NIAMH BHREATHNACH RIP

I've chosen this photo of Niamh
because she chose it herself, for her Facebook profile.
Click on any image for a larger version.

Niamh Bhreathnach died on 6 February 2023 bringing to an end a career that had been singlemindedly devoted to combatting disadvantage in education and to advancing women's rights.

You can read about all of this in the lovely tribute Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D Higgins, posted on the Presidential website and in the heartfelt eulogy of her husband, Tom Ferris, at her funeral mass in Blackrock church on 10 February 2023.

I simply want to recall here some more personal memories.

In the autumn of 1967, on completing my MA in UCD, I headed off to the College of Europe in Bruges. I was only there a few days when I got the above telegramme from Tom "SHOULD I TAKE BRUGES".

The background here is that the Department of Education were willing to finance two places in the College for Irish people. I was the only one to go and Denis Corboy was trying to get a second person to take up the remaining place. He had obviously persuaded Tom to go and Tom was asking my advice. Now the College is a dual language institution - English and French. You were required to have fluency in one of the two languages and a working knowledge of the other. Many of the lectures were delivered in French and some of the texbooks were in the same language.

Tom didn't have any French, so I advised him not to come and he didn't. I wouldn't have been so sure some weeks later when I discovered the linguistic competence, or should I say incompetence, of some of the students but the damage was done and I carried a sense of guilt over this for many years.

But shortly after this exchange, Tom met Niamh, and had he come to Bruges, I wouldn't be writing this post today.

13 December 1969
Photo: Mr. Connolly, Glasthule.

And I certainly wouldn't be posting this photo. I remember the day well. Niamh was a stunner.

Niamh was very taken with red roses. So am I, particularly single stem red roses. I once took a single stem red rose to Dachau concentration camp. It's a hugely strong statement.

After Bruges, I met Niamh in Ballybrack school where I was doing a slide show for young children recounting various children's stories including the Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. I was a bit nervous and mentioned to her that maybe there was too much repetition in the stories.

"That's exactly what young children need", she said, "it gives them a sense of reassurance".

I never forgot that advice and later on when it came to public speaking or debating I remember the same advice but put slightly differently. "Tell them what you're going to say, say it, and tell them what you've said". Works like a dream.

However, there is a more sinister manifestation of the same phenomenon in today's world. In both the Trump administration in the US and recent Conservative governments in the UK, the perception is that if you tell a lie, the best thing to do is repeat it and repeat it, as brazenly as necessary, and then it becomes the truth for a sufficient number of your supporters, at least, for you to be able to ignore all criticism.

I can say, with complete confidence, that none of these awful people came out of any of Niamh's classes.

Niamh, and Tom, were the cause of me once cancelling my subscription to the Blood Bank. Yes, I rang up the Bank and told them they could not use the sample I had provided earlier. I don't know if I am unique in this but if I am it's all Niamh's (and Tom's fault).

I had given blood on the day and later found out that they had both contracted glandular fever, a nasty virus, known by a big long name, but also "the kissing disease". God between us and all harm.

Tom mentioned a few things in his eulogy that I'd like to revisit.

Tom said she "didn’t suffer fools gladly, be they high or low" which reminded me of a story of hers where she simultaneously showed loyalty to her civil service and certainly did not suffer a high fool gladly.

She was meeting the EU Social Affairs Commissioner in Brussels and had along with her the Secretary General of her Department. "Get him out of here" says Pee Flynn. "He stays" says Niamh. And he did. Good on ya girl!

Tom also mentioned a little test she introduced him to which sensitised him to the extent of the existence of discrimination against women. After, or at, a meeting, she would ask him "how many women were present?". I can tell you, that is an instant sensitiser. I had the same experience myself with Brigid McManus who worked with me in the Department of Finance. She trained me to ask myself the very same question, and the results were surprising. I had never noticed the paucity of women at meetings, but I most certainly did from then on. Incidentally, Brigid went on to become Secretary General of the Department of Education, but after Niamh's time as Minister.

He also mentioned that Niamh put the Educational sector on a legislative basis. I took particular note of that. I had been aware, from when I had some responsibility for the Department of Education in the Department of Economic Planning and Development, that the Department of Education was run on the basis of civil service circulars and that it consisted of a host of barely related kingdoms. This was apparent when we were attempting to make pupil forecasts for the different sectors at a time when the community schools were coming to the fore. No sector was conceding numbers to the community schools and this would have resulted in serious overinvestment at the time. I was told that the only place the Department came together was in the Estimates Office - the money had to add up at the end of the day.

So the idea of putting all of this stuff on a firm legislative base was not a trivial matter.

If you want to get a flavour of how assertively Niamh handled her brief in Education you should read her speech in Maynooth on 16 June 2022 where she gives a good idea of the pushback against her introducing The Universities Act 1997. This was almost her last public engagement and it shows up the fighter in her.

And so to the final journey.

I have to diverge here slightly to make a comment on Niamh's death notice. The request for no flowers is not unusual but when I saw "Donations, if desired, to www.goodgrub.ie", I was taken aback. Was this her favourite restaurant and how come it was important enough to figure in a death notice? My head went into a tailspin of smoked salmon socialism until I clicked on the link. The entry was the choice of the family but it gave Niamh a final shot from beyond the grave. Click on it and you'll see what I mean.

Tom giving Niamh's eulogy

There is a link to the eulogy at the head of this post.

Grandchildren Tom & Alice bring up the objects,
a family portrait & a copy of the 1995 White Paper on Education.

It was a touching moment in the ceremony when Niamh's grandchildren brought up the objects symbolising Niamh's life. The White Paper was a surprise but a fitting tribute, and there is no way better to conclude this post than to quote the final paragraph of Niamh's introduction to it:

The ultimate objective of the strategies set out in this White Paper is an education system which will provide every student with fulfilling educational experiences at every stage in a lifetime of learning. As our society becomes more complex, the capacity to learn continuously will determine each individual's life chances and decisively influence the quality and prosperity of our society

Niamh's public life in a nutshell.

Short tribute from the Labour Party.

Niamh was a friend.

May she rest in peace.