AFTER an incredible 34 years of service, St Mary’s Brookeborough has bid a fond farewell to one of its most dedicated and beloved figures.
The school has been celebrating the remarkable career of principal Sheila Mullin, who has touched the lives of countless students, colleagues and families.
Originally from Clogher, Sheila started in Brookeborough as a teacher, fresh out of college, in September 1991. Sheila progressed to acting principal before spending her last three years in the school as principal.
“It really has been great, very busy. I have great staff here and great community support. I have to say everybody got behind me, between football clubs, development associations, the woman’s group, and the church. We had a very successful combination between the whole lot of us so it has been a very positive three years,” Ms Mullin told the ‘Herald.
“A standout memory is when we won the Best School in Fermanagh Award in my first year as principal and then I had been nominated for an individual principal award as well that year, so that was very successful in my first year,” she said.
Extraordinary journey
Sheila’s journey through St Mary’s Brookeborough has been nothing short of extraordinary, with her even teaching three generations.
“I have made a lot of memories, a lot of friendships, great work colleagues over the years, many of whom I am still very friendly with. I have had a brilliant send off by the community. They had a Mass, the football club came in and presented me a jersey with number 34 on the back,” said Ms Mullin.
“I have a huge interest in outdoor learning and developing the whole outside area. We got our green flag status for the first time a couple of weeks ago and my first love has always been the teaching and I have been down in P1 and P2 for the last 29 years.”
Sheila takes pride in the shared education work that has taken place in the school in her time.
“We are a big shared education school here. We have a fantastic partnership with Brookeborough CPS, and that has been going on my whole 34 years in Brookeborough. We are still in line for a shared campus in the Brookeborough area, it is in business case stage still with the Department of Finance,” she said.
Sheila thanked everybody who has supported her over the 34 years.
“I would really love to thank the staff because of their support. It is a tough job, the paper work is phenomenal. The staff and the community have been fabulous, and the family have put up with a lot, a lot of late nights here.”