Vincent Healy, Past Pupil and Teacher

I STARTED teaching in 1984 and retired in 2013. My first day teaching there was a big one for me. To start working with guys who only a few years previous were my teachers was interesting to say the least. They were formidable figures that taught us and here I was suddenly sitting down drinking coffee with them in the staff room. It felt surreal to a certain extent.

It was Br Gavin who hired me as I had worked with him previously in the North Monastery School in Cork. He moved to Tralee and I got my job there the same year. The first thing that stood out for me was the appointment of Rachel Moynihan. As a pupil, it was a male dominated school so to see it open up and gradually become accustomed to change in a modern way was memorable.

The Green always had a huge tradition of academia and it was very much a results driven school. In the North Mon you had subjects like metalwork and woodwork, whereas in the Green there was nothing like that at the time. It was all academic subjects. But this too evolved over time. When Moyderwell School opened this meant there was more options for students and we were essentially looking to attract pupils to the school at that stage.

I really enjoyed my time in the school and there was huge camaraderie among the staff. When I first started, many of the older staff members really drove the ethos of the school and they should be commended for this.

Football of course always brought great excitement to the school. Eamon Walsh and I trained the U15s to win two years in a row and it was the same as winning the All-Ireland to us. It’s often overlooked, but football really helped to bond and unite the school.