11th April 2016

What Difference Do Catholic Schools Make?

On a dreadful evening in April, members of the Boards of Management of the three Marist schools gathered in City North Hotel for an evening of consideration of the theme 'What difference do Catholic Schools make?'

Hardy representatives from the schools braved the elements and the traffic to hear Fr David Corrigan give his thoughts on his recent experience of being heavily involved in Catholic education and the fact that he is no longer involved but is working in a parish. His sincerity and honesty touched everyone listening.

This was followed by Rev Eamonn Conway's presentation in which he explored the question of whether, in asking this question,we mean the difference Catholic schools make in theory , or in practice. He also looked at what we can learn from Church teaching on Catholic education and what difference that can make in the classroom and school corridors in that we must value the person, not the product. He then reviewed the current concrete challenges to faith-based education in Ireland.

All in all, it was quite a challenging evening's exploration. All the attendees appreciated the  chance to consider the question and looked forward to the next gathering.