(L) Dublin 1977-1978

Teaching at Kings Hospital school.

I knew it would be a shock coming back to ‘civilization’ after Ghana –but I was not prepared for the extent of the shock –it was traumatic in the extreme.

In the first place the students were of course insolent and idle compared to the Ghanaians. I had my work cut out adapting my style to them.

Secondly, the subjects I was teaching were new. I was teaching sixth form chemistry and third form geography as well as some biology and lower school General Science.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly I was totally unprepared for the staffroom politics. The staff bullies who had been there for years made life hell for the younger ones –like myself. Especially, if they took themselves seriously-and I took myself very seriously indeed.

I was a world changer when it came to education – I had read Ivan Illich and Everett Reimer and I had taught in Africa – unlike these pretentious Prima donnas such as J W and A McG. The more truculent I was with them the more they baited me of course. I have never been able to handle bullies and I could not handle these guys. I hated their smug sarcasm. P found himself in a difficult position because he was my friend –but also their colleague –and he had got me the job!

The high point of that year was Mrs Flanagan. I lived in her house which was right beside the school. I was in the boarding department and so it was convenient. She was the landlady and a wonderful old lady she was. She smoked like a chimney and had a lovely big fat smelly dog called Cindy. Mrs. F. lived in the kitchen with Cindy and I slept upstairs. The room was like a fridge! In fact the whole house was like a fridge. Every night I would come home and I would go in to Mrs Flanagan and she would chat and chat. She always offered me a pint of milk as well. I grew really fond of her. She was a great golfer but turned out to be in the terminal stages of lung cancer. By the end of the year she was looking awful. The end came very quickly and she died in the summer.

I shared the House with R B who turned out to be a very pleasant and intelligent young man – a friend of P G. I remember R surprising me by getting married at the end of the year. I couldn't’t imagine why anyone of my age would get married. It just seemed a weird thing to do to me.

There were many low points: the discipline in the school was awful – especially in the boarding house. Some of the lower classes were terrible too – I remember P C being a revolting object in the third form. I was under a lot of pressure in the first term getting my classes prepared for all the subjects I was teaching. I remember Thursday was a very heavy day and Friday was quite light. So,on a Thursday night I would go out into Dublin to have a drink–usually with Topsy H – Tim H’s Sister. Tim was in the US and KH was in England by this time. I used to go and drink whisky with Topsy until late on a Thursday night and then go home to Mrs F’s and sleep right thru till about 12 noon on Friday. Then I got up and went into school for lunch and taught in the afternoon.


I remember being so tired at the end of the first term. I went home to Belfast and spent four weeks recovering. The second term was a little easier but the staff situation wasn’t any better. I really disliked the senior staff and they didn’t like me. Naive, as usual, I thought this wouldn’t be a problem –but of course it was.

Politics is everything in schools and I learned the hard way.

In the end J W and A McG started to pick and prod me. P looked on in embarrassment. Eventually, I was informed by P that my non-attendance at a Ist XV rugby match was seen as a serious offence by the powers that be.

How dumb I had been!

I suddenly realized that they wanted me out!

And, not for the first time, I to played straight into the hands of my enemies. I seized the initiative and handed in my resignation in May.

This was not to be the last time I resigned from a job by any means.

J.W. and A.McG must have chuckled to themselves.

In my youth I was more arrogant: I thought I would get another job easily.