Meet Our Staff

Tracy Kilgannon (Principal)

Hailing from the beautiful Atlantic coast of County Sligo, I was privileged to grow up surrounded by farms, boglands, woodlands and beaches which have undoubtedly played an influential role in my love of nature and the outdoors! I completed my Bachelor of Arts at NUI Galway majoring in Mathematics and Legal Science before moving to Edinburgh to complete my Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary) at Moray House, University of Edinburgh. It was here that I first fell in love with teaching junior classes and have continued to work with 4–7 year olds for much of my teaching career, interspersed with time working as a Learning Support Teacher. In 2011 I moved to the United Arab Emirates where I spent 7 incredible years working primarily in International Baccalaureate schools. This opened me up to many diverse teaching methodologies and approaches to learning, as well as the opportunity to visit and explore many countries (more than 50!) and cultures, experiences I continue to integrate into my teaching to promote understanding and respect. It was also here that I adopted my dog Harvey! I was thrilled to get the opportunity to join Lecarrow CNS as a founding staff member, not least because of it’s inclusion of Philosophy through the Goodness Me Goodness You programme and its truly beautiful grounds. It also provided the opportunity to develop a Transition from 6^th Class to 1^st Year Resource Book in my role as Transition Project Leader. I am currently studying towards an MSc in Education for Sustainability and embrace every opportunity to promote sustainable living and respect towards the environment and all animals in my school and personal life. For those who know me – my move to a plant-based diet and mission to grow my own food has been both an educational and fascinating adventure!

Marie Murray (Deputy Principal)

My name is Marie and I am originally from County Galway and I grew up in a small rural community. I have been teaching for many years in Ireland as a Mainstream Class Teacher and a Special Education Teacher. I also spent some years teaching in Abu Dhabi. I am delighted to now be part of the teaching staff and leadership team at Lecarrow CNS. I completed my Post Graduate Diploma in Primary Teaching with Hibernia College after I completed an Undergraduate Degree in English and Sociology in University College Dublin. I also hold a Masters Degree from the University of West Scotland in Educational Leadership. I believe in striving to ensure that all students experience a quality education appropriate to their needs and I believe that children should be given the opportunity to develop the skills needed to be active participants in our society, capable of adapting to a changing world while appreciating the value of life long learning. I aim to achieve this in my lessons by varying teaching strategies and methodologies while promoting inclusion and embracing diversity. I have spent most of my teaching career in Gaelscoileanna and I have a deep love of the Irish language. Music is also an area of special interest for me and I aim to integrate it regularly into my lessons. My other interests include travelling, walking, swimming and spending time at home with my family working on our vegetable garden and looking after our dog and 6 hens.

Kathy Dolan (Special Education Teacher)

My name is Kathy Dolan. I am the Special Education Teacher in Lecarrow this year. I am originally from Omagh in Co. Tyrone where the little primary school I attended later became my first permanent teaching post. I taught there for over 13 years before moving to Roscommon where my husband is from. We built our home and have a family of 4 beautiful children, 3 girls and a boy.

My love of teaching began as a young girl. I would always be the teacher when playing school. Many years after off to Strathclyde University I went to study my B. Ed (Hons) degree in Primary Education. My studies taught me that learning experiences should be meaningfully connected across the curriculum subjects and be multisensory, and that children should be given choices of how to present their learning as every child learns in a different way. This is why my teaching style is tailored to my individual pupil’s. I later graduated from Queens with a Masters in E-Learning focusing on how technology can help alleviate barriers to learning for children with SEN.

My hobbies are painting and drawing, baking (my coconut cupcakes being my fav) and going on adventures with my family (a quiet beach anywhere in Ireland preferably).