My former Irish Teacher

Fógra: Beidh Micheál Ó’Diarmada ag tabhairt léachta ar an 16 Márta ag 7:30 p.m. i dteach tábhairne Bollards i gCill Chainnigh. Beidh sé ag díriú ar na focail Gaeilge a bhí coitianta sa Bhéarla agus é ag fás aníos. Beidh sé ag caint freisin ar an gcanúint dhifriúil sa chontae. Déanfaidh sé tabhairt freisin do chúpla amhrán Gaeilge a bhain le Cill Chainnigh agus a logainmneacha. Beidh an oíche idir shiamsúil agus fhaisnéiseach.

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I had no idea at the time, but my former Irish teacher, Micheál Ó'Diarmada, would have a profound and lasting influence on me.

Every Irish teacher in Coláiste Chiaráin, including Micheál Ó’Diarmada, had a high standard of Irish. Micheál was my teacher in my fourth and fifth years at school, up to the Leaving Certificate.

Micheál was a lively young man at the time. Because he was so young, he was able to understand his students well. Also, he was one of the lads, as far as we were concerned. Why? He broke the division between teacher and student, which was not often seen, especially at that time, in the seventies in Ireland. Most teachers in the country had an authoritative style, enforced with the rod! The rod set a hard boundary between the teacher and the students in their class. And that damaged the relationship between them.

Micheál never used the rod. He never punished us in any way. Many teachers used the cane as a crutch and relied on it to maintain discipline in the class, and to pressure us to do homework. But here’s the magic and even strange thing - Micheál didn’t assert control over us! He didn’t pressure us to do homework, either. He didn’t need to because he trusted us and we trusted him! It’s that simple, yet powerful.

Today, students can ask questions of the teacher and have a conversation with him, without restraint. But back then, the teacher had all the power, and a student couldn’t speak without first raising their hand to get the teacher’s permission. Micheál was a progressive teacher, and he was ahead of his time in terms of teaching practice. He had a friendly and inclusive approach, and as a result there was a relaxed atmosphere in the class, where we were more open and it was easier for us to learn new things. We never felt threatened by Micheál.

Micheál had a very direct sense of humor, which strengthened the bond between us in class. There was a book on the curriculum – Tóruigheacht Diarmada agus Ghráinne – that was not easy to read or understand. Normally, reading that book and discussing it in class would have been painful. But it wasn’t like that for us – quite the opposite. Micheál focused on the story itself, its plot and characters, and then he drew us into the discussion. He told us jokes, at the same time as he was explaining a grammatical point or the meaning of a word. He also asked us tough questions, which we couldn’t answer without understanding the subject. We also asked Micheál questions, first to understand the material at hand, and then to answer his questions. We were conversing naturally in Irish with each other and with Micheál during class while learning the spoken language at the same time. Remember that there was no emphasis on the spoken language at that time, and Irish was often taught as if it were a dead language. We were keen to learn Irish, both spoken and written, as it was always an enjoyable experience. It is no wonder, then, that we – Micheál’s students – did not have many difficulties with the Irish exam in the Leaving Certificate. On behalf of every student who was lucky enough to have Micheál as a teacher, myself included – a special thank you, Micheál!