| |
A Tribute to Tony Behan
‘Cometh the hour … cometh the man’
I have vivid memories of the meetings in the very small office in Mother McAuley home that first summer when Tony came among us to set up the new school. We (that is Kathleen Rice, Tony and myself) discussed and debated over policies and procedures and staffing – a whole new world of possibilities that was to become Mercy Mounthawk … and all the while we did not know if the school would be ready to move into!
Tony had come to us with one year as acting Principal in Presentation Listowel and four years as Principal in St. Brendan’s Killarney under his belt; vital experience for the daunting amalgamation he had undertaken. Tony was to take on the baton from Sr. Assumpta and Sr. Bernadette and become the first Mercy lay Principal at second level in Tralee. It was to be his role to establish a school in Mercy Mounthawk that would give life to the holistic tradition of Mother McAuley for the 21st century. It would be an understatement to say that it was his dedication, his extraordinary work rate, his determination in the face of obstacles, his capacity to hold his nerve and his sheer spirit of hope and optimism that saw to it that there was a building, with furniture in it, to move into that September. It surely must have been with a similar spirit that he climbed Kilimanjaro in 1983 or took a bus trip from Tralee to Moscow in the middle of the Cold War; it was hardly any more of a challenge! In that small office, that summer, we came to know that this was the man who could set Mercy Mounthawk on the road to becoming the fine school it has become in only 7 years.
But it was not until he got into his equally small office in Mounthawk (recently upgraded to a passageway with filing cabinets!) that the real work got underway. To off-quote the Bard, ‘a principal in his time plays many parts’ and indeed Tony was well equipped to play them all from his upbringing in North Kerry.
Nurtured in the townland of Abbeydorney, Tony has a strong sense of place – he is of North Kerry – the place of hurling and football and drama and ‘John B.’ and colourful north-kerry-isms! And it was with gusto (and plentiful north-kerry-isms!) that he set out to create a school that would provide a holistic, well-rounded education for his own county men and women and embody his vision of what a 21st century school should be.
A central aspect of that vision was a strong sense of community and team spirit, no doubt born out of his life experience, whether it was directing the Abbeydorney drama group in productions of ‘Big Maggie’ or the ‘Plough and the Stars’, winning, with his county, an all Ireland Minor Medal in 1963 or captaining Abbeydorney to a County Championship title in 1974. He has often said that ‘sport teaches you team spirit’, it teaches you to ‘never give up’. ‘You learn more on a sports field and on a stage than in a classroom’ and out of that belief, Tony has shaped Mercy Mounthawk. It is no co-incidence that he has emphasised the centrality of sport and extra-curricular activity to the experience of students in Mounthawk. He introduced musicals to Mounthawk after having directed 12 of them over the years in Listowel. He has encouraged drama in the school and debating and public speaking, having won All Ireland competitions in both during his time as a teacher. His encouragement has created a dynamic programme of activities that has enriched the educational experience in Mounthawk and that complements the classroom for all those students who choose to participate. He has established a school that is alive and dynamic and vital – in a real sense, a Mercy school for the new millennium.
Indeed, that sense of team spirit permeated his leadership style. His was a democratic leadership that encouraged initiative and supported teachers and management to take responsibility and run with ideas. He always supported Marie O’Connor and me in our respective roles in discipline and curriculum. Tony has no time for ‘blame’, he is always more concerned with making it work and finding the fix. His is a positive and affirming leadership that grows responsibility and accountability. Those of us who were lucky to work closely with him will for ever be marked by his positive optimism and unerring belief in what is affirming in the human sprit. Tony was open to possibilities and suggestions and ideas. For me the symbol of his principalship must be his open office door.
He was a Principal who was present. He was there in his office well after the rest of us had gone home. He was there equally for the student who needed a locker opened, the parent who had worries over a child, and the teacher who needed to consult. Indeed it was not uncommon that his holidays with Mary Frances and the family would be punctuated by phone calls about the timetable or some other issue. His support and concern and practical help were always available to those who asked. His generosity, humanity and somewhat irreverent sense of humour were uplifting.
Nor did the summers roofing houses with Tony Lyons and John O’Donnell go to waste, for he was never happier (than when bolting through the open door) to truck around with John O’Halloran or Buddy wondering how best to set up the gym for exams, tinkering with the broken locks on the prefab doors or contemplating the possibilities for the lay out of the football pitches.
The builder must now be very satisfied with the excellent condition in which he hands over Mercy Mounthawk. A dedicated english and history teacher, he can be proud of having established a school that looks after the needs of all its students, from the less able to the academically gifted, and that strives for success for each one of them. The sportsman can be proud of the fantastic sports facilities he has inaugurated in playing fields and dressing rooms and more importantly the fine sporting tradition he has nurtured. The dramatist can look back in satisfaction on 3 superb musicals and the seeds of a tradition carefully sown. The Principal can retire knowing that he leaves behind a team of teachers whom he has empowered to continue the good work of education in North Kerry and inspired to standards of excellence. Tony, our colleague and friend, can move on to greater things knowing that there will always be a welcome for him here in Mounthawk for we will miss him from among us. The family man can, hopefully, look forward to uninterrupted summer holidays on the continent!
Can we help but notice a trend? Just as Tony came to us as we began our enterprise in Mounthawk, he now moves on to work with CEIST as it establishes itself on the national stage. We wish you well in this new endeavour and look forward to working with you in your new role. We can surely say again: ‘Cometh the hour … cometh the man’?
John O’Roarke |
|
