THE teaching faculty at Kerry College stood and applauded Joe Kelly as he entered the canteen on Tuesday morning to acknowledge a man who has given nearly 50 years of service in education.
The teacher and coordinator of the Construction Technology course at the Clash Campus was a little overwhelmed at the impromptu gathering and show of affection from his colleagues as he prepared to say farewell.
CEO of Kerry ETB, Colm McEvoy, described Joe as a “legend” in the teaching world and said he had never attended a retirement for someone who had given such length of service in teaching.
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On behalf of all at Kerry ETB, he wanted to thank Joe from the bottom of their hearts for a job well done, for serving generations of students and for being a great colleague to all. Mr McEvoy wished him well in his retirement.
An emotional Joe composed himself to thank everyone for the surprise gathering. He thanked Principal Stephen Goulding for giving him tremendous support over the years and the staff for being wonderful colleagues.
Joe said he would miss his colleagues and would call in “now and again” to see them.
“You do wonderful work and you don’t get praised enough. I want say a very special thanks for being good comrades to me and supporting me at all times. I wish you all the best in your careers and remember, the student has to be the focus of your attention at all times,” he said.
“I had a great career and I’m happy going, but I’m unhappy in another way because I wish I could go on forever. But when Father Time taps you on the shoulder, it’s time to move aside,” said Joe.
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Joe began his teaching career in St. Davids CBS, Artane, Dublin, in January 1976, where he taught woodwork, graphics, and construction studies to Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle students.
It was a good time for Joe to be in Dublin because back then Kerry football enjoyed the ‘Golden Years’ team which meant Kerry were well able for The Dubs.
In 1980, Joe joined the staff of Moyderwell Vocational School under the auspices of The Town of Tralee V.E.C.
Joe’s C.E.O. at the time was Mr. John Falvey and the VEC chairman was Mr. Michael O’Regan. Joe’s principal was Mr. PJ Breen and deputy principal was Mr. Richard Chute, RIP.
Joe had a half day on Wednesdays for sport, and the fields around the sport complex were full with participating students, where Joe had five teams of 15 for hurling.
In the school year 1986-87, TCC won a Munster Senior “B” hurling title, beating Scoil Stiofán Naofa from Cork City, in Austin Stacks Park, where the referee was none other than the all-time great from Kilkenny, Christy Heffernan.
TCC joint captains were Anthony Gleeson from John Mitchels and Brendan O’Mahony from Crotta O’Neills.
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As the school developed, the Senior Cycle and Transition Year students moved to Clash where they joined in with the RTC students, with the Junior Cycle students remaining in Moyderwell.
Then came the amalgamation of The Town of Tralee VEC with County Kerry VEC under the guidance of Dr. Barney O’Reilly CEO. During this period of time, teachers were often timetabled in both Moyderwell and Clash which meant teachers had to travel between centres.
In 1982, Joe heard from a colleague in St. Davids that a number of his former students lost their lives in the Stardust Fire Disaster, the only sad point in a career spanning 48 and a half years’ service.
In the early 1990s, Tralee Community College won a second Senior “B” hurling title, coached by Joe and Mr. Thomas Fitzmaurice and captained jointly by Pat Driscoll and Eamonn Ferris from Ardfert.
Around this time Joe turned his attention to developing a Post Leaving Certificate course in Construction Technology. The course was highly successful and it prepared learners for the world of work with many learners progressing on to apprenticeships, self-employment, and third level.
In Tralee Community College with Mr. Billy Curtin as Principal, Joe was Year Head for all students and served on the College Board of Management for two terms.
He also served as TUI staff representative on the Kerry Education Service Board for one term with Dr. Barney O’Reilly as CEO, attending a number of TUI Congresses as a Branch delegate and another term with Mr Colm McEvoy as CEO.
Over a long number of years, there was an increase in interest within the Community College staff towards dividing the college into two separate entities, 2nd Level Post- Primary and Further Education and Training in the form of PLC.
This long-term objective came to fruition when visionary CEO of the newly formed ETB Mr. Colm McEvoy took the decision to separate the then TCC into Coláiste Gleann Lí and Kerry College of Further Education.
Joe’s role then moved to teacher and coordinator of the Construction Technology course within Kerry College, Clash Campus.
The final years of nearly half a century of teaching has been spent under the Leadership of Principal Mr. Stephen Goulding who has been tasked with progressing the new Kerry College.
Joe wished to express his sincere thanks to Stephen and to all the other seven Principals, Deputy Principals, four CEOs, all the staff in Kerry ETB Head Office and all his teaching colleagues that have supported him throughout his teaching years and for the many years of friendship and comradery he has enjoyed.
As a classroom teacher with the Town of Tralee VEC, Kerry Education Services and Kerry ETB, Joe said it was a pleasure to work in a scheme where the Student/Learner educational and support services were second to none and easily accessible to all.
Joe is married to Carmel who is Deputy Principal at the Clash Campus and they live in Listowel. They have four children with three going into the teaching profession and one in secondary school with designs on the same path.
Best of luck to Joe on his well-deserved retirement.
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