Renowned teacher retires after 43 years at Marist College

To spend 43 years teaching in a school is a rare achievement and one John Parker never imagined when he took charge of his first class in Athlone's Marist College back in 1977.

A teacher of Maths and Accounting, John (pictured above) recalls his first staff meeting, at which a colleague mentioned that he'd been at the school for twelve years.

"I remember thinking to myself, 'I'll never say that I'm here for twelve years'. But 43 years later I was still there!

"I enjoyed the life there, and I was involved in (coaching) gaelic football outside of school. The job had all that I wanted. It was, genuinely, a good school in which to work."

The Tubberclair man has just retired from teaching and was taken aback by the number of tributes and well-wishes he received from past pupils and the wider school community in recent weeks.

"I was actually stunned by the number of messages I got from people who I thought had forgotten me! That was very nice," he says.

John's family connections with the Marist College haven't ended with his retirement.

His wife, Joan, is the school secretary, and one of their sons, David, has just started teaching there. Coincidentally, David is teaching the same two subjects his father taught with such distinction.

Before he was a teacher, John was a student in the Marist and this made the transition onto the staff feel slightly strange at first.

"I was teaching with a lot of teachers who had taught me, so it took me some time to stop calling them 'Sir'!

"I had a lot of respect for the teachers who taught me. There were some great people there, particularly Brother Philip in Maths, Con Ellis in English, Ray Linnane in History, and others as well.

"Brother Gerald was principal for 30 years during my time there. He became principal the year after I started and he did great work in the school.

"I was lucky enough to come into a school that had a great tradition in teaching, particularly in Maths. That tradition was there, built up by Brother Philip, and it has continued on."

John played gaelic football with Tubberclair, winning junior, intermediate and senior honours with his club, and this interest in the sport carried over into coaching involvement at the school.

Over the decades the Marist's reputation for gaelic football has strengthened.

"We've been one of the main contenders in Leinster for the last 30 years, I suppose. Particularly in recent years our success rate has improved, with a lot of work from the likes of Paul Kelly, Fergal Wilson, and Eoin Jordan. They've brought it to another level."

Sport, he points out, can be beneficial in building character.

"You get to know lads at a different level, outside the classroom, and they become great friends as well. You build up a great relationship with them and that helps in the classroom. It adds a great balance to things."

Over the years, John has been fortunate to work with many outstanding young footballers at the school.

"There are many who would have stood out. You had the likes of Karol Mannion, Brian Stack, and Eddie Nolan from Roscommon. A number of past pupils who played with St Brigid's in their recent county final are going to have huge futures as well.

"In Offaly, we had Ciaran McManus, a past pupil of the school who is also a nephew of mine. He played at all levels and played Australian Rules for a number of years.

"In Westmeath, we had quite a gathering (of top players) and it's hard to know where to start. We had Rory O'Connell, Fergal Murray, Fergal Wilson, John Keane, Gary Connaughton and Callum McCormack, among others.

"Then there are 'the ones who got away' from gaelic - Robbie Henshaw and Jack Carty. Robbie and Jack would have made fantastic gaelic footballers, but I can't say I disagree with their decision to go into rugby!"

John always enjoys meeting past pupils and hearing about what they're doing now. Many of his students went on to roles in the business world and the school is extremely proud of the likes of Feargal O'Rourke, the head of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and David Harney, until recently the CEO of Irish Life, among others.

His final year as a teacher was certainly the strangest, with in-person classes coming to an abrupt end in March due to the pandemic.

"We judge ourselves on our Leaving Cert results and our results this year would have, more or less, reflected what we expected lads to achieve. But there's nothing like the real exam itself," he says.

"I know students might not say it's a thrill to sit the exams but for teachers there is a thrill in seeing how well they get on, seeing if they performed to their ability, and being proud of them.

"That day when you went in, looked at the results, and met the lads wasn't there this year. Graduation wasn't there this year. Those things were certainly missed.

"In fairness, students have gone through a lot over the last six months, the Leaving Cert class in particular. They've gone to college now and they can't enjoy college the way it was in the past. But that's the way life is at the moment. We're going to have to put up with it for a little while longer."

The recent news about errors in the Leaving Cert calculated grading process added to the stress and uncertainty for some of the students who had originally been due to sit the exams last June.

"I hope (the Department) can sort that out very fast, get those students into the courses they deserve to be in, and that none of them have to wait until next year to get into their course.

"It doesn't matter what they have to do - bring in an extra table or whatever it is - but I think those students should all get the courses that they deserve to be in immediately.

"It was a mistake by the Department, and mistakes happen, but at least it's going to be rectified, and hopefully as soon as possible," he comments.

In addition to David, who is teaching at the Marist, John and Joan have another son and two daughters. Claire is married with two children and works in marketing and PR in London.

Katlyn studied to become an actuary and works in fund management in Auckland, New Zealand, while their youngest, Alan, is in his final year in UCD, studying economics and finance.

John had planned to be in New Zealand at the moment, visiting Katlyn, but the pandemic has put that trip on hold.

Asked about his other plans for retirement, he says: "I do some farming... I call it an expensive hobby! That keeps me busy, in a way.

"I'll probably still do a little bit with gaelic football in the school, with matches and things like that, rather than walking away totally from it. I'll wean myself away slowly, I suppose."

He believes Marist College is in good hands at the moment.

"The teachers would say that there's a great atmosphere in the school and that will continue under the current management of Michael Dermody and Paul Kelly, who are doing a fantastic job in the present circumstances.

"I expect that the school will continue to prosper into the future," he concludes.