Scoring Touchdowns with Ciarán Donnelly

Join us for episode three of Season 4 in conversation with Ciarán Donnelly, a primary teacher who thinks outside the box.

Ciarán is a forward-thinking and imaginative educator who embraces innovation and fosters a dynamic learning environment. And it was these particular traits that saw Ciarán lead his students at Green Lanes National School, to enter, compete and become, Ireland's first international NFL flag football champions and win an all-expenses-paid trip to Orlando, Florida.

Tune in to hear this remarkable story of one teacher’s transformative approach to education and the life-changing experiences created for his students. As the NFL Flag Football programme expands across Ireland with plans for provincial championships throughout the country, his story reminds us of the powerful impact teachers can have when they recognise and nurture students' passions.

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 Teachers Themselves is a DWEC original, produced and created by Dublin West Education Centre produced by Zita Robinson. 

Transcript

Introduction to Teachers Themselves

Speaker 1 0:08

Fáilte stach. And welcome to Teachers Themselves podcast. I'm your host, alton MacMahonagh. And welcome to Teachers Themselves podcast. I'm your host, ultham MacMahon. This podcast is brought to you by Dublin West Education Support Centre. We're located on the grounds of TUD Tala, serving and supporting the school communities of West Dublin and beyond. Welcome to season four of Teachers Themselves. This season, we're bringing you conversations with educators who are doing very interesting things in the Irish education system. We've really enjoyed chatting with them about their varied contributions to classroom and schools around Ireland and we hope you'll find them as inspiring as we did.

Speaker 2 0:57

Yeah, the prize was to actually go to America and represent Ireland as the flag football champions from Ireland.

Speaker 1 1:04

Okay, you're all very welcome to this week's episode of Teachers Themselves. I'm absolutely delighted to be joined by a man called Ciarán Donnelly, who's teaching in Green Lane's National School over in Clontarf today. But just by halfway of introduction, when we were setting up this series, we used to say Ciarán Donnelly, the NFL guy. So so more of that and on, just to welcome you, ciarán, to the program and thanks very much for joining us.

Speaker 2 1:43

Oh, thank you very much for the opportunity. I'm excited to tell you Ciarán to the programme and thanks very much for joining us. Thank you very much for the opportunity. I'm excited to tell you a little bit about NFL and how it's been going in Green Lanes.

Speaker 1 1:51

Brilliant. What we're going to do is we'll just start with you, ciarán, and how you got into teaching, and that it was a circuitous route into teaching, and I think our conversation will probably be a bit circuitous as well today. But you didn't start with the teaching initially when you left school. Where are you from? Where did you go to school? What did you get into after school?

Speaker 2 2:13

I'm from Rahini and I went to primary school in Rahini up until first class in Scolida and then I went from second class to sixth class in St Bridget's. Then I went to Belvedere College for a secondary school and that was a great experience and very transformative for me. I met a teacher, an athletics coach called Phil Conway, and he really left a big imprint on my life and you know the power of sport and the power of education as a whole and how it can improve people's lives. And it's funny because if somebody ever told me I would be a teacher when I was in primary or secondary school, I'd say no, no wrong person. Then I went to NCI and I did a degree in business and while I was there I got a sports scholarship to go to America to throw the hammer and I was there for six months and then I came back and finished my business degree and I got a job in Citibank and I worked there for two and a half years. But after a little while I just thought that this isn't really for me. I wasn't enjoying the work and I handed in my notice and I wasn't really too sure what I was going to do, but I just knew that I didn't want to be there anymore.

Speaker 2 3:19

And then I had a few friends who were teaching English abroad in South Korea, in China, lots of different countries I thought, why not just give it a go and see what happens? And I thought that there was an opportunity to teach English in Saudi Arabia for three months and I thought, oh, that's interesting. I've always wanted to see that part of the world and I did that and I enjoyed it. And then I came back and I did a CELTA course, which is a small month long course for a certificate in teaching English to adults, and I was supposed to go back to Saudi Arabia but unfortunately that job fell through and I was kind of like well, what have I always wanted to do? And I've always wanted to live in Spain for a while. So I went over to Spain and I taught in an English academy over there for nine months and that was a fantastic experience as well.

Speaker 1 4:05

What kind of Spain is that, Ciarán?

Speaker 2 4:07

A place called Salamanca and it was in yeah, it was fantastic it was in an English academy called Salamanca Speaks English. So we were teaching children from as young as four, who were still learning Spanish, up to business English classes, teenagers, adults. So it was a really good experience to teach lots of different people in different settings and I just found that I really enjoy teaching children. So then I came back and I kind of just went on my way and eventually went over to England to do my PGCE, which was very difficult, I have to say. Doing the PGCE over there, I did a thing called school-centered initial teacher training and doing the PGCE over there, I did a thing called school-centered initial teacher training Because I'd been teaching English for a long time, I was able to kind of train and work as a teacher at the same time.

Speaker 2 4:53

So it was a fantastic experience where, rather than going to college, every day you're in the classroom and being mentored. But you know, as everybody who's a teacher knows, teacher training is very difficult. And then, due to the shortage of teachers over here, it kind of worked to my benefit because they accepted my qualification over there without having to do the induction. So I came over here. I sent my CV in an email to a bunch of different principals in the area where I live in Raheene, clontarf Hoth and Mr O'Shea was the first person to reply back and I'm very fortunate that he was and then I've been in Green Lanes now for the last 18 months.

Speaker 1 5:26

Yeah, and a lot of people might know Aidan O'Shea, of whom you speak there. Aidan does a bit of he'd been with AJ and now he's his associate work with AJ leadership, so he'd be known by people. So look at, that got you up and going and you're in Green Lanes and you're teaching sixth class now, if I'm not mistaken, that's correct. Yeah, so so tell us a little bit about green lanes over in clontarf oh, this is only supposed to be 30 minutes long, right?

Speaker 2 5:51

um, look, it's a lot sized version and look, it's a fantastic place and I feel very blessed to be here and it's very supportive. I did my drihid here. I had to do an ir Irish course, so I was three weeks in the grade. I talked and studied for Irish classes and the school was always very accommodating towards that. And another great example would be at the beginning of the year, when I spoke to Aidan I said look, there are some people in the class that really like NFL football. I had seen that. An email came into my inbox saying that they were starting the initiative and, as always, the school was very supportive about yeah, let's go and try it and give it a go right.

Speaker 1 6:29

So you saw a gap there. You said, right, we don't do now you do hurling on football and athletics and stuff. I'm sure you probably do a bit of hammer throwing, but you saw this nfl advert coming into the school which led to a great adventure for you and the kids there.

Speaker 2 6:47

Tell us how that got up and going and where it eventually finished up and well, I was doing yard duty last year and it was during the season where we were playing GAA matches and I saw these four kids throwing in American football and I kind of thought that's interesting, like I wonder why they're throwing in American football around. I haven't seen this before and I was kind of thinking well, you know, we're playing Gaelic at the minute, you know, play a bit of Gaelic football, but, um, yeah it stuck.

Speaker 2 7:12

It stuck with me anyway. And then this year those children were in sixth class and I could see that they were just so passionate about it. You know, if they finished their work early they were writing plays Every break, they were throwing in American football. And during the summer the Olympics were on and I was very keen on kind of restarting athletics in the school and I signed up to see what kind of initiatives there are and things going on. And then Dublin City Sports and Wellbeing, in collaboration with the NFL, were launching nfl flag football and I saw this come into my inbox and I thought, wow, this is tailor-made for these guys. So, um, like I said, the school has always been very supportive and mr archer facilitated me attending a training session to learn how to coach the sport, because I didn't really know a lot about it to begin with. And then we received the coaching. We received 10 american footballs and 30 tags, so we were well equipped to bring the sport back into the school. And miss concanon, who's the fifth class teacher, uh facilitated me doing a couple of p sessions with the team in fifth with the fifth class.

Discovering NFL Flag Football

Speaker 2 8:17

Then the way we did it was really. We saw the people who were really keen and interested in the sport, people who were playing the whole time. We held a couple of trials and then we picked um a team to go and represent us in the dublin championship. Uh, one of the things that I really like about the flag football is that it's a mixed, mixed sex sport, so there's always a female on the pitch. And what was great about our team as well, I thought, was that there was a nice mix. There were six boys and four girls and everybody got great playing time and contributed really well. And, yeah, we went to Sport Ireland on the 6th of December to represent Greenlanes with 12 other schools for the first Dublin Championship in Ireland.

Speaker 1 8:57

Wow, it's interesting there that there's a gender mix on the team. It's flag football, so it's not the high-imp impact stuff we see on the TV if anybody's watching Red Zone or any of these programs and obviously very, very inclusive. So OV went anyway for this 12 school competition. What was the prize if you were to win this competition?

Speaker 2 9:17

Well, we were told at the training session that we'd be going over to America for an international tournament. But we were all in disbelief and kind of thinking you know, basically this isn't what the prize could be. So we went over there thinking that, ok, we'll get a trophy and hopefully do well. And that's really how it all started out. You know, we just wanted the kids to have an opportunity to play the sport that they really loved and we ended up competing really well and we got to the final and to play the sport that they really loved. And we ended up competing really well and we got to the final and we won the final.

Speaker 2 9:47

And then they gave us a cup and medals and they announced the MVP. And then they brought this huge boarding pass saying, you know, team Ireland to the USA. And I was thinking, wow, this looks like it's actually going to happen. And then we came back to the school and I was thinking, wow, this looks like it's actually going to happen. And then we came back to the school and I had this big boarding pass and parents were coming up to me and asking the kids mentioned this but is this actually happening? And I was thinking it looks like it, but I don't really have any of the details yet. And then you know, continuing in the same vein as this school does you. You know they were very supportive and we only had one month turnaround between organizing the trip to America, communicating with the parents and organizing all the administrative things. So, yeah, the prize was to actually go to America and represent Ireland as the flag football champions from Ireland. Ah, brilliant.

Speaker 1 10:40

Fantastic, it was to Orlando, to Orlando Florida. You weren't going anywhere, uninteresting. Orlando, brilliant prize. And tell me, what was the traveling party? How did you organize it? When did you go?

Speaker 2 10:52

uh, we went on the 28th of January and we stayed there for a week, all expenses paid. I take all, all expenses, all expenses paid, plus and less american. Yeah. Yeah, I have to say it's the only thing that I'm aware of that would present such a an amazing opportunity to people. But we had this amazing woman called um ellen who came with us and she was looking after all the logistics, so it made our jobs a lot easier bringing over the 10 children.

Speaker 2 11:20

And then a lot of the parents wanted to come over and show support for the great achievement of their children. So we had a good few parents come over as well and, yeah, we flew out. We flew via JFK to Orlando. We stayed in at the Hilton over in Orlando and we went to the Pro Bowl and we got to go pitch side and meet a few players. They paid for us to go to disney world. So at the very end, on the last day, we brought the 10 children to disney world. We were in an international tournament against um, 12 countries for two days playing a sport that everybody loves. Uh, they were wearing the ireland kit that was given to us, casual kit, lots of merchandise from different NFL teams. I mean the opportunities and the gifts, and you know it's just an absolute. The word I can only use is unbelievable for the opportunity and experience it was. It was fantastic.

Speaker 1 12:13

It sounds absolutely amazing, like imagine being an 11, 12 year old kid and your teacher says we're off to Orlando, we're going to go play American football, we're going to Disneyland, we're staying in a hotel, we're on a plane. You know, when I think back to my time, like we did a school tour, we went to, I think we went to see the Hill of Tara and Oliver Pluckett's head there in Toronto. Well, it was fantastic, it's brilliant, absolutely fantastic.

Speaker 2 13:07

This is fantastic. It's brilliant, absolutely fantastic. So tell me about the kids then. So these kids that are 11, 12 years of age were they was fantastic. And then, you know, to win something and bring a cup back to the school was fantastic. And then to add this on was just something incredible. We had just today and they came into the school and we put on a skills demonstration and everybody lined the car doors as the children walked out with the cup. And a couple of days before we flew to Orlando.

Speaker 2 13:25

So one of the big impacts and benefits that flag football has had in our school is that you have lots of children, boys and girls, playing a new sport together that they really enjoy. They've seen, you know, that this school can be successful and you know some children in first class and second class coming up to me and saying, oh, you know, we ordered uh, we asked for an american football from our parents or from santa and bringing it and throwing around. So it's had a transformative effect in regards to interest in a new sport and playing it. So you know, it's nice for the kids to see that they can have this influence in the school and then, when they got to go over there.

Orlando Adventure and International Tournament

Speaker 2 14:00

One of the fantastic and really impactful parts of the trip was, you know, you'd be sitting at a table with children from China, children from Japan, children from Australia and just meeting different cultures and talking to people about something they're interested in. It was very competitive. You know you're playing against not just other schools but some clubs where children have been playing this since they were a lot younger. So it was quite competitive. But we went there and we scored Ireland's first ever touchdown at an international championship, which is something you know they'll have forever. You know they were the first ones to go to America, the first ones to score a touchdown, and we played countries in France, mexico, china, australia, so really kind of four very different parts of the world. So it's just everything about it was incredible.

Speaker 1 14:46

Literally four corners of the world there, yeah, france, mexico, china and what did you say? France and Australia, australia. My God, that's fantastic, that was brilliant. So, anyway, he came back. By the way, I saw the stuff on the the school green lanes um instagram account and it looks absolutely. That's a great, great idea to put it up on the instagram because, uh, it made for very interesting stuff. And you met brian asamoah, uh, the american football player. He seemed really good with the kids and, yeah, oh, it's incredible, I'd say.

Speaker 2 15:21

Miss Johnson, she was the one in charge of the social media and she did a fantastic job documenting it and actually you know, there are just so many incredible moments of this whole experience. But we came back anyway and then a lot of the parents and people from the school community, the board of management, from the church, came and lined up the street and into the school as we came in and all the children stood on a stage in the schoolyard with everybody in the whole community in front of us and some of their classmates had presented and planned questions, asked them about the trip and a microphone and a sound system, and oh, it was a fantastic experience for them and to come back and receive that reception and you know the scale of what they've accomplished.

Speaker 1 16:04

Yeah, yeah, ciarán, that sounds absolutely fantastic, brilliant. And to bring it back to where you started actually in our chat you'd said that you had a great interest from that teacher in Belvedere College on sport and well-being and what people can get from sport. I'm always very interested in that the gender balance there. I used to always say to parents in our own school there's nothing boys get from sport that girls can't get from sport. It's equally important. In some ways it's maybe even more important that girls be involved in sports. So you have this great success story right, which is probably a one-off. How do you transfer that into well-being for for all the kids in the school, or what are the benefits for everyone?

Speaker 2 16:45

well, I know that well-being and having a broke mindset is something that we're really focusing on in the school and um. You know the team actually received three sessions with a psychologist about um, how to prepare setting your own targets, how to prepare setting your own targets, how to deal with disappointments and creating, you know, achievable goals. You know and how we can influence, what factors we can influence and what factors we have no influence over. So just to have that experience as an 11 year old and as a 12 year old is fantastic. Three of the team members are in fifth class, so you know they're going to carry on over now into sixth class and hopefully they'll be sharing a lot of their learnings with their classmates and then the following fifth class.

Speaker 2 17:27

I know the team and other people who have an interest in the sport are doing a little bit of coaching with some other classes. Yeah, and like even just with, I think, in regards to the GAA, you know they've seen that they can be successful and they just are playing sport with a bit more confidence and you see that in them and even in their school work. They're happy to get up there and do presentations as well. So you know they're, they're becoming well-rounded children, which you know is the the aim of education, I believe yeah, so it's a real spillover into everything.

Speaker 1 17:58

Yeah, that was really interesting. They got three sessions with a psychologist or a sports psychologist.

Speaker 2 18:02

I guess that's very interesting Two before we went over and then one when we came back. Very grounding.

Speaker 1 18:09

Very grounding. That's brilliant. So when we talk about you know how it fills out into school and school life. What do you think is the greatest challenge for teachers when they're trying to promote that well-roundedness or the, you know, the growth mindset, thinking through sport? What are the things?

Impact on Student Wellbeing

Speaker 2 18:29

if you say, geez, if we could do that, we could really make this a lot easier for teachers well, as you know yourself and lots of other people in the profession um, there's a huge amount of admin work to be done. So we're here working in schools trying to develop well-rounded children, but yet what's expected of us to achieve in the curriculum is absolutely huge. So what I think is great about this school and I'm sure lots of other schools is and I believe it's in our school ethos know, we're here to develop the holistic education of children, you know. So that's um children as people, and the academics and the sports and values and everything. So I think that at times, the administration side and what's expected of teachers, um is is quite big, yeah, and like even you know somebody like myself who's very involved with the NFL flag football and involved with the GAA. That's something that teachers give out of their own free time All the transports, logistics, going with teams to and from after school, organizing trainings. That's actually probably been the biggest learning I've taken from this experience.

Speaker 2 19:43

Experience, or one of them, is that I've really come to recognize and appreciate the people who have trained me. You know, in my when I played GAA for 18 years, it was pretty much the same team that every Tuesday and Thursday gave up the free time Saturdays and Sundays were driving us to and from matches. And that person Phil Conway and Belvedere, every Saturday morning at eight o'clock before rugby, be there opening up the gates and stay until one o'clock coaching shot putt, discus, javelin, and then you know that just created so many opportunities for me in my life the opportunity to go to America and go to college over there, the opportunity to have an interest in flag football and athletics and then come here and kind of have a positive impact in the school over here as well yeah, you're talking there the opportunities that you had allowed you to be the kind of person, maybe, who thinks outside the box a small bit and that I think comes from a degree of bravery or not being afraid to make mistakes.

Speaker 1 20:34

there was a you know that phrase. You know, fear of failure cramps creativity when you take the fear of failure out of it, and sometimes that's just because a culture in a school or wherever the principal says, look, don't worry about making mistakes, we're all about mistakes, blah, blah, blah, and tells you all about the mistakes they made and all that stuff it develops amongst the staff, then I guess that ability to say, actually, look, I'll give it a try, if it doesn't work, it doesn't, that gives results.

Speaker 2 21:02

I absolutely agree and before every match that we played, we said the two things we're going to do is we're going to focus and we're going to remain positive, because everybody here is going to make mistakes. Nobody goes out there with the intention of making a mistake, but we're going to accept that and we move on and we're going to be positive with each other. And we had a very good training session in the school recently in regards to the new maths curriculum and the lady who gave it said she saw a poster and since then I've put it up in my room and I said mistakes are expected, mistakes are respected and they're inspected and they're corrected. And you know that's the attitude that we take towards everything we do.

Speaker 1 21:42

Mistakes are expected.

Speaker 2 21:45

Yeah, respected, respected, inspected.

Speaker 1 21:49

Inspected and corrected, corrected. That's excellent, it's excellent.

Speaker 2 21:53

We're a bit off course with that ourselves.

Speaker 1 21:55

That's great. So look, just bringing it back into the school now again. What brings you joy in school, ciarán, as a teacher now, because you're up and running, you have a few feathers in the hat. At this stage, you've plenty of experience. What brings you joy in teaching?

Speaker 2 22:09

I just find it's a really meaningful profession, like I find when I go in I'm I'm helping the future. Uh, you know they say education is a passport to the future. So I'm doing my best to help these children be successful in their life and find something that they're passionate about and pursue it. And some children mightn't enjoy school. So if I can go in there and make it a positive and happy environment for them and then that's a great place to go and learn from. So when I go in there and I can see that the children are happy and they're coming into school, I think they're in a great place to then learn.

Speaker 1 22:47

So that's kind of my goal as a teacher and then if I'm achieving that, that brings me a great sense of satisfaction. That's fantastic. And what frustrates you, other than the planning, the paperwork?

Speaker 2 22:51

and the bureaucracy drive us all crackers. Well, you know, I'm in a very fortunate position and, as we mentioned at the beginning, it took me a long time to get here.

Speaker 2 22:57

The only thing, that frustrates me is sometimes we get tired, you know, and maybe our patience is a little bit low, but I have to say there's there's very little like I feel very blessed to be in this school and to have the colleagues that I have and to be in a great community like this, and I've had the opportunity to work in a school where these opportunities and this kind of an environment doesn't exist. So maybe if I was in a different situation I would find things more frustrating, but I'm always come back to the perspective that I'm really grateful to be here and be working in an environment and a place like this.

Speaker 1 23:32

Brilliant. That's fantastic. That's fantastic. So look as we wrap up now. Ciarán, I'd like to thank you sincerely for agreeing to come on to our podcast. It's an absolutely great story. I think it's an inspiration to other teachers to give things a go, and you never know what can happen. Rarely, if ever, again, will they get a chance to have an all-expenses-paid trip to Orlando, florida. But in a myriad of different ways, when people give things a go, it normally bears great fruit one way or another.

Speaker 1 24:04

Even if you fail, it can bear great fruit. If you were to start again, Ciarán, what would you do differently? And I'm talking about the journey you had into becoming a teacher.

Teaching Reflections and Future of Flag Football

Speaker 2 24:11

Well, I don't know if it sounds corny, but sometimes you know you have to go through these journeys to realise the things that you want to do. So if there are things I could change, I suppose I'd like to have realized that I'd like to become a teacher sooner. But then maybe I'd question oh, you know, finance would have been, would have been great. I've worked in a bank and I have chances to earn bonuses and everything. So, uh, you know, in my experience, you know there are trade-offs, everything, and I'm very happy to where I've ended up now.

Speaker 1 24:38

So well, I can tell you just I'm chatting to you now the children in Greenland's National School are very lucky you ended up there too. Ciarán, that was of the kind. Look, I'll just say go raibh míle, míle Máith agat. I really appreciate you coming on. Teachers Themselves podcast. I'll be keeping a very close eye on the NFL to see if there's any Clontarf kids out there in the years to come.

Speaker 2 24:58

Yeah, I think there could be, and I suppose, before we finish off, firstly, thank you very much for the opportunity. But secondly, I know the NFL are looking to expand the flag football programme and their plan next year is that there are going to be schools in Munster, connacht and Ulster and that the Ireland Championship is going to be. There'll be a Leinster Championship, an Ulster Championship, a Munster and a Connacht Championship and then there championship, a Munster and a Connacht championship, and then there'll be a national championship. So I know that they're very keen to progress the sport and give other schools and communities an opportunity to be part of this as well. So, you know, if you're a teacher and it's something that you're interested in, I'd really encourage you, you know, make contact with myself or contact with your local city council or county council, and they might be able to put you in touch with somebody to involve your school in the program that's a fair point.

Speaker 1 25:47

If every county council has a sports officer and a sports department and they are it's their job to help out groups and it's amazing the amount of help that is there, both you know, in terms of equipment and advice and events and that kind of thing. So, uh, yeah, thanks for that k. So look, without any further ado, we'll sign off and say Ciarán Donnelly, greenland International School. Go raibh míle maith agat for coming on to Teach Us Themselves podcast. Go raibh máith agat Tune in next week for another episode of Teachers Themselves.

Speaker 1 26:32

Don't forget to go back and find episodes from previous seasons. All well worth a listen. Please subscribe, share with colleagues and friends, leave us a review or send us a message. Your feedback informs the show. You can follow us across our social media channels. The links are in the show notes. If you have any thoughts on today's episode or suggestions for future topics, email zita here at z robinson at dwecie. That's z robinson at dwecie. That's zrobinson at dwecie. Oh, and, as always, don't forget to book your CPD with dwecie wwwdwecie. Thanks again. Have a great week. Slán tamall. Teachers Themselves is a DWEC original Produced and created by Dublin West Education Centre.