End of an era as teachers’ teacher departs Galway Education Centre

The transformation of the Irish education system over the past 20 years has been nothing short of remarkable. Where maths, technology and science were once an afterthought, they are now to the fore in what has become a truly twenty-first century curriculum.

And one man who has had more of an influence on that than he is willing to admit is the outgoing Director of Galway Education Centre, Bernard Kirk.

Bernard has been at the epicentre of education in Galway, and further afield, for more than two decades and having reached the end of his term as director, the man described by colleagues as a “driving force” in the modernisation of education is adamant his work will continue.

Having trained as a teacher in the 1980s, Bernard was seconded from his job in Claregalway National School to head-up a new education centre – focussed on continuous professional development for teachers.

But as Bernard explains, it became about so much more than that.

“The initial phase was about getting investment in teacher training and it became almost like a support group for teachers.

“We had national in-service training from the Department of Education, from the top if you like, but then we also had training coming from the grassroots – coming from teachers’ experiences.

“Then we created links with industry – bringing in science and technology into the curriculum became a real focus for us,” explains Bernard.

Galway Science and Technology Festival, Africa Code Week, Refugee Code Week, Robotics Ireland, Write a Book Project and ExcitED are just some of the projects that Bernard’s name is synonymous with.

For Bernard, it has always been most important to put the student at the centre of everything – adapting the curriculum to suit their particular needs.

“You need teachers to be a guide on the side rather than a font of all knowledge.

“In the last few years, there has been a move from exam focus to looking at the skills we teach children,” he says.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.