O Grady School
Our Team
Mary O'Grady
School Director
Mary has long experience in education, and first qualified as a teacher in 1983. Since then, Mary has worked as a fulltime teacher with the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland, gaining many years of experience. In addition, she has an M.Ed in Educational Management from the University of Limerick, and lectures on teacher training courses. Mary has been organising student summer programmes for 20 years, and brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and skills to her role as course director.
John O'Grady
School Director
John is a CELTA qualified teacher, and also works as a national tour guide, organising and accompanying tourist groups as they journey around Ireland. He brings a range of knowledge and skills to the summer programme each year, and is particularly interested in ensuring that all the students develop a greater understanding of Ireland and experience as much of Ireland as is possible during their stay.
Eadaoin
School Manager
Eadaoin is a Physical Education Teacher in a local secondary school. She also has vast experience within the areas of community development, teaching and delivering leadership programmes to teenagers. Eadaoin has young children of her own and knows how important it is that the teenagers are cared for when they come to our school. She has worked with teenagers in many different settings and brings an array of knowledge and ideas to the school.
All our teachers are fully qualified Irish teachers, who are native English speakers. They bring a fantastic mix of enthusiasm, energy and ideas to our summer programme. The focus is strongly on fun,with lots of interactive, group and team activities, where students are always encouraged to speak English. The emphasis is on using the spoken language, on English conversation and practical spoken English. Classes are typically about 15 students, with 2 or 3 Irish teenagers as helpers. This number allows for good interaction, while still maintaining the small group ethos.
