Querrin school welcomes oldest living pupil home

ON Saturday evening, hundreds of past and present Querrin National School pupils will gladly enter the school, not a jot of homework completed between them. Checking copies won’t be on the agenda this time as the 25-pupil school marks its 135th anniversary in its current location.

Ninety-nine-year-old Marty O’Keeffe, who lives in Rochester, USA, will be the guest of honour. Marty is the oldest surviving former pupil and is returning home this week to inspect his alma mater, 65 years after he emigrated to the US.
The fact Marty’s visit coincides with the 40th Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy is not entirely coincidental either. Marty is a renowned fiddle and concertina player. In 1998 he, along with his brother Jack (fiddle), was inducted to the Tom Finucane Branch, Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann.
Marty attended Querrin National School from 1918 to 1932. He was 14 when he completed his primary education and was primarily taught by Dan Lillis.
“Going to school was compulsory that time until you were 14. There was no getting away from it, even though nobody cared too much about going to school at that age. There wasn’t much fun in it. Mr Lillis was a good teacher and he had very good discipline over the children.
“There was a lady teacher there too, a Mrs O’Connell and there was one more teacher. She was Ms Costelloe,” Marty recounted to The Clare Champion from his home in Rochester this week.
Marty’s grandfather, Denis O’Keeffe, was a pilot of the River Shannon in the 1800s and was the fourth generation of his family to hold that position.
However, Marty’s father Jim did not become a river pilot. Instead, he emigrated to the USA, returning in 1910 with his wife at the request of his mother. Marty was the only one of his siblings born on Irish soil and in Querrin. When he left school, Marty took to the waters of the River Shannon with his father.
“I started fishing with my father on the Shannon and then, when I was about 18, I went to Doonbeg and fished there for a while. I went to England from 1939 to 1941. I came back home after that and in 1947 I left and I went to the States,” he said.
He had a plan but it unravelled when he met his now late wife, Teresa.
“I said I’d go over there and make a lot of money, come back buy a big boat and show them how to fish. Then I met a girl over in America from Tuam. She wanted to get married and have some babies. So my big boat went on the back burner,” Marty laughed, adding that the couple had eight children.
He’ll celebrate his 100th birthday on November 1 and has lived in Rochester since 1951. As he approaches the century mark, Marty is considering asking President Michael D Higgins for an advance, as he feels November is a long way off.
“I’ll have to ask the President of Ireland if he’d loan me that €2,000 they give to people who make it to 100,” he said, adding that at his age he isn’t taking anything for granted. “I take one day at a time,” he joked.
He is due to leave for Ireland this Thursday, when he will retrace his steps in his old school and spend some time in Miltown Malbay, taking in the summer school atmosphere.
The original Querrin National School was established in 1852 and was located 200m west of the modern school. The first principal was Denis Keane.
The structure was deemed unsuitable in the early 1870s. A suitable site was located at the crossroads in Querrin in the mid-1870s.
The current school opened in 1877 and the then principal was James T Lillis, who was succeeded by his son, Dan, who retired in the mid-1940s.
Other past principals include Martin Hogan, Seamus Leyden, Tommy Power, Maura Clohessey and Elizabeth O’Shea.
Saturday’s celebrations will start with a 6pm mass in the grounds of the school, followed by entertainment. Organisers stress that anybody with connections to the school is very welcome.

Multi-faceted education for pupils

GERALDINE Keating has been principal at Querrin National School for three years, the other teachers in the 25-pupil school being Maireád Allen and Mary Considine. The school principal said pupils are encouraged to take some responsibility for their own learning and research.
“This proves particularly popular with the senior classes. This methodology provides the platform for a sense of ownership, leadership and responsibility. Part of our teaching comes from project work, which encourages all pupils to work as part of a team,” Geraldine explained.
The school recently took part in a European Union project, which helped the pupils increase their working knowledge of how the EU operates.
“This year we were a pilot school for the Blue Star European Union programme. This involved learning about the EU in terms of its four main institutions, history, geography and culture within the EU. During this project, the children met Minister Lucinda Creighton. We also held an EU open day,” the school principal explained.
“The children researched each of the 27 countries and produced a powerpoint booklet. At the open day they dressed in the costume of a country of their choice. Some made traditional food and brought in artefacts.
“Parents were invited to the open day where the children and parents interacted in an information sharing experience. This was such a huge success that we are planning something  on these lines for next year. On June 25, we were awarded our Blue Star European Flag and certificates,” Geraldine added.
The 135-year-old school is located in a scenic area close to the shore, which is a huge help in increasing environmental awareness among the children. Already the school has been granted four Green Flags and is working towards achieving a fifth.
“The theme for this flag is biodiversity and to this end, the pupils and teachers have engaged in planting, research (at a local eco-camp) and identifying local plant species. A healthy respect for the environment is evidenced by the fact that (weather permitting) 97% of our pupils cycle to school,” Geraldine said.
In addition, the school has its own band, while pupils regularly compete in the St Patrick’s Day parade, chess, quizzes and art.
“Furthermore, the children have been involved since the beginning with the Sally O’Keeffe community boat building project. Each pupil has kept a journal and witnessed the building from the time the plans were drawn up to participating in the pageant, which told the story of how the River Shannon got its name,” the school principal stated.
Although the school is 135 years old, the basic principles of teaching are as relevant now as they were in 1877.
“Our aim is to have a positive and fun learning environment, where pupils learn because they enjoy it, where teacher and pupils learn together and where the teachers can learn about themselves, with a view to improving how they teach and interact with the pupils,” Geraldine concluded.