Galway teacher appointed to Teaching Council

Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn recently appointed 37 members to the Teaching Council, including a member with Galway connections, Bríd Ní Raghallaigh.

The appointees, including 16 elected teachers, will act as non-executive directors of the council over their four-year term of office. The council is the regulatory body for teaching in Ireland, which sets and maintains professional standards in teaching at primary and post-primary level, and within specific areas of the further education sector.

Bríd Ní Raghallaigh was elected to council in the Connacht/Ulster constituency. She teaches in St Brendan's BNS Loughrea. She is a native of Moycullen and currently lives in Ballinalsoe. She is a fluent Irish speaker and is closely involved with the promotion of Irish including being active in Conradh na Gaeilge and writing and producing Irish plays. 

She was the secretary of the East Galway branch of the Irish Learning Support Association and organised summer courses and workshops in the area of special needs and in particular IT for teachers.

A graduate of St Patrick’s College in Drumcondra, Bríd went on to study in NUI Galway where she graduated with a LLB and a Masters in Public Law. She aims to promote the relevancy of the council and to work to ensure that educational policy is developed with its practical application in mind. She hopes that the council will be strong in protecting the teaching profession and will work closely with the wealth of experience and expertise in schools.

Speaking at the appointment of members, Minister Quinn said that teachers play a unique, valuable and trusted role in society.

“It is therefore vital for the students in the classroom, for society in general, and for the profession itself that standards are safeguarded and regulated and I commend the Council for its many notable achievements to date.

“In particular, I welcome the establishment of the first register of teachers in the State and regulations governing entry to the profession, the publication of Codes of Professional Conduct for Teachers, and the council’s work in driving the development of redesigned and extended programmes of initial teacher education, as part of its important accreditation role. I wish the new council well during its term of office as it continues to build on those achievements and I would like to assure it of my continued support in the years ahead,” he said.