WHO’S WHO introduces people who are making an important contribution to education in Ireland today.

NAME:  Peter McMenamin

OCCUPATION:  Recently appointed General Secretary of Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI)

---------------------------------
Where are you from?
Dublin, as were both parents and grandparents.

What is your earliest childhood memory?
It’s so long ago I can’t remember!

How many siblings have you?
Three

Are you a close family?
As close as can be with one brother in the USA for 25 years and one sister in the UK for 20 years.

Where did you go to school/college?
Gonzaga, UCD and Strathclyde University, Glasgow.

Was there a teacher or lecturer who had a particular influence on you?
No one in particular; an English teacher who read to the class from contemporary American novels, a maths teacher who talked about economics and a science teacher who was just so different, all come to mind.

How did you arrive at your current position within the TUI?
After about 35 years of combined service to the union, initially as branch officer, then as elected President and finally as full time Official, I was then appointed to this position through open competition last December.

What are the main challenges of the role of General Secretary?
Connecting with the members, trying to bring about maximum involvement in the union to ensure that the members’ views are obtained and represented. Getting teachers to operate as a united force through the four unions.

You have taken over from Jim Dorney – is he a hard act to follow?
Comparisons are invidious. Everyone has their own style.

What is the biggest single issue you wish to tackle in 2008?
Inadequate spending by Government on Education which leads inevitably to inequalities in access to Education and an increasingly divided society.

What does a typical workday involve for you?
An early start, several meetings, both one-to-one and larger, correspondence of all kinds and trying to get time to think; usually a late finish.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
Interaction with members and in particular achieving success for one or more members.

What do you like least about your work?
Encountering unnecessary intransigence.

What is the best thing that has happened to you in the past year?
Apart from being appointed to this position it’s hard to pick one - some individual cases which reduce or eliminate the exploitation of part time teachers and lecturers would be high on the list.

Are you a workaholic?
Yes in a way, leaving work undone or not adequately done causes me more stress than doing the work.

What do you do to chill out?
Not enough. Being with friends and when time allows occasionally wandering alone with a camera making pictures.

Do you like living in Dublin?
Yes, it is home and always has been even when I was away.

Have you a pet hate?
Incompetence in high places and inconsistency of approach to issues.

Have you a role model?
No.

What in the world would you most like to change?
Inequality.

Have you a message for teachers?
You are in one of the great professions; respect yourselves and your colleagues.

Have you a message for government?
You cannot afford not to increase spending on education.