This article is from page 32 of the 2007-05-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 32 JPG
AFTER 34 years as principal of St Anne’s School in Ennis, Mary Han- rahan is retiring from her post.
She has marked her departure by raising €5,000 for Cahercalla Hos- pice and a nursery in Rio de Janeiro.
Mary raised the money at an event she organised shortly before Christ- mas 2006. As a teacher Mary has al- ways encouraged her students to take a keen interest in humanitarian issues affecting third world countries.
Every year students raise money for different aid projects in countries around the world.
St Anne’s has also played host to a number of renowned speakers in- cluding Fergal Keane. The respected
Irish journalist talked to the students about his experiences reporting for the BBC.
Mary’s own interest in aid work stemmed from meeting Terrence Gallagher, an assessor with the UN who has worked with the organiza- tion in some of the world’s poorest areas.
Mary says “I’ve been lucky. I’ve been able to travel to places like Peru and Chile. The children have helped raise money for some of the projects Terrence has worked on”.
A vastly experienced teacher, Mary has worked in schools in Ireland, England and Canada.
For a time Mary taught at Hollies comprehensive school in Manchester where she counted among her pupils
the children of football legends Matt Busby and Bobby Charlton.
She says she enjoyed immensely working in St Anne’s and is happy at how the school has continued to develop as a centre of learning.
Located on St Senans road St Anne’s School is a_ progressively modern primary and_ secondary School that specialises in providing programmes designed to cater for students with learning difficulties ranging in ages from 4 to 18.
The school emphasizes that each student should have a well-balanced education along with an appreciation of self and others. The school’s motto is “To Be All That You Can Be”.
Mary says, “I’d say I’ve missed about five days in around 40 years.
I’m looking forward to the rest of my life. There are a lot of things I would have liked to have done bet- ter, but you can’t roll back the clock. I have always believed that school should be about continuous learning. It gives students dignity and purpose hebben