Donna Fitzgerald, a teacher at St Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla, is the only one of the four national winners of a Teachers Inspire to have received a group nomination.
Organised and run by Dublin City University, Teachers Inspire is an Ireland-wide initiative that seeks to celebrate teachers and to recognise the transformative role they play in our lives and in our communities.
This year’s Teachers Inspire campaign saw inspirational stories from all across the country. Teachers Inspire 2021 was curated by acclaimed author Louise O’Neill, who has also hosted the Teachers Inspire podcast, sharing stories of teachers who have made a difference.
Teachers Inspire was told that Donna is known for her saying ‘not all who wander are lost,’ and to her students she also “teaches by her words and her actions (to) live life to your potential, to take on challenges and to be happy in what you are doing.”
On behalf of a number of students, Teachers Inspire was told, “She has continuously provided a top class academic experience, helping students achieve consistently high marks in Geography. She started the school mental health awareness program which resulted in a ‘Wellness Week’ in the school as well as a huge effort to support Cycle Against Suicide which stopped in Tulla.
Donna said she was ‘overwhelmed’ to hear she had been nominated. She said a teacher “can be the only person in a day that smiles at that child. We can be the only person in the day that asks them how they’re doing.” She said, “I don’t necessarily think teaching is all about academics. It’s not sitting at a desk, and it’s not points, the points race, it’s so much more, it’s the holistic development of the students.” Being selected for a Teachers Inspire has also brought positivity throughout the school community, she added.
Curator Louise O’Neill said, “we received hundreds of entries for the Teachers Inspire initiative and if there was any recurring theme, it was the power of teachers to encourage their students to believe in themselves, and how those young people carried that message throughout their entire lives.”
Prof Daire Keogh, President of Dublin City University said:
“The response to the second year of the Teachers Inspire initiative has been phenomenal. Once again, we have received extraordinary testimonies from people across the country, who have spoken about the hugely positive influence teachers have had on their lives and on the life of communities. I want to congratulate the four worthy recipients of this honour, who are representative of the excellence, passion, and dedication of so many of Ireland’s teachers.”
Mr. Dermot Desmond said
“I had a grand uncle and an uncle that attended Dublin City University [St. Patrick’s] and I felt that teachers were under-appreciated and undervalued in society. I believe that education is the best investment any government can make. I really wanted teachers to be recognised, because teachers had a profound impact on my life, in advising, mentoring, educating and passing on knowledge.
I congratulate all the recipients and all those who have been nominated, because you are the heroes in our society.”
Prof Anne Looney, Executive Dean of Dublin City University’s Institute of Education said
“With these awards, Teachers Inspire gives recognition not just to the four exceptional recipients but also to the wider teaching community across the country. Right through the pandemic, our teachers displayed enormous resilience and an unwavering commitment to their students’ education. At the DCU Institute of Education, we are immensely proud of the more than one thousand student teachers who played their part as substitute teachers in classrooms countrywide. I have no doubt that they will be the next generation of Ireland’s inspiring educators.”
About Teachers Inspire
Teachers Inspire is an Ireland-wide initiative that seeks to celebrate teachers and to recognise the transformative role they play in our lives and in our communities. It is organised and run by Dublin City University. It is generously supported by a philanthropic donation by Mr. Dermot Desmond. Mr. Desmond also supports The Desmond Chair in Early Childhood Education at DCU’s Institute of Education.
Teachers Inspire first ran in 2019. It was postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic.
