board of management

Fintan Murphy is CEO of Damson Cloud a technology company based in Dublin and London. He has held many leadership positions in both a professional and voluntary capacity.

As a past pupil of one of the first Educate Together schools in Ireland he has grown up with the ethos of ET and has a deep understanding of its values. He was Chairperson of Lucan East PTA for 2 years running, where his own son attended.

He was appointed Chairperson, following a recruitment process by the Educate Together patron. Fintan was honored to be asked to Chair the Board of Griffeen Valley ET for the next 4 years and is commited to leading the Board of Management over the coming years and ensuring the success of Griffeen Valley ET.

My name is Andrea. I am the Acting Principal at Griffeen Valley ETNS. I have had the privilege of working at Griffeen Valley for the past fourteen years. During that time, I have been a class teacher, special education teacher, Assistant Principal and Deputy Principal. Our school is continuing to grow and develop, and I look forward to working with pupils, staff, and parents to steer GVETNS through the changes ahead of us while celebrating our achievements. I have been the Acting Principal since November 2018 and will continue in this role until at least June 2021. I also serve as Secretary to the Board of Management.

I am wholly committed to the Educate Together Ethos and the core values of its charter; Equality based, Co-educational, Child-centred and Democratically run. As principal I seek to underpin these values in the learning experiences of our pupils and in the day to day running of our school. I have experience of Educate Together as a parent of two children and as a Director and Secretary to the National Board of Directors of Educate Together (2007 – 2014). Prior to working at GVETNS I taught in primary schools in London where I was a Borough Lead Literacy Teacher and member of the schools’ management team.

Maria Barry is a teacher educator and researcher in history and citizenship education in DCU's Institute of Education. She is a qualified post primary teacher and has 20 years experience of working across both primary and post primary settings in the areas of teaching, curriculum development and human rights programmes for children and young people. Previously, Maria served on a number of other Boards including, Irish Development Education Association (IDEA), the Ubuntu Network and Development Perspectives. She joined GVET's Board in January 2020 as a patron nominee, following a recruitment process by the Educate Together patron. Maria is delighted to join GVET's Board and is firmly committed to its ethos, community spirit and care for pupils.

Though originally from New York City, I have lived on this lovely green island for the past 12 years–where it is now home.

My wife, Helen, and I have always tried to be part of the Griffeen Valley Educate Together parental support network since our son, Zachary, first enrolled in Junior Infants in 2015. Our school has been, and is still going, through a lot of change and challenges like very few other schools have had to face. I volunteered my name for the Community Representative to the Board of Management this year to lend my support to Andrea and the GVET school community as a business analyst, graphic designer and a parent committed to my son’s educational and social development. We have an excellent school and wonderfully dedicated teachers, administrators and support staff—all here to create the best and safest learning environment for our children.

Griffeen Valley Educate Together National School

Griffeen Valley Educate Together National School

www.gvet.ie