Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE PAST WEEK has been the most testing of my career so far and perhaps unnecessarily so.
The decision to close schools in the Republic of Ireland on 12 March brought clarity to its citizens and addressed a growing worry brought about by the spread of the coronavirus.
This decision signalled the beginning of our troubles. Parents looked across the border and could see leadership, so they followed it. They phoned in almost as soon as the announcement was made and began withdrawing their children from school. Immediately we began planning for school closures in the North.
On Friday attendance levels dropped as more parents decided to keep their sons away from school. We awaited the message that was being delivered across Europe, close the schools.
The first message from the Minister for Education did not arrive until Friday at 6 pm, and the message was that schools would stay open.
If Brexit had us reimagining the border that had always been there but had faded since the Good Friday Agreement, the different responses to the coronavirus brought the border into sharp and frightening focus. One virus, one island, young people and teachers with identical needs but two very opposite responses.
Social media filling the void
We were told that schools would definitely be closing sometime in the future but we were given no idea as to when. In the absence of the leadership that was being shown across Europe, school leaders and teachers filled the void.
WhatsApp groups were created, meetings were arranged and ideas as to how to plan for the inevitable yet uncertain closure were shared. Leo Varadkar said in his St Patrick’s Day address that he was looking to see “what’s happening around the world and will learn from the experience of other countries”, some of us looked to the Republic to see how remote learning was being carried out.
We observed what apps, YouTube resources and websites were being used and copied them. By Monday it was clear that our pupils should not be in crowded places, play organised sport, go to their place of worship, take unnecessary journeys, their parents should work from home if possible but our school should open as normal on Wednesday.
The message from London
It appeared as if pupils and staff were being used as a human firewall against the virus so that their parents could continue to work. It seemed to be an economic response to a health emergency.
The decision was taken to close our school to pupils for the rest of the week. The vast majority of schools in the Newry area took the same decision. Some may put this down to Newry being a border area but this pattern was repeated across the jurisdiction.
On Wednesday morning we got ready for a staff briefing. We arranged the Assembly Hall using government advice on social distancing to protect the wellbeing of staff.
They were to sit two metres apart and the meeting would last no more than 15 minutes. Government advice was also to open the school as normal, with hundreds of pupils in a school built in 1958, with corridors not much wider than the minimum space between our staff. The ridiculousness of the situation was obvious.
Later that day UK Education Minister Peter Weir appeared before the education committee and repeated that schools would not close.
As the day progressed it became clear that this decision would be reversed, the feeling was one of relief and the realisation dawned that we might not be returning to school until August.
Staff said goodbye unsure as to when we would be returning, no hugs, no handshakes and no end of year celebrations. Just a strange feeling that we will not get the chance to say goodbye and good luck to our students. Will we ever see our final year students in the school blazer again?
Much to worry about
We are left with plenty of unknowns, which I’m sure is the case for all teachers throughout the north and south:
What we do know is that in the absence of leadership people will come together to make their own decisions and that events on the other side of the border have a massive impact on life here.
Declan Murray is the Principal of St Joseph’s Boys’ High School in Newry. An 11-16 secondary school for boys.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Well done Declan great to see the people making the decisions,just goes to show that there is no leadership at the moment this is going to change the whole world when we come out of this ,it also shows that we need to come a hell of a lot closer together ,
Stay safe and hopefully ye will be back sooner rather than later
Regards
It was an attempt at a culling of the most vulnerable.
@Jim Buckley Barrett: Kinda a conservative blue shirt culling …
@Willy Mc Entire: you’d know a lot about culling.
@Willy Mc Entire:
Ní ceapaim Willy.
@Willy Mc Entire: grow up.
I’m afraid the brits were never good at taking orders/advise.
You’d have to wonder was there an element of “fcuk you we are doing our own thing” as a show of defiance stemming from there new found “independence”
@Coco86: the Brexit project was going to cost dear anyway but the prospect of the economic fallout from Coronavirus measures on top was too much to bear for the crusaders. Economics drove their response alright. Their response will cost lives.
@Gerry Ryan deG: Unfortunately that seems to be the case alright
@Coco86: I got the impression that The UK was shadowing the USA response,.
Trumps approach was that it was ‘under control’ etc it’s only when the Americans started to Act, Johnson seemed to change tactic.
Incidentally, Johnson in my opinion is using this Scientist James Witty as his advisor, he worked on the Ebola outbreak a few years ago, I get the impression the approach is more economical, , the ‘herd immunity’ was Whittys advice…
It’s a f#ck up..
England will pay a huge price in human life for Johnson’s dithering. Already the death rate there is far higher than Wales, Scotland or the island of Ireland. I saw a man called John Glen, who works for the Chancellor, answering ( or trying to) answer questions in the parliament yesterday. It was cringe- inducing stuff.
It’s worrying that I’m order to do the right thing you have to rebel against the leadership. Perhaps if England didn’t make up most of the UK they wouldn’t be Englanding themselves off a cliffs edge
When this is all over, as it will be, a serious conversation and reflection needed, as to how the UK managed to recklessly endanger the citizens of our Republic and its own. On this issue, the Executive in Stormont not fit for purpose.
Everything this man said made sense.
The blitz spirit invoked by the Brexiteers sees pensioners struggling to get basics as supermarkets stripped bare.
Elect bumbling populists and this is the result.
@DJ François: “struggling to get basics”… Oh please enough of the sensationalism.
@Alan Currie: my sister is in London, spent the entire day two days ago looking for food, no veg, no fruit anywhere, queued for 4 hrs yesterday morning from 5am in the rain to get some shopping. No rice or dried goods to be found. If shes struggling to get basics and she inst a pensioner then what are pensioners having to do in your non-sensationalist opinion?
@Alan Currie: Have you seen the ques outside Tesco’s in the UK from before opening?
Capitalism facilitated the virus.
Socialism will facilitate the response and recovery.
@John: And the long lasting social and financial control that will be pushed on to the population???
@John: communism is at the root of this if chairman Mao hadn’t starved 60 million people the Chinese wouldn’t have turned to eating wildlife such as bat’s which are know to pass on viruses like we’ve seen here.
@John: actually communism is a the root of this. if Mao hadn’t starved his population they wouldn’t have had to turn to eating wildlife such as bat’s for food for long enough that it became the norm. Also the Chinese government has a case to answer for allowing wet markets to continue.
Vladamir Putin was dead right about the UK when he said they are a supercillious country
Great Article
Johnson always had that just out of bed look about him. He has the boris virus and it is costing the uk dearly. Stay safe everyone
Cheers Declan.
@Mike McGann: great article
Bozo really messed up here! What a Pratt
Obviously driven by Economic reasons rather than Health concerns. Brexit has left Britain exposed with little or no friends in Europe after Boris Johnson decided to change the terms of separation again. It’s almost like they now need to “Cull” an entire section of older dependant pensioners who are costing the state money and may end up overwhelmingly the NHS if they fall ill.
Every other EU country has tried to follow the WHO guidelines on containment, but BoJo knows better.
Even though every health authority in existence has called for systematic shutdown and separation.
Nothing to see here folks, keep your heads down and your mouths shut, England needs “worker bees” to keep the wheels turning, remember the Blitz, we shall prevail.
Watch this space folks …..
Well said, Declan. Concise, erudite and straight to the point…..(unlike some of the nonsensical comments printed here…..)
Brexit put that ‘jurisdiction’ on life support….Little England’s arrogant folly coupled with Bojo’s ‘science’…and the consequences of that policy imposed on the North…just unplugged it.
Boris is marching them to the gallows .
With Arnold grinning over his shoulder .
Two obnoxious individuals .
Wow well written Declan. And good for you.. Making good decisions to protect, your pupils, staff and the wider community. Boris Johnson”s lack of leadership in this crisis is appalling!! Thankfully the Irish government has taken the bull by the horns and made some excellent decisions to safeguard the population of the Republic. It looks like Northern Ireland has been left out on a limb.. Which obviously has an affect on us here in the South with people crossing the border with no checks nor restrictions in place.
have your say