spooky Garden'. It was so impressive (but way too dark for photography sorry!), another amazing outdoor classroom option within the existing forest grounds, complete with actual tree stumps as seats for each child.
LIFE AT ST OLIVER'S
“Rory, before I put down the pen and paper, can you describe your time at St Oliver's in five words for me?"
Off the cuff he wasn’t phased one bit.
“Big, diverse, fun, busy and happy,” Rory replied. “Diversity breaks down immeasurable barriers and I think St Oliver’s is reflected in Killarney town. It’s a ‘can do’ town. Did you know that the Racecourse, the Town Hall and the Golf Club were all built in the 1930s, and look at how Killarney has adapted so well to COVID-19 with outdoor dining. Killarney is an amazing town of innovation.
As we chatted and snapped Rory explained to me how the Sixth Class pupils Callista, Mark, Nell and William were involved in a programme called CRAG (Children’s Research Advisory Group) with architect and parent Mary O’Connell of MRG, together with teacher Ciaran O Muircheartaigh and Rory himself in the design of two new classrooms to replace two existing prefabs. I was so impressed with this. It reminded me of that Benjamin Franklin quote "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember and involve me and I will learn”. So true.
ONE LAST QUESTION
Photoshoot over I had one last question for Rory; “What will you miss the most about St Oliver's NS?"
“The team. The team at St Oliver's are everything. They are exceptional people to work with Marie. I could not have asked for better over my 19 years here. I have been very blessed to be Principal at such a beautiful school in an equally beautiful town. Yes there were hard times too, but the happy memories that lie here outweigh those by far. Change is good and I really hope I will be as happy in my new position as I have been at St Oliver's.”
All the very best in your future career and thank you for having me at St Oliver’s NS Rory.
New summer film festival launches at Anam Centre
A new summer film festival has been launched at the Anam Cultural Centre in Killarney, featuring a series of works by local filmmaker Charlie O’Brien. The week-long event, titled Anam Echoes, runs from Sunday July 12 to Friday July 17.
The programme brings together documentaries, traditional music, and guest conversations, with a recurring thread of Irish connections to Latin America running through the week.
The festival opens on July 12 and July 13 with a screening of The Green Fields of Cuba, followed by a live concert with Argentine uilleann piper Pamela Schweblin. On July 14, the venue will screen The Trackless Wild, Song of a Wandering Tip, a documentary exploring the legacy of a 19th-century Irish ballad writer in Argentina, followed by a director’s Q&A.
On July 15, doors open at 8:30pm for a short portrait of the late fiddle player Eamon Flynn titled A Trip to Mountcollins, which will be followed by a traditional music session with Tim Browne and Charlie O’Brien. Musicians gain free entry to this session.
On July 16, in collaboration with the Kerry International Film Festival, there will be a screening of The Killarney Echo alongside a panel discussion on film production, costume, and sound with costume supervisor Ciara O’Connor, sound engineer Tony O’Flaherty, and Charlie O’Brien.
The series concludes on July 17 with A Captain Unafraid, a film charting the life of 19th-century sailor and rebel Johnny O’Brien, followed by a final director’s Q&A.
Doors open at 7:30pm each night, and tickets can be booked at charlieobrien.net/anam-echoes-film-series.
Felicity’s Summer in Killarney — Chapter 3
A new weekly series from Killarney Advertiser’s Jess Jukes
Jess Jukes, a member of the advertising department at the Killarney Advertiser, is also a budding writer. Each week, we will bring you her serialized novella following the adventures of Felicity’s summer in Killarney.
Felicity messaged Jack the following morning.
Hi, I hope you’re feeling better. I heard there was a woman with a new ice cream truck up in Tiernaboul. Do you want to go get your Dad’s ice cream truck back?
She made her toast and sat. Jack messaged back before she had finished her tea.
I’ll meet you at Daly’s, we can walk up together.
Felicity set out for the shop not long after. A dreary sky hung above her, a complete contrast to the day before. It wasn’t long before Jack came around the corner. He was no longer in his ice cream uniform, but in casual jeans and a flannel. He parked his bicycle and leant against the wall next to her.
“What’s this about my Da’s truck being up Tiernaboul?”
Felicity pushed off the wall. “I’ll tell you on our way up.” She told him everything. Jack mentioned how his Da had been quiet and sad when he and Auntie Sheila called to tell him about truck being stolen. He had been subdued still when he had picked Jack up and they went to the garda station to report the theft.
The two trailed through each and every estate, looking for the distinctive bright colours of the ice cream truck. They had been walking for a good half hour when they finally found it.
Jack came to a stop. “Well, you were right about the truck … but why did the woman steal it in the first place?”
That was the question. “Come on, let’s go round the corner and call the gardaí before anyone realises they’ve left the keys outside.”
Felicity and Jack backtracked quickly, and Felicity called in an anonymous tip to the garda station. She put on a nasally voice, saying, “I saw an ice cream truck parked in the driveway of my neighbour, and now I know her I do, and she doesn’t own an ice cream truck. She doesn’t have any permit for that, and I don’t want her trawling up and down the street at all hours trying to sell merchandise without a licence.”
She continued her ramble until the poor sergeant on the other end of the phone sighed in resignation. He promised to send somebody up to investigate and Felicity hung up, triumphant.
Jack was almost crying with laugher. “Jeez Felicity, you should audition for the Four Esquires.”
It wasn’t long before she joined in his laughter. When they heard the garda car approaching, Felicity and Jack watched until the garda knocked on the door of the house. Only then they started back towards home, assured that the truck would be recognised.
Celebration
Sure enough, Jack’s Da Trevor had been delighted to get his ice cream truck back. He had been thankful to Auntie Sheila and Felicity for helping Jack when the truck was first stolen, and insisted on going out for a meal to celebrate its swift return.
The group found themselves in The Laurels, food in front of them, laughter and drinks flowing. Auntie Sheila was discussing the upcoming festival over the weekend with Jack’s mother, and Trevor was telling Jack the story of how he first brought his ice cream truck for what must be the millionth time.
Felicity found herself watching on with a content feeling. Not much better than a full stomach and good company.
As she was looking around the bar lazily, the girl paused. On the wall there was a framed Killarney Advertiser clipping. She got up and wandered over to for a better look.
There was an old man sitting at the bar underneath the clipping, a pint in hand. “You see the group that went up Carrauntoohil for charity last month? The lady in the middle, the one in yellow, she’s the daughter of the fella behind the bar.”
Depicted next to the article was in fact a group photograph full of people. ‘Walking Society Supports Charity atop Our Tallest Peak’ was splayed across the paper in bold lettering.
“Hm .. I’ve never seen it, Carrauntoohil.”
The man barked a laugh. “Course you have! You’re looking at the ‘Reeks all the time, aren’t ya lass? Nearly everything over the lake are the Reeks.”
Felicity turned towards him fully. “People go up it often then?”
The old man laughed again. “Nearly every day I’d wager. People go up in the sun and the rain, even when they shouldn’t. You know …” he leaned in closer as if to share a secret, “people die, up on that there mountain, every year. You gotta respect the mountains. They were here before we were, and they’ll be here long after we’re gone.” He coughed, and took a sip of his pint.
They spoke idly about the good food and the live musicians that were setting up. As the first notes of music began to waft on the air, Felicity bid the old man farewell and returned to her party.
Auntie Sheila moved over to free up Felicity’s seat again as she returned. “You met Seamus then?” she giggled, tipsy. “ He’s a dote, no one sweeter, I swear. You know, he’s been a regular in this bar ever since your mother and I were your age. Hasn’t changed a bit.” She hiccupped, and both Sheila and Jack’s mother started giggling.
Felicity ignored the women, now leaning on each other and saying things in funny voices whilst Trevor looked on with a smile on his face.
“Jack?” she asked conspiratorially. He turned to her, humming to show she had his attention. “Do you like mountains?”
Tune in next week to see what happens next
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