O'Brien to move to Louth Meath ETB

It has been announced that Martin G. O’Brien, Chief Executive, Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board has been redeployed by the Department of Education and Skills to the position of Chief Executive of Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB), with effect from September 1, 2016.

During his time in CMETB and previously Monaghan VEC Mr O’Brien oversaw the development of the Monaghan Education Campus, the commencement of a new secondary school, Dun an Ri College in Kingscourt, an extension to Castleblaney College and the commencement of an extension to Breifne College in Cavan Town, as well as the expansion of educational provision through the development of new apprenticeships and the growth of industry led courses.

Announcing the redeployment, Mr O’Brien thanked the members of Cavan and Monaghan ETB and paid tribute to the staff of CMETB. “It has been my great privilege as Chief Executive of Cavan and Monaghan ETB since 2013 and prior to that as Chief Executive of Monaghan VEC from 2007 to work with a visionary board and an exceptionally dedicated and skilled team of teachers, tutors, principals and administration staff in Cavan and Monaghan ETB.

'CMETB is now one of the leading ETBs in the country in terms of the development of educational provision and the quality of its facilities. These are not accomplishments a CEO makes alone. These are achievements that require a committed team of gifted, tenacious individuals who come together to work relentlessly for a common goal of ensuring the delivery of quality education in state of the art facilities. It has been an honour to lead that team and to be the first Chief Executive of CMETB. I take this opportunity to thank all staff and ETB members for their dedication, commitment and support and wish them good health, happiness and continued success for the future.”

As Chief Executive Mr O’Brien project managed the largest ever devolved pilot project in the construction of €45 million Monaghan Education Campus, which was opened by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD in February 2015.

Acknowledging the contribution of Mr O’ Brien to CMETB, Cllr Cathy Bennett, Chairperson of CMETB, paid tribute to his hard work. “Martin leaves a well-resourced, strong ETB with an infrastructure that will allow our schools and institutions to better serve students and the community. His commitment to education included the building of state of the art facilities and the development of new style apprenticeships in conjunction with industry. In the past year he has led the development and expansion of facilities within CMETB at all levels with €25M worth of capital projects ongoing at present. I would like to wish Martin well on his move to LMETB and extend our best wishes to him, his wife and family on this career change. I look forward to working with the Department on the appointment of a new Chief Executive.”

It is expected that the Department of Education and Skills will now move to fill the vacancy created in CMETB by Mr O’Brien’s redeployment.