Laois teacher elected to lead regulation of teachers right across Ireland

A Laois teacher has taken the top position in the body that regulates thousands of teachers across Ireland.

The Teaching Council has confirmed the election of Eamon Dennehy, as Chairperson by the members of the Teaching Council. Originally from Castlemaine in Co Kerry, Mr Dennehy is a teacher of engineering at Heywood Community School, Ballinakill.

The Teaching Council is the regulator of the teaching profession in Ireland. Its role is to protect the public by promoting and regulating professional standards in teaching.

They say they do this through the statutory registration of teachers, ensuring a highly qualified teaching profession, whose members meet and uphold high standards of professional competence and conduct.

To date, Mr Dennehy has chaired the Teaching Council’s Registration Panel and he is also a member of the Registration Committee, the Registration Review Group and the Finance Committee.

“I’m honoured to be elected as Chairperson by the members of the Teaching Council," said Mr Dennehy.

"I believe we must continue to foster an environment where teachers are supported, valued, and motivated around the highest professional standards of teaching in Ireland. I’m keenly aware of the broader challenges facing education and I am committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders in the interests of the teaching profession and its central role in our education system.

“Teaching is a role of critical importance which prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of the future and so it must be promoted as an attractive, vibrant, and rewarding career choice. The education system must continue to be empowering for teachers with programmes and initiatives that support their creativity, capability, and capacity to deliver a high-quality education for learners. Equally important is the role of regulation in maintaining continuously high standards and ensuring that the profession is fully aligned with best practices in teaching.

“Together, we must all strive to ensure that teaching in Ireland is not only continually recognised as a profession of critical importance but also as a vibrant and rewarding career choice, preparing our students for the challenges and opportunities of the future,” he said.

Mr Dennehy joined the Teaching Council in 2022 as a nominee of the ASTI and is a former president of the ASTI. Having graduated from Thomond College, Limerick with a Bachelor of Technology in Education degree, Eamon served on the National Executive Committee of the ASTI in the mid-90s from 2014 to 2020 and was elected President of the association in 2021.

Mr Dennehy commended the contributions of outgoing Chairperson Michelle Keane and Deputy Chairperson, Ann Mulcahy and wished them well and welcomed Mary Curley as incoming Deputy Chairperson and 17 new members of the Council.

The Teaching Council has 37 members including 22 members of the profession (primary and post-primary) who are directly elected by registered teachers, and others including nominees of the Higher Education Institutions, teacher unions, school management, National Parents Council, IBEC and ICTU, as well as Ministerial appointees.

The Teaching Council, including staff and Director, Dr Lynn Ramsey extend best wishes to the new Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and members as they take up their roles.