Autobiography 9: Wasp!

There was a teacher in the college named Tomás Ó Murchú, who was originally from Cork. He dressed in colorful costumes and I saw him wearing a red and white striped sweater. Although 'Spud' was the nickname usually given to anyone with the surname Ó Murchú, Tomás got a new nickname thanks to that choice of clothes. This misfortunate man was christened 'Wasp'. He taught us Irish in the first year and without a doubt he had excellent Irish. We found out how appropriate his nickname was before long. Thankfully, Wasp didn't use the cane. Unfortunately, however, he didn't have to use it, as he had a far more damaging punishment – cuts! A single cut from the Wasp cut deeper than a handful of blows from the cane. Isn't that nickname Wasp cruelly ironic, with an evil sting more hurtful than any cane in the world! Wasp only wanted to maintain control over his class, and he had no intention of hurting anyone. We understood that, and were able to aswer his questions without any fear of retaliation. So, it was always a type of game, and without a doubt, you would have to have a sharp mind to get the upper hand against Wasp.

One of us

Wasp was one of us, as he was not much older than the fifth year students. He didn't use the cane either. And he also had a great sense of humor. We were learning Irish, unbeknownst to ourselves, because we used to have fun with Wasp all the time, and we weren't afraid of being beaten. To us, he didn't seem like a teacher, but like a friend. That style was very powerful, in my opinion. Although we were afraid to ask the other teachers questions, or to challenge them in any way, it was not like that with Wasp. We were able to debate with him, without fear or favor. That gave us confidence that we and our ideas had value, and that we didn't have to accept everything without question. Wasp was on our side! He was able to understand us! So, we had a special bond with this unconventional teacher. And we really respected him, and we listened to him and learned from him! Whatever he had to say seemed cool. Looking back, I see that he had a special talent, because he was a kind of mediator, between us and the authorities, between us and the world!

Persona non Grata

I felt like I was a 'persona non grata' or an invisible person. Although I really liked hurling and especially the skills involved in keeping control of the ball, at the same time I was a weakling. I came near death when I was stricken with pneumonia when I was only five years old, and I did not recover until I was an adult. It was not easy to integrate with the community of that school, especially when you had no hurling skills. Your hurling skills were your social currency at Coláiste Chiaráin, and I didn't even have a cent. It was hard to have self-confidence in a situation like that.

Saviour

Wasp recognized that there were a lot of us who didn't want or couldn't get involved in hurling, and decided to do something about it. He used his free time to teach chess, and put together a group to play chess games. Chess came easily to us, and gave an extra-curricular purpose to us who didn’t have the likes before. Wasp was a savior to us who didn’t play hurling. It was a pioneering approach, without question, because such extracurricular activities were not usually available in secondary schools in Ireland at the time. That chess club gave me a lot of confidence in myself, and even though I played hurling with difficulty, the same could not be said about me in relation to chess.

Passed on

I was sad when I read in 2021 the report of his death, written by another former Irish teacher, Micheál Ó Diarmada. Micheál recognized many exceptional qualities of Tomás Ó Murchú, and I learned that Tomás himself never stopped learning. He got a diploma in German in the eighties. After that, he spent a summer with his family in Germany traveling and practicing the language. Finally, he started teaching German at school. He was naturally enterprising, without a doubt. I will never ever forget Wasp, and I will be forever in debt to this pioneering teacher, and especially for what he did for me as regards developing my self-confidence.

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