This film presents the national school teacher in rural Ireland as a person who commanded respect and whose influence extended beyond the classroom.
Liam O’Connell (former teacher) and his son Morgan (also a national school teacher), speak of their time teaching in a small mixed school in Cloghan Hill on the Mayo-Galway border. They discuss modern teaching methods and the changing role of the Master in Irish society. Liam speaks movingly about a particular child who made a significant impact on him. The interviews are interwoven with a trip to the INTO headquarters in Dublin and with scenes in the classroom, in the playground and on field trips to nearby historical sites.
This is one of several films made by the Radharc Team about educational institutions in Ireland and abroad. To see more films made by the Radharc Team, click here.
This film is part of Children on Film. To see more from this collection, click here.
IFI recommendation: 8+
