IT has often been said that the ‘influence of a great principal can never be erased’ and that’s certainly the case for local man Eugene Dolan.
After moving to St Mary’s, Killesher as a boy back in 1970, little did young Eugene know that he would one day spend the best part of his professional career at the very same school.
Having bid farewell as principal of St Mary’s earlier this year, the Herald spoke with the Marlbank native about the changes that this new school term has brought compared to others.
“It takes a bit of getting used to after 34 years of going to work on the first day of September, but retirement is a nice place to be in and I’ve had a very fulfilling career,” he said.
“I first came to St Mary’s, Killesher in 1970 along with my five brothers and sisters and my mother who taught at the school. I qualified in 1986 and then in 1987 I was very lucky to be given a full-time post.
“From 1987 to 1990 I taught alongside my late mother mother before she retired, then in 2002 Brendan Corrigan retired and I became principal for 19 years.”
While picking out only one highlight from his career proved a challenge, Eugene revealed that becoming principal in 2002 was a special moment for him.
“I was relatively young at the time. I had deep roots with the school and I knew most of the children, their parents and in quite a few cases their grandparents so it was a very natural progression.”
To read more on this story see this week’s Fermanagh Herald. Can’t get to the shop to collect your copy? No problem! You can download a copy straight to your device by following this link https://bit.ly/3gOl8G0
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