Lead the Way | Education Leadership Skills

Gemma Maher is Principal of Rathcoole Educate Together National School in Dublin. Gemma Maher failed her Leaving Cert once but found her way to teaching through Coleraineand Glasgow University. Now she's principal of Rathcoole Educate Together National School. In this episode, she talks about her own diagnosis of Autism and ADHD and what that means for her in her role.

Class Cover is a Australian platform that connects schools with substitute teachers and SNAs. Schools can build their network, post booking requests and get cover confirmed in minutes. Substitute teachers and SNAs can manage their availability, connect with local schools and get booked through the app. ClassCover is launching in Ireland in2026. Over 5000 school, that 1 in 2 schools in Australia ar...

Sarah Curran an experienced educator, leader and coach whois originally from Dublin and now living in Wexford, is the inspiring force behind Flow Growth Hub , a space created to nurture growth-minded people. With a background in education and leadership both in Ireland and Dubai and a deep belief and expertise in the power of strengths-based coaching, Sarah brings clarity, calm, and community to t...

Maeve Mahon is CEO of CEIST; (Catholic Education Irish Schools Trust) and was appointed in December 2024. She is a native of Co Meath and has worked in the Diocese of Kildare& Leighlin supporting Catholic primary education for the past thirty years. As Diocesan Secretary for Primary Education, she has effectively worked alongside the Patron, school principals, chairpersons, board members and p...

Dr. Lisa Riegel earned dual bachelor's degrees in English and Secondary Education from Kent State University. She holds a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Otterbein University and a Ph. D. in Education Policy and Leadership from The Ohio State University. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and she has authored five books, including her two latest books, Neuro...

Dr Sajita Setia is a New Zealand based physician and published researcher in digital wellbeing who has led award-winning medical and health education globally. She is an evidence-based educator She helps families and schools raise resilient, balanced young people in a world of constant screens. She's a digital wellbeing and youth online safety expert who turns complex research into simple, pra...

James Callaghan is an experienced CBT therapist, EMDRconsultant, and mental health nurse with over a decade working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). He is the founder of Capital Psychotherapy, offering therapy for children, adolescents, and adults, andrecently launched Minds in Schools, a training initiative supporting parents and teachers with practical CBT strategies. This...

Having spent many years as a primary school teacher, FionaForman is passionate about placing well-being at the heart of school life. For the past few years, promoting this has been her focus- through her books, media contributions, and training sessions. She holds an M. Sc. in Applied Positive Psychology, the science of well-being, from the University of East London. Her programmes include Weaving...

Katrina Crilly is Principal & Founder -The Real Me Academy Educating children aged 4–18 to build confidence, emotional resilience & lifelong thinking habits through a digital-first, research-backed platform. She hold a Master’s in Collaborative Leadership and has contributed to severaleducational advisory committees, working closely with the Department of Education and the Education and Tr...

Dr. Clara is a Chartered Psychologist with the Psychology Society of Ireland, (PSI) and the British Psychology Society, (BPS)Dr. Clara has over 25 years of experience of working in disability and special education settings. Past experiences include work in residential settings for adults with IntellectualDisability, Special schools and alternative education provision settings for ‘at risk’ youths....

Coran Swayne is an administrative Deputy Principal in East Cork Community Special School and a lecturer in Educational Leadership and Coaching in Education at University College Cork. He is currently completing a  PhD on coaching cultures in primary schools , exploring how leadership, teachers, and policy shape this work across Ireland, England, and Michigan. His article, “Cultivating Coaching Cul...

Joseph A. Moynihan, PhD is currently Director of both the Educational Leadership and the new Coaching in Education Post Graduate programmes, UCC. He is a lecturer in Education in the School of Education at University College Cork, Ireland. He is a lecturer in Initial Teacher Education on the Professional Master of Education (PME) programme and delivers modules on the Masters in Education (M.Ed.) m...

MESO is an AI-powered educational platform currently being developed with Trinity College Dublin and Enterprise Ireland. The mission of its co-founders Chris Byrne and Brighid Hennessy is to transform education by creating tools that empower teachers and educational institutions while maintaining rigorous standards and curriculum alignment. It combines AI with curriculum requirements and planning...

Marie Sheehan has been Deputy Principal of Coláiste an Chroí Naofa, Carraig na bhFear in Cork for 8 years and is currently on career break. She is an accredited coach with the European Mentoring and Coaching Council and is the ownerand founder of Clochán Coaching & Education Consultancy. Marie works with teams and individuals in the area of supporting teachers and school leaders to develop the...

Colette Crowley has just attained a principal position for September in Carriganima National School in Cork. She had been a Deputy Principal for four years and loved the school but really had a desire to progress in her career. She talks about her cancer diagnosis in college and her awareness of both grabbing and creating every opportunity that you want as life is short. Her story is inspiring.

Angela Cummins is known to me from her Instagram account SpecialedteacherIreland. She is a special education teacher based in Dublin for over 20 years. She discusses her own challenges in school, how she became the first in her family to go to college once she secured a loan for herself while simultaneously holding down multiple jobs, what getting an adult diagnosis of dyslexia was like and finall...

In this podcast, I compare notes with Emmet Ryan from St. Peter's Community School, Cork about how and why we set up a school podcast in our respective schools. We hope to inspire you to do the same! Below are links to our school website and links to our school podcasts. Emmet's school podcast: https://www.stpeters.ie/ https://audio.com/st-peters-english/audio/zoom0016-lr-wedeve-1 Emmet's email fo...

Debbie O’Neill is Principal of Scoil Eoin, Crumlin, Dublin, a special school which caters for pupils with Mild General Learning disabilities as well as some students presenting with a dual diagnosis of ASD, ADHD. Schools catering for children with mild general learning disabilities are being put under pressure by the government to change their classification. She talks about the impact on her and...

Simon Lewis is the principal of Carlow Educate Together primary school, the only multidenominational primary school in the county, which he helped to set up. He is currently the only Irish primary school principal from an ethnic minority which we begin the podcast discussing. Simon’s podcast, If I were the Minister for Education, is another and one of the original education podcasts in Ireland Her...

In this podcast, I dig deeper into The Agree to Agree project and its origins. This is a conversation we need to keep having to save the next generation from the threat that is overuse and inappropriate use of internet enabled devices. Dr Maureen Griffin is a forensic psychologist who specialized in the risk assessment of online sexual offenders. Maureen has worked with over 900 schools across Ire...

Donal Evoy is Principal in Blackrock Educate Together Secondary school in Cherrywood, Dublin. Donal completed his Masters in Leadership 10 years ago and his focus of research was peer observation. He has moved from piloting the scheme in his own school to opening it up across a network of schools so teachers could visit classrooms in another school entirely in order to learn from each other. He is...

Dr Ciara Uí Chonduibh is Principal of St. Fiach’s National School in Ballinacree, Oldcastle, Co Meath. The school has just completed year one of a pilot scheme called, ‘Agree to Agree Scheme’ The Agree to Agree Project, which is supported by the Department of Education through Oide Technology in Education, aims to establish a school-specific agreement for the use of internet-enabled devices, creat...

Paudie Moore, the Teacher’s Weight Loss coach returns for a second podcast. Since our first podcast, he reflects on what he has learned from working with teachers in the past year and how this information might help you make 2025 your best year yet! You can follow Paudie on Instagram, @thriving teachersacademy

Kevin Shortall is Principal in St Aidan’s Community School Tallaght, Dublin. He has worked there since 1996. He has been a Home School Community Liaison and a Deputy along the way and is gaining much publicity online for his upbeat, fun approach to leadership which includes doing head over heels in the students PE classes and dancing in the office when the Timetable is completed with colleagues. H...

Donnchadh O’Mahony is a qualified Guidance Counsellor and best known for his engaging posts on his hugely popular Instagram page and Tik Tok account Leaving Cert Guidance. He is here today to talk about the launch of his new website www.findmycollegecourse.ie, a website he believes will direct students to the courses that best suit them.