John Maye is returning to Knockbeg College as principal of the school for the forthcoming academic year.
After leaving in 2018, he became the deputy principal in St Conleth’s Community College in Newbridge before taking up the role of principal in Duiske College in Graiguenamanagh.
Now, after Michael Carew’s retirement, John is set to return and before hand, he spoke to Alan Hartnett on the LaoisToday Podcast.
John was born and raised in Myshall in Carlow and after attending primary school in his hometown, he went to secondary school in Presentation De La Salle School in Bagenalstown.
This is where his love for school developed and he recalled fond memories of growing up in Carlow.
He said: ”It was brilliant growing up in Myshall in the 1980s and 1990s, it was just a place with its own unique culture and that culture was winning.”
John became very involved with the local community and played hurling and football in his local parish, passions which he would heavily incorporate into his teaching career.
After qualifying as a teacher from the Mater Dei Institute in Dublin, he first began teaching in St Mel’s College in Longford.
It was here he got his first experience coaching, as he guided his U-17 soccer team to a West Leinster Title with a “Mickey Harte and Trapattoni” managerial style.
In his time in Longford, he had an encounter with someone who later went on to manager the Republic of Ireland – Stephen Kenny.
The Dubliner coached the team before that cup final which they went on to win via a penalty shootout.
He said: “Longford Town, at the time, were being managed by a Dublin guy called Stephen Kenny and Stephen came and did a session with the team before the final”.
Then, in the early 2000s he travelled to Dubai where he taught for three years, picking up three Middle Eastern GAA Championships in the process before returning to Ireland to teach in Dublin, then going to Knockbeg for an interview.
He said: “I didn’t have a car at the time, my father had to bring me down to where the school is.
“He asked how long will you be, I said about 30 minutes and then he was left sitting outside as it went beyond an interview, I had a tour and a general chat.”
John started off as a resource teacher and worked with students who didn’t fit in to the typical school system in a time where these students were not afforded many resources.
He said: “I did one to one with students who didn’t fit into the mainstream classroom. This particular character from the St Joseph’s area, and I had so much craic with him.
“Then a second character was added in and that became my initial specialty.”
Around this time John became involved with the sporting programmes in the school when he asked to form a cross country team.
The school put together a team for the 2003 Carlow Schools Cross Country with the tireless work of John and his teaching colleague, John Behan.
He said: ”We only took part in 2003, luckily from 2004 onward though we generally won it.”
After his successes with athletics it wasn’t long before Mr Behan asked him to assist him in the basketball set up.
He said: “I started going off to basketball matches with John and at the start I honestly didn’t have a clue.”
However a quick learner like Maye didn’t take too long to get to grips with the sport and it wasn’t long before he began training his own teams.
He said: “John Behan eventually let me away with my own team on my own, so he sent me off with a team of second years. I just learned hanging around with John.”
Although the teams that the pair coached tended to lack club basketball players they were always deployed in a disciplined setup and worked very hard.
He said: “If you were going to beat us, you were going to beat the very, very best of us. We were going to give everything.”
John Maye left Knockbeg in 2018 after being offered a role as a Deputy Principal in St Conleth’s College in Newbridge.
St Conleth’s is a DEIS school and John said it was here that he worked with “students with real needs” for the first time.
He learned to take a more calming approach when dealing with these students as he described himself as a ‘firm, figure of reason in the school’.
He said: “My office became a place not only of discipline but also where you could go and be listened to.”
His time in St Conleth’s was brief as he was offered the role of principal in Duiske College in Graiguenamanagh.
He described the difference between deputy and principal as exciting but also as a tough learning curve with added responsibility.
He said: “When a difficult decision has to be made you have to make it, when you are deputy I can have a difficult decision and I can say the principal will know what to do.”
He had many fond memories of his times in Duiske and said that Knockbeg was the only school that he could have possibly left for
As he embarks on his second term in Knockbeg he outlined what he would like to do in the school.
He said: “I like to be a principal that is approachable by parents. I understand that if someone comes into the school it is a big deal.
“It is very important that everyone feels like they belong. School is a safe space, we’re not an exam factory. It’s about developing a young person to be a full participant in society.”
The school looks nearly unrecognisable to what John left behind in 2018 as he recalled climbing through scaffolding to collect his belongings when he left for Newbridge but now it boasts wonderful facilities.
A new campus, classrooms, fitness suite and waiting rooms. New entities such as a chess club, music groups, debating and IT have all been added and John has said he hopes more extra curricular activities can be added.
He said: “I can’t wait to get in and see what possibilities that there are.”
You can listen to the full interview with John on the LaoisToday Podcast below:
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