Cavan visionary remembered

Rarely, within a generation does a visionary with alternative ideas come along, who when given a chance to contribute to society can make a difference. Florence ‘Florrie’ Armstrong was an educational innovator who foresaw a different way in how children of every religion or none could be taught under one roof. However, she did not have an easy time of it as she tried to persuade the public, churches, and government of her ideas, often facing downright hostility. But, fortunately for Florrie and her supporters the reality of establishing the country’s first Educate Together school came to fruition. Of course, education and a school’s ethos can be a hot topic with so many shades of opinion, that we might be happy to avoid debate, considering it to be a matter of different strokes for different folks. An account of Florrie’s life by Linde Lunney appears in the Dictionary of Irish Biography.

Belturbet

Florence Armstrong was born on 26 November 1928 in the townland of Drumalure, Co. Cavan, but grew up in Belturbet with her parents Thomas and Elizabeth Armstrong née Dunne. Her father was an employee at the local railway station, working as a rail clerk. Having completed her schooling Florrie became a student at Colaíste Mobhí, Dublin, a second level protestant school which taught through Irish. In the late 1940s, she entered Trinity College Dublin as a language student and emerged in 1951 with a BA degree. Following university, Armstrong was appointed principal of a Cavan national school at ‘Bocade Glebe, Kildallan.’

Having obtained her H.Dip. Ed through TCD, she left Cavan to take up the role of a teaching principal at the one teacher St. Patrick’s N.S., Dalkey, Co. Dublin, under the patronage of the Church of Ireland. The building was little more than a rundown old hall with a small number of children in attendance. A progressive teacher, her energy and enthusiasm meant that Florrie was hungry for change and improvement. In just over decade, by 1971, the school had three teachers and 200 pupils. Florrie’s irrepressible personality and the willingness of the Rev. Desmond Murray, the local rector and chairperson of St. Patrick’s to back the development meant that changes could be implemented. As Linde Lunney wrote, Florrie had ‘a child-centred’ focus to education, which ‘welcomed children from different denominations.’

However, when Rev. Murray left the area, his replacement had a different outlook, disagreeing with church resources being spent on children who were not from a protestant background. In terms of space, the large numbers of pupils at the school were beginning to cause problems, while Linde Lunney mentions other issues, such as the opposition of ‘conservative catholics’ who became ‘appalled that catholic families were joining the avowedly non-sectarian community in St. Pat’s’, adding that, ‘the Department of Education, under the aegis of a conservative and strongly catholic Fine Gael minister, Richard Burke … refused to sanction any expansion.’

St. Patrick’s differed vastly to other schools, in that Florrie encouraged parents ‘as partners’ to engage with the education process, her overwhelming desire, to have children of all creeds taught together. Her views on the role of religion and education were unheard of, believing that there was no place in a modern society for what she called ‘indoctrination and evangelism’ in a classroom. Her views caused an over the top reaction, creating excitement on the radio, and in newspaper debates. The backlash placed Florrie’s project into a position of stalemate.

Instead, she left the school and went to Africa where she taught until 1977. However, changes were already afoot in Ireland when the Fianna Fáil government came to power, with a new Education Minister, Mr. John Wilson TD, who from a teaching background himself, was sympathetic to the Dalkey project and straightaway provided support. Florrie was asked to come home from Nigeria and was appointed principal of what became Ireland's first Educate Together school. With its emphasis on a less formal teaching style, the school was a major success and a new premises was built at Glenageary, Dun Laoghaire. Florrie retired from the school in 1990, which by then accommodated 300 pupils. In retirement she returned to Africa, as an educational adviser to the Zambian government. Today, there are 92 primary and 17 second level Educate Together schools in Ireland who were inspired by the Dalkey project.

Educate Together

When Florrie Armstrong died in 2010, the website www.educatetogether.ie published many tributes, leading with messages such as ‘Florrie was an inspirational teacher and educationalist, a native of Co. Cavan and a lifelong champion of child-centred and multi-denominational education in Ireland and abroad.’

In 2006, a special award for teachers who made a difference in the Educate Together system, called the ‘seed’ award was introduced, its first recipient being Florrie. On the thirtieth anniversary of Educate Together in 2008, President Mary McAleese was present to honour Florrie.

Perhaps, much of Florrie Armstrong’s approach could be summed up by her famous motto: ‘Ships are safe in harbour, but that’s not what ships are for.’

DISPUTE OVER A CORPSE

In July 1909, the Denbigshire Free Press, reported on a matter of a less ecumenical nature which occurred at Cootehill Workhouse. An inmate named Davidson, became the subject of an’ unparalleled dispute’, having on his deathbed ‘turned’ to the ‘Roman Catholic faith’, to which church his body was claimed for burial. Davidson’s brother strongly objected, and, on the Sunday, two coffins arrived at the workhouse. The confused matron wired the local government board and the parish priest for instructions. An hour later, the deceased man’s brother arrived with a mandate from the courts directing that he be given the body. Interesting developments were expected before the funeral could be held.