Education Minister leads tributes to Professor John Coolahan who lectured at NUI Maynooth and abroad

By Kim O'Leary

Tributes have been paid to educator and academic Professor John Coolahan who was Professor Emeritus of Education at NUI Maynooth who sadly passed away yesterday, with Education Minister Richard Bruton describing the late Professor Coolahan as “a giant of Irish education.”

Professor Coolahan was a highly respected and influential participant in the Irish education system, and the Co Kerry native had over 50 years of experience teaching at all levels of education. He qualified as a national teacher at St Patrick's College Drumcondra before going on to achieve a Masters at UCD and an MEd and PhD from Trinity College, and he was also awarded honorary doctorates by the NUI and by DCU.

In a tweet yesterday evening, Minister for Education Richard Bruton TD said: “I'm very sorry to hear of the passing of Prof. John Coolahan. He was a giant of Irish Education who made a huge contribution over many decades. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal dílis.”

https://twitter.com/RichardbrutonTD/status/1003353642328608770

Mr Coolahan, who was Professor Emeritus of Education at NUI Maynooth, lectured extensively in Ireland and abroad. He wrote three books, including Irish Education, its History and Structure (1981), and published more than 120 articles in Irish and international journals, and he was also a founding member and president of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland and was editor of Irish Educational Studies.

He had numerous public service roles and served on a range of ministerial committees and on the boards of educational and cultural bodies, and at international level, he was a member of the OECD’s review team of education and was vice-president of the EU committee on education.

Professor Coolahan was also a consultant to the World Bank and the Council of Europe; a member of the review body on education in Northern Ireland; and the co-founder and co-chairman of the standing conference on teacher education, North and South.

Professor Coolahan was also a passionate supporter of the arts and he had many public service roles throughout his long career, serving on a range of ministerial committees and on the boards of educational and cultural bodies.