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

NAME: Clive Byrne
OCCUPATION: Director, 
National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD)

Where are you from?
A Dubliner, born and bred in Cabra.

What is your earliest childhood memory?
Not the earliest but a favourite one, going to my grandmother’s house at lunchtime from school during senior infants and eating custard that was so thick, you could cut with a knife.

How many siblings have you?
I’m the eldest. I have a younger brother Brendan and a younger sister Mary. My wife, Patricia, is a secondary school principal and I have three daughters, Jennifer, Sarah & Jamie.

Are you a close family?
We do our own thing but keep in touch

Where did you go to school/college?
Stanhope Street until first Communion , then St Vincent’s CBS in Glasnevin. I went to UCD to do a BA in French, Irish and History. My Higher Diploma was also in UCD, as were post grads in Educational Administration and Curriculum Design.

Was there a teacher or lecturer who had a particular influence on you?
Bro Bourke was a pioneering headmaster in St Vincent’s, I admired Catherine Henry in the French Department in UCD, Gearoid Denvir made a big impression on me in Roinn na Nua-Ghaeilge, I loved listening to John Coolahan during the H Dip (and still do), and during my studies in Ed Admin I was hugely influenced by Aine Hyland who became Professor of Education in UCC.
 
What prompted you to become actively involved in NAPD?
I was appointed principal in 1994 to Presentation Brothers, Glasthule – a fantastic school which, unfortunately, closed last year – and I quickly realised that attending principal networks and management organisation meetings was an excellent way of sharing ideas, learning from others and combating the loneliness and isolation of the job.

I had come to Glasthule from Mount Temple Comprehensive, where I was very happy teaching Irish and French, so I found the role of principal very challenging and rewarding. At the time there was a very vibrant ESHA organisation in Dublin as well as a newly formed organisation called SSPAI, the Secondary Schools Principals Association of Ireland. These groups provided a ready made network of colleagues.

I moved from Pres Glasthule to St Mary’s Rathmines and by then was the regional Chairperson for SSPAI. When NAPD was founded, I chaired region 9, the largest region in the country with over 120 schools. I became a member of the National Executive of NAPD and the following year was Vice President representing the Voluntary Secondary sector. 

As President of NAPD, during my travels throughout the country I could see the benefits to members and the esteem in which NAPD was held. As President I worked closely with the Director, Mary McGlynn, and as a result was familiar with many of the individuals involved in the various educational partners and agencies.

Mary was a formidable advocate for principals and deputy principals and when she announced her intention to retire I gave serious consideration to taking on the role of Director, despite my reluctance to leave St Mary’s where I was very happy. The Board of St Mary’s has agreed to my secondment to this position and I took over from Mary a couple of months ago. The rest is history!

Why is NAPD important for the teaching profession?
NAPD is the only association representing principals and deputy principals across all sectors in Irish second level education. As a professional association, NAPD is the united voice of school leaders representing the health and well being of members to the Department of Education, the Management Bodies and the Teacher Unions and all the other education partners.

Since it was established 10 years ago the association has built up a reputation for reasoned argument, constructive criticism and realistic policy initiatives. NAPD represents the future for Irish school leaders.

How do you see NAPD developing in the future?
NAPD will continue to promote the professional interests of school leaders, working to improve Irish education. The Association has a small secretariat and works on behalf of members though the national executive, sub-committees and working groups. There may be scope to promote communication with members through developments in IT.

A different model of delivering effective and quality in-service needs to be developed. The research arm of the association will be developed to provide empirical evidence for agenda items being pursued by NAPD.
 
What does a typical workday involve?
I don’t live too far from the city centre. While sometimes I drive to work f I’m attending meetings around Dublin or in the country, I usually walk to work if I'm to be in the office all day. The city centre is wonderful early in the morning and walking gives me time to think.

A typical day would involve a number of meetings with educational bodies or agencies, processing policies and position papers, servicing the national executive meetings or working groups. I try to visit each region at least once a year. NAPD has a small secretariat so often it’s up to me to attend briefings by other agencies.

Much of my time would be spent following up enquiries or requests from members, and answering or fielding media questions. The busiest time is coming up to National Conference in October or the February Symposium.

NAPD works with the European School Heads Association and the International Confederation of Principals. By attending meetings overseas I find that I get ideas and see ways of doing things abroad that will be of use to members at home.

I find the work is varied, often not 9 to 5 but extremely challenging. As I start my new job I’m trying to fit everything in so I can put my name and my face about, representing NAPD as the new Director. I miss the hundreds of interactions you have per week as a school principal but my work is challenging, varied and rewarding, so I enjoy it.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
Making a difference to the education system, planting seeds that will sometimes take root, and not getting frustrated when that doesn’t always happen. I enjoy the variety of groups I interact with and I’m frequently inspired by the range and variety of activities schools engage in. I enjoy the verbal jousts with the other education partners in the knowledge that nothing said is personal, just business.

What is the best thing that happened to you in the past year?
Experiencing the challenge of moving to new pastures. Change causes anxiety but is good for you.

Are you a workaholic?
I like to feel I’m in control. I don’t think I am a workaholic but, as a school principal, I now know that my kids did lose out due to work pressures or work related activities. They are good about it but I’m beginning to feel guilty now, believing that I was a better role model to hundreds of kids in school than I was to my own family. I realise now that quality family time suffered at home because I was often tired having given of my best to others. I suppose that work life balance wasn’t my forte but as I get older I like to think I’m getting better!

What do you do to chill out?
Good friends, good conversation, good food, good company and a love affair with Italy and things Italian. I enjoy sport, especially rugby and football, music, especially classical and opera, and I like to travel. It’s far from it I was reared!!

Do you like living in Dublin?
Wouldn’t like to live anywhere else – being an inner-city dweller suits me.

What plans have you for the future?
I’m really taken with the expression, "if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans for the future". I pretty much take things as they come – not in a fatalistic way but "what’s meant for you won’t pass you", as my mum used to say. Both my parents died before their time but they left the world a better place and if I can do that in some small way I’ll be happy.

Have you a pet hate?
I try not to have because I don’t believe in wasting energy on negativity. I try to see the silver lining in every cloud and, by using positive affirming remarks, to talk myself around into seeing negatives as opportunities to be exploited.

Have you a role model?
In my personal life my wife Patricia! I’m so lucky that she took me on and if I could be half the person she is I would be doing well. I don’t know how she does all she does. I don’t know how (why?) she puts up with me and I know that I couldn’t have done what I did in life without her support. The courage, conviction, tenacity, mind, compassion, single-mindedness, presence of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu are qualities I admire.

What in the world would you most like to change?
The pursuit of self at the expense of others. Ar scath a cheile a mhairimid used be the way of life in Ireland and other countries but now there is less thought given to the common good, to the values we want to promote for our evolving society, to the vision we have for the future. The rush to technology is making us have less time for one another and is diminishing the way we interact.

Have you a message for principals?
Churchill said “Never in the field of human endeavour have so many people owed so much to so few”, referring to RAF pilots in the Battle of Britain. I believe that society is at war to promote a vision and values agenda in Ireland.

The 1,500 principals and deputies occupy a position of such vital importance in society that we need to give them the time and supports to get on with the job of being instructional leaders and not school administrators.

NAPD firmly believes that it’s the principals’ and deputies’ role to create an organisation for learning that will pass on our vision and values for society. No easy task but we’re up for it.

Have you a message for teachers?
Being a teacher is about helping children to learn, to grow, to develop. NAPD is pursuing an agenda with all the educational partners, which will allow teachers to do just that, with the necessary resources and supports to enable them to keep doing it for many years to come.

Have you a message for Government?
Look what is achieved with the existing investment in education. Imagine what could be done if state investment was the OECD average, let alone at the 7% figure invested by counties at the top of the PISA results.