John Holian rewarded for ‘extraordinary service’ to the ASTI

RECOGNITION Kieran Christie, ASTI General Secretary, John Holian (centre), a teacher at Balla Secondary School, Mayo and a member of the ASTI West Mayo Branch and MΡire G Ní Chiarba, ASTI President.

Gerard Flanagan

A Balla Secondary School teacher has been awarded for his service by the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI). He was presented with a Thomas MacDonagh medal, which is named after the famous Irish historical figure of the 1916 rising and founding member of the ASTI.
John Holian, a member of the west Mayo branch of the ASTI received the medal that recognises ‘extraordinary service’ to the union by its members at an awards night held at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin.
John was also a member of the standing committee of the ASTI for five years, representing Region 2 (West Mayo, East Mayo and Carrick-on-shannon) and although he enjoyed the role, he explained that it did not pass without its fair share of problems.
“It was a very challenging position that brought a lot of disputes over the time I was there, some that still need ironing out, in particular the issue of pay cuts to young teachers and the lack of full time work available to them,” he said. “But I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.”
Although he believes these are issues that need to be addressed sooner rather than later, the Balla man would still not discourage any young secondary school student who is currently considering their CAO options as choosing teaching for their number one choice.
“There are obviously a lot of difficulties there at the minute,  but from the perspective of learning then I would certainly encourage young people to consider teaching as a career choice and if the pay issues could be sorted out then all the more so.”
The science teacher has also highlighted how proud he is to receive this medal from the ASTI on the same year as the 1916 centenary celebrations by describing it as ‘an extra privilege to get this award with all the centenary celebrations taking place in Ireland this year’.
The ASTI is Ireland’s main second level teachers union and represents 18,000 teachers in community schools, community colleges, comprehensive schools and voluntary secondary schools attended by 80 per cent of all second-level students.