Course Director – Dr. Siobhán Cahillane-McGovern
Siobhán is a graduate of MICE, Limerick and also holds an M.A. in Education from the Open University and a Ph.D. from Leeds Met. University. Having started her career as a primary teacher, she then worked with the Primary Curriculum Support Programme (PCSP) in the initial phase of the Revised Curriculum. Subsequently, she lectured at St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra where she had particular responsibility for literacy on the undergraduate and graduate programmes. She also taught on the Current Issues, Teacher Identity and Qualitative Research Methods modules of the online M.Ed. programme. Her research interests are in the areas of Literacy, Assessment and Teacher Identities; she has presented papers at national and international research conferences and is a member of the Reading Association of Ireland, the United Kingdom Literacy Association and Educational Studies Association of Ireland.
Deputy Course Director – Leo Kilroy
Leo qualified as a primary teacher in St Patrick’s College Drumcondra and taught a variety of class levels in O’Connell’s Boys NS in north Dublin for almost 10 years. During that time, he developed particular interest in Arts Education and from early in his career, became involved in the design and delivery of teacher in-service courses. He studied Music at a postgraduate level in St Patrick’s College and at Dublin City University. Leo was seconded to the Ark, a cultural centre for children in 2001 as Music and Education Officer. For the past three years, he has worked with the Primary Curriculum Support Programme (PCSP) and the Primary Professional Development Service (PPDS) and has designed and delivered training and school-based support in the areas of Organisational Development, General Curriculum topics, Drama, Music and Visual Arts.
Anna Davitt – Head of Irish
Anna is an MA graduate in Modern Irish from University College Dublin (UCD). She spent five years developing Irish language courses in the Department of Modern Irish, UCD, as Language Laboratory Assistant and as Director of An Teanglann (Irish Language Laboratory).
In 2007, Anna was appointed Director of Comhar na Múinteoirí Gaeilge, a support organisation for teachers who are teaching Irish or through the medium of Irish. During her period as Director of Comhar na Múinteoirí Gaeilge, she developed various services for Irish teachers including language courses, seminars, publications and Irish language projects for schools. Anna has particular experience in developing and delivering courses in Gaeltacht areas all over Ireland. She has produced several educational resources and has worked on many media and literary projects through the medium of Irish.
