Classroom and stage

It was the end of an era last September when Jean Farrell retired from St Mary's Infant School, after almost four decades in the classroom. However it's only just the beginning of a new life for Jean, which will see her continuing her successful writing career, and taking part in the performing arts. Jean has lived in Athlone all her life, being a member of the Coyle family, from the butcher shop and lounge bar in Pearse Street. At the time of Jean's childhood in the late 50s, the family had all their local shopping needs served by Connaught side businesses, such as Butlers on the Square, Patsy Murrays, Broderick's Bakery, and Martin Murrays. "It was only when Dunnes Stores opened in Irishtown, in the early 70s, that Connaught side people crossed the bridge to shop," said Jean. Jean's father and mother, Michael and Angela Coyle originally had a butcher shop opposite the Garda Barracks in Pearse Street, and the family lived around the corner in O'Connell Street. The Coyle family had been butchers in Athlone since the 1600s, because Jean found some headstones in the Abbey graveyard belonging to the Coyle family, which listed some of them as butchers by trade. The butcher shop burned down in a major fire in 1962, and Jean's father decided to build a lounge bar in its place. 'Coyle's Corner' opened in 1963. It was Athlone's first 'singing pub'. There were nine children in the family, and Jean went to boarding school in Moate in the 1960s. Jean's father continued to run the pub until 1989, and he died shortly afterwards. Jean's eldest sister, Sheelagh lives in Mountmellick, and her brother, Eddie, and sister, Ursula still live in Athlone. Her brothers, Greg, Michael and Pearse live in Dublin, as does her sister Mary. Jean lost a brother Paul, in a tragic accident a few years ago. After studying in Carysfort teacher training college, Jean began working in her first school in Finglas West, Dublin, where she remained for three years. "I absolutely loved working in Dublin, and the children I taught had moved from the tenements out to Finglas West, and all their grannies sold fruit on Moore Street," said Jean. In 1975, Jean returned to Athlone to teach at the Bower Girls National School, and two years later she moved to the Fair Green. As the years went by, Jean happily worked with the La Sainte Union Sisters. Sr Jacinta was her first principal, and the last nun Jean worked with in the school with was Sr Maria Hawkes who is working in Haiti today. "I've a great time for the LSU nuns, and I was very impressed with their kindness. Sr Maria is a great inspiration, and I greatly admire her because she has gone to work in Haiti," said Jean. "I loved every minute of my time teaching and I loved all the children in my care. I have great memories of them, and many now are adults with children, and grandchildren of their own." Lay teachers began to have greater roles in St. Mary's NS, as the number of nuns declined and there were three lay principals, Bernie Stapleton, Margaret Naughten and Mary Daly, in recent decades, during Jean's time there. "Many children from other countries came to our school over the last few years, and that was a big change. The curriculum also expanded a lot," said Jean. When I started, there was only English, Irish and Maths, and now there are many new subjects besides those." Jean had married Coosan native, Frank Farrell, and became the mother of three children, Ophelia, Paul and Joan, before she took up her hidden talent of writing. Jean became successful as a writer immediately, and was published in numerous periodicals throughout the 80s, albeit with a pseudonym. "One day when my children were very small I became incensed by a letter in the Irish Times, and they published my reply. Then I entered competitions and won a few, but I hadn't enough confidence to write under my own name, and always wrote under the pseudonym, 'Maeve Farrell'," said Jean. "I wrote a series of articles through children's eyes, and my own children were a great inspiration for those stories." She became a founder member, with Athlone town librarian, Gearoid O'Brien, of Athlone Writers' Group in December 1987. The group enjoyed success and noteworthiness for many years, and had writers of different genres. They published three anthologies based on the members work. The Athlone Tercentenary Festival of 1991 looms large in the memories of most residents of the town, and Jean was specially asked to write a play, for the festival, by another popular group of which she was a member, the Athlone Women's Group. Jean researched what life was like for Athlone women in 1691 and wrote an imagined story on such women, and it was performed on stage in town during the festival. A dream team worked alongside Jean on the project, including producer Evelyn O'Callaghan, Little Theatre actress, Mary Connolly, and many of the women in the group.. Jean was narrator of the show. She went on to write other similar type shows, which were produced by local actor and producer, Ray Collins. They were so successful that she was asked to put on some of these shows in other venues around the midlands, performed by her friends in Athlone Womens Group. "We had great fun during those years, and I hope to have more time to write, now that I have retired. I was delighted when a children's play that I wrote was performed by a professional group as part of the Kilkenny Arts Festival," she said. Many of Jean's influences came from being a reader as a child, and from her mother, Angela, who took part in many debates and dramas with the Irish Countrywomen's Association. Angela Coyle is now happily living in Carrick on Suir, where she is from originally, and she lives close to her three sisters. "My mother has a wonderful way with words, and it's from her that the family get our love of writing," said Jean. "There were nine of us in the house, and we all got a comic each week. We all read each other's comics, from 'Jackie' to 'Jack and Jill', with the Bunty and Judy in between. We read all our brothers comics too, The Hotspur, the Beano and Dandy, the Topper and Beezer. We went from reading the comics to the classics, having joined the children's library, which was located in the basement of The Father Mathew Hall." Jean is also a member of Athlone Little Theatre, and the influence of the stage in her life came from living across the road from the Dean Crowe Hall (known to Jean as St Peter's Hall.) "People from the drama festival used to come to borrow props from our house, including our cat at one time," said Jean laughing. "I only every worked back stage in the Little Theatre, although I played a corpse one time." The play was 'Moonshine' by Red Kettle Theatre founder, Jim Nolan, and the Westmeath Independent in 2003 reviewed Jean's role in the play. "Finally Jean Farrell as Margaret, the corpse, was a sight to behold! There were nervous gasps from the audience, who were stunned at the lifelessness in the actress! A great dead body was played by Jean." - said the review at the time. "Now that I'm retired, I would love to write a one-woman show, and maybe be a stand up comedian," said Jean laughing. "As I live across the road from St. Mary's school I can still see and hear the pupils daily. This I find lovely, and as I have lived in the middle of Athlone town all my life I find the constant hum of people passing by to be very comforting."