Cobh

Farewell Tony ------The end of an era
At the end of May we published in the East Cork News advertiser the announcement of the impending retirement of Tony Kenneally Principal of Scoil Iosaif Naofa in Cobh. On the final day of the school term before the Summer holidays on the. 30th of June, I paid a visit to the school to wish Tony a happy retirement and to thank him for the wonderful years of service to the school and the community. When the pupils left the present staff and retired members of the staff, assembled in, the school yard, where staff member Sean O'Loinsigh paid a wonderful tribute which we quote in full. Tony was the recipient of a number of presentations, but perhaps the most unexpected one was that of the Jersey of one of the legends of the beloved Leeds United team whom Tony supported through thick and thin, all his sporting life. As well as a soccer supporter he became a keen Ladies football fan when one of the stars of the Cork team Orla Finn took up a teaching post in the school.
Tony Thanked all his staff and wished them well in the future under the guiding influence of the new Principal. He paid a particular tribute to his good wife Kate a teacher like himself recently retired for her wonderful support.
Tony Kennealy Announcement in May
From Tony Kenneally Principal Scoil Iosaef Naofa
Dear Parents, 
I wanted to inform you personally that I am retiring from the 31st August. Practically speaking this will be a few weeks before this date. A process is currently underway to choose a new principal. We hope to be able to make an announcement on this in due course.
I have worked in Scoil Iosaef Naofa since 1982, the last 10 years as principal. It has been an honour and a privilege. Thank you for your co-operation, ,support and friendship down through the years.
I am confident with the staff, students and parents we have, that the school will continue to go from strength to strength.
Tony Kenneally.
Note from Fr Liam Kelleher at the end of May
Before i retired from priestly ministry in Cobh last September, it was my privilege to be chaplain of Scoil Iosaef Naofa. It was always a joy to visit the school and I was particularly impressed with the welcome I received from Tony and his dedicated teaching staff. The pupils as well, were exceptionally welcoming and I will always cherish the visits to the classes preparing for the sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion. The Catholic and the Christian ethos in the school was exemplary and I could easily see this beginning with Tony and evident throughout the entire school. As a former member of the Board of management of the school, all I can say is, Tony was again superb, concerned and caring for every pupil in the school. After nearly 40 years in the school, his time of retirement is nigh. I wish Tony the very best and my blessings and prayers go with him.Teachers parents and pupils I know will be eternally grateful to Tony for his contribution in making the school a real place of learning and preparation of the students, for their future lives.&nbsp;
One the 30th of June last day in school
Anthony Kenneally - A Tribute. By Sean O'Loinsigh
Go raibh míle maith agaibh. Chun tús a chur le cúrsaí inniu, ba mhaith liom fáilte ó chroí a chur roimh ár gcomhleacaithe nach bhfuil anso sa scoil linn a thuile. Cuirim fáilte go speisialta roimh iar-príomhoide, Michael Farrell, iar- leas proimhoidí, PJ O’Brien agus Willie McSweeney,agus an té is déanaí a d’imigh, Marty Fleming. Faraoir, ní féidir le Maureen O’ Connell a bheith linn inniu, agus Eileen Halley mar an gcéanna. Is iomaí duine eile a d’oibrigh le Anthony Kenneally anso i Scoil Iosaef Naofa ó 1982 i leith. Tá súil agam no n-éireoidh liom cuid mhaith acu a lua. Maith dhom é má fhágaim éinne ar lár. Tá tréimhse dhá scór blian imithe thairis ón uair a thosnaigh fear óg fuinnúil, Anthony Kenneally, ar a thuras mar oide.&nbsp;
I hope you can bear with me as I attempt to pay tribute, on behalf of my colleagues and the wider school community, to a great educator and a great man, who has been central to Scoil Iosaef for close on four decades.&nbsp;
I will start with my own relationship with Tony, or Anthony as some of you know him. I understand the dual identity, as many people only know me as Seán Ó Loingsigh, rather than Jack. I have known Tony for 28 or possibly 29 years. My wife has known him longer, but mainly as Brother Martin’s brother. My first encounters with Tony were here on this very spot,
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&nbsp;when we rehearsed for trips abroad with Rinnceoirí Idirnáisiúnta Chontae Chorcaí. He proudly led us on stage, carrying the tricolour in Hungary and Belgium, I think. I’m not sure what his dancing prowess was like, but I have great memories of those trips. We were under the firm stewardship of Maureen O’Connell, who didn’t easily entertain slackers. For me, it was a time of being on holidays with about 5 people who would some 6 years later be my colleagues. As you can imagine, it made it was great to be walking into a new staffroom with so many familiar faces. In the years since, I have gotten to know Tony as a valued colleague and friend.&nbsp;
Anthony Kenneally qualified as a B.Ed from St Pats in 1982, 4 years before I did the same. He had completed his BA in UCC previously. He embarked on a long and illustrious career in Scoil Iosaef, where his brother, Brother Martin, was already on the staff. There he joined fellow young teachers like Willie McSweeney, Marty Fleming, Frankie Quirke, Eamon Carney, Seanie O’Gorman, Mike Desmond, Sean Cottrell, John Culhane, and others whom I haven’t met. The school was much widely known then as the brothers. Even I remember us jokingly referring to each other as Brother Tony, PJ, or Maureen. Tony would have started in the school under the principalship of the legendary Brother Stephen, a man steeped in sport. Brother Benildus was the last non lay principal before Mike Farrell and Tony. Both are thankfully still with us. Other brothers who taught in Tony’s time were Gilbert and Fabien, plus others I may not have met. As you might gather, the presence of the Presentation Order was a much greater part of the school community then than it is now.&nbsp;
Tony is very much part of our Pres heritage, steeped in Críost Rí background, and sadly maybe one of our last links to our so rich Pres past. I wouldn’t like to think that Scoil Iosaef Naofa teachers of the future wouldn’t occasionally pause as they bring in classes, and point out the plaque to Edmund Rice, and base a lesson on finding out more about him. I am guilty of missing this opportunity myself, but on the occasions I have used it, it has always led to an unscheduled and memorable lesson.
Tony worked very hard as a mainstream class teacher between the years of 1982 and 2011, teaching mainly senior classes. One of my defining memories of him is his decision to go down to a younger age group with 1st class before taking on the role of principal in 2011. I believe that he got a lot out of the experience. At around that time, Tony had taken on a post of guiding us through the revised curriculum, a role he really embraced. He became the obvious choice to lead us after Mike’s retirement.&nbsp;
That was more than 10 years ago. In the time since he has guided our school through unprecedented times. Willie has asked me to put on record Tony’s support as he became Deputy Principal. He mentioned his support and his source of information over the years. He also mentioned that it was a pleasure to be a part of the school leadership team with him.&nbsp;
As a long time INTO activist, I would like to acknowledge Tony’s constant support in encouraging colleagues to be part of our union, and stressing the importance of membership. He, like myself, remembers the 80s, when we were glad we had the backing of the union behind us.&nbsp;
As principal, in 2011, Anthony Kenneally assumed a new role, with his colleagues. This he did excellently. He embraced the role well, putting his own stamp on things. The ten years since have not been easy but Tony has always managed to oversee change.. The workload of a principal has massively increased in the years since then, a thing that Tony has embraced seemingly effortlessly.&nbsp;
In this time, he has shown his support for his colleagues in remarkable ways, showing great solidarity and humanity.This goes beyond what most people know about!&nbsp;
Before I move on, I would really like to pay tribute to Anthony’s remarkable other half, Kate. She has been an unseen incredible guiding presence in Tony’s stint as príomhoide. I can’t possibly cover everything but I will mention a few of Tony’s achievements over the last few years. At the start of his term, we were transitioning to having infant classes, Tony provided structure and guidance. He was instrumental in establishing An Droichead. I would like to thank him personally for suggesting to me that I replace Kate there 4 years ago. It was for me the most rewarding time of my career. In the last few years we have seen the school grow in numbers. This has necessitated the construction of 2 extensions. Most of us have no idea of the extra work this means for the principal.&nbsp;
Over the years, Tony has also overseen 6 retirements, PJ, Nora, Eileen, Maureen, Willie and Marty. In that time he has overseen many appointments too. One of my colleagues pointed out to me during the week, that recruiting excellent young teachers was a great skill of Tony’s. In his time also we were joined by many of our great SNAs.&nbsp;
Tony has always enjoyed a fabulous relationship with the many parents and families who had contact with our school community. He has served under Jim Buckley and Terri Byrne as chair of BOM, but his involvement with the Board long predates his time as principal. He served as teacher representative on the Board for a huge part of his time here, under Fr Donal Leahy and Fr Donal O’ Mahony, among others probably.&nbsp;
I would like to remember Tracey today in particular. She should be here marking Tony’s retirement. Her long and difficult illness coincided with much of Tony’s time as principal. Nobody could have done more than him to provide support to her and her family.&nbsp;
Tony is renowned for his support and encouragement of staff. Especially when help is needed most. He always pulled out all the stops to find a way to help. He has on many occasions resolved difficult situations effectively too.&nbsp;
Tony has a great interest in sport, is known for his support for Leeds United, and in more recent times Cork Ladies Gaelic Football. Some of you may not be aware of his involvement with Cork City Sports as announcer.&nbsp;
Many of you have reminded me of various incidents and anecdotes, too many to include them all. There was the confirmation candidate who was hell-bent, pardon the pun, on taking Britney as his confirmation name. Tony skilfully put him off the idea, by informing him that the Bishop would immediately adjust that to Brigid. Tony is also known for his great affection for rodents, culminating in yesterday’s chinchilla. He is also known for his rendition of Patricia The Stripper!&nbsp;
I will finish by mentioning some of the many other people who worked here in Tony’s time, but no doubt I will have omitted many. Ber Keane, Margaret O’Driscoll, Siobhán Brosnan, Mairead O'Driscoll, Siobhán Looney, Una Duggan, Louise Lyons, Aileen Buckley and probably many more.&nbsp;
Go n-éirí leat Tony, a chara, sna blianta atá amach romhat.
The speeches concluded all enjoyed the scrumptious food provided and many stories and reminisces shared on a day that will long etched in the memory bank of all privileged to be present.

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Tony Pictured with former Staff members Mike Farrell Willie McSweeney Marty Fleming and PJ O'Brien

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Tony Blessed are you&nbsp;

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Tony and Martin

Tony Retires after 39 Years

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