Memories of my schooldays — I work with young people now in Youthreach Tuam, Youthreach is a second chance Education Centre, more often than not a lot of the young people who leave mainstream secondary school or just cannot fit into the system that is in place, come to Youthreach. What I think is completely wrong is the fact that some mainstream schools are not offering the Leaving Cert Applied, an alternative Leaving Cert, for those who just find the traditional Leaving Cert to difficult. I went to Presentation College in Headford. It was a great school. You could call it a border school as many of my classmates were from Shrule, Cong, the Neale, Kilmaine.
Truth be told I had little or no interest in going to school but my mother and father made sure I went. I had some great teachers but I would thumb home back the Claran Road usually around 2.30 pm and I would be just home for feeding the cows, to an extent my parents let it go. The odd day Eoin McCambridge in Mcambridges in Galway would have a day’s work, I’d get a lift with my cousin and off I would go.
This was before there were mobiles freely available and when the school wouldn’t have had as much direct contact with the parents as they do now. Anyhow my mother filled out my CAO form without my knowledge and when the summer was over after my Leaving Cert, I got an offer to do Agri Business and Rural Development and I really enjoyed it after that I ended up doing a Degree and Post Graduate Diploma in Education and then I started working with GRETB.
My work colleagues in Youthreach would probably agree that I get on well with the students, the reason is that I am a big believer in second chances. Recently I proposed James Charity for Mayor of Galway County Council. Both myself and James were in the same year in PCH. If we wound back the clock to when we were 16 and knew that both of us would be in the Council Chamber at 36, I don’t think anyone would have believed it. To any young person who is reading this, don’t worry about it. Everything will work out in the end. Do your best and enjoy life. Remember, you can do anything if you put your mind to it.
