Carlow teacher receives prestigious Teachers Inspire Award at DCU

Yesterday, Jennifer Hutton, a teacher at St. Fiacc’s National School, Graiguecullen, Co. Carlow, received the prestigious Teachers Inspire Ireland Desmond Award.

At a special ceremony in Dublin City University, hosted by RTÉ Broadcaster Miriam O’Callaghan, Ms Hutton was recognised for the inspirational role she played in the lives of her students, alongside three other teachers from across Ireland.  

Ms Hutton was nominated by Susan Maguire (a mother of one of her students), as she showed compassion and kindness during a difficult family time.

Susan faced an early delivery of her baby (Dáire) at only 27 weeks while on holiday in Spain, and was forced to remain in a Spanish hospital for 2-weeks due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Her son, Chirstopher (6), returned to Ireland with family until Susan, husband Brian and baby Dáire could return home safely. Ms. Hutton, Christopher’s Senior Infants teacher, assured Susan that she would look after him as if he was her own and went above and beyond her duty as a teacher to look after his wellbeing during a tumultuous time.

Susan said “I will spend the rest of my life being grateful to her for her kindness and compassion to my family.”

Organised and run by Dublin City University, Teachers Inspire is an Ireland-wide initiative that seeks to celebrate teachers and recognise the transformative role they play in our lives and in our communities.

Acclaimed Author, Louise O’Neill, returned as this year’s curator and host of the Teachers Inspire podcast where she spoke to some of the nominees about the challenges they faced at school and how their teachers helped them overcome them.

On her involvement with the Teachers Inspire initiative, Louise said: “It is an honour to curate and host the Teachers Inspire podcast once again. I have loved and felt immensely privileged to listen to and to share the stories of the nominators and nominees from across Ireland. Coming from a family of teachers, I have seen first hand how much love, passion and effort goes into the job, and every single teacher deserves to be recognised for the work that they do when it comes to shaping the lives of future generations.”

The Teachers Inspire initiative is generously supported by a philanthropic donation from Mr Dermot Desmond.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr Desmond said: “In all that they do, teachers have a profoundly positive influence on the lives of our children and young people. They are true heroes of Irish society. For that reason, I have been genuinely delighted to support the Teachers Inspire initiative since it launched in 2019. I want to congratulate this year's worthy recipients and indeed, every teacher who was nominated”.

Professor Anne Looney, Executive Dean of Dublin City University’s Institute of Education, said: “Teachers Inspire celebrates the incredible contribution teachers make to young people and their communities across Ireland. The podcast has received a huge response, and to listen to the remarkable stories of teachers influencing lives in such positive and profound ways, is truly inspiring.

“These stories are part of Ireland's great teaching heritage and our reputation for producing some of the best teachers in the world. These are the stories that inspire the next generation of teachers - especially the thousands studying with us in DCU Institute of Education, and the many more who apply each year to join our teacher education programmes. And these stories are also a reflection of the calibre and status of teachers and teaching in Irish society. We need to keep telling these stories: our children and young people deserve great and inspiring teachers”. 

Speaking on Teachers Inspire, Professor Daire Keogh, President of Dublin City University, said: “Teaching is the profession of hope. The impact of teachers on children and young people’s lives, and our society as a whole, cannot be overestimated. They are at the very heart of communities across the country, educating, encouraging and inspiring the next generation. DCU is proud to give recognition to these exceptional educators through Teachers Inspire.”