Cianan ensures Earley family legacy at Croke Park continues

When Castlepollard teacher Cianan Courtney-Earley won a national award at an event at Croke Park last week, he was amused at being able to tell people that he wasn’t the first of his family to win honours at ‘Croker’.

“While I’m not sporty myself, my family has strong ties to sports. My uncle was Dermot Earley, the Roscommon footballer, and my cousin, Dermot Earley Jr, played for Kildare. Another cousin, Noelle Earley, played for the Kildare ladies team. So, I’m the latest Earley to win something at Croke Park!” he told the Westmeath Examiner in the wake of his success.

It wasn’t football that took Cianan to Croke Park; it was the Education and Training Boards (ETB) Excellence Awards – and Cianan won in the Organisation, Support and Development category.

Cianan, who teaches maths and physics and who is assistant principal at Dunboyne College of Further Education, didn’t even know his college had nominated him until last week, when he received the email telling him he had been shortlisted for the award.

What led the college to nominate Cianan was the fact that outside of his teaching duties, he has used his remarkable IT skills to devise and put in place a range of different systems that the college says has “revolutionised workflows” and streamlined day-to-day tasks, resulting in smoother operations across departments and enhancing the overall educational experience for both staff and students.

“His innovative designs have drastically reduced administrative hours, saving staff considerable time and effort,” the adjudicators were informed.

“I like coming up with ideas to improve efficiency,” Cianan told the Westmeath Examiner this week.

“I have a passion for IT and process improvement.”

He admits he was thrilled to receive the award: “Just being shortlisted was a huge honour. Winning was an unexpected bonus.”

The nomination form explained that the suite of systems Cianan put in place have improved productivity, and left staff in a better position to focus more on their core responsibility, teaching.

Unsurprisingly, given the positives Cianan has introduced to the work environment, there was delight among his colleagues that his dedication, imagination and work ethic had been acknowledged – and they acknowledged his achievement in their own way by having a celebratory cake in the staff canteen on Friday.

But it’s not just for Cianan’s technical prowess that he is held in such high esteem by colleagues: “he is a leader who is both obliging and unassuming,” the nomination form submitted by the school stated, adding that despite his impressive technical contributions, Cianan is always willing to offer support to colleagues, willingly taking time to assist with challenges, whether technical or otherwise.

“His approachability and humility have earned him the admiration of both peers and students alike, creating an atmosphere of collaboration and mutual respect within the college,” it continued.

“Cianan puts in a massive amount of time beyond his already heavy workload as a teacher and assistant principal. This work is entirely voluntary, never measured, and always done with good humour. Furthermore, he has kindly shared his expertise with outside colleges.”

Using his IT expertise, Cianan devised a dynamic timetable planning system that has proven a game-changer, simplifying scheduling and optimising resource allocation. He has also developed a weekly events list for the school which captures all activity that happens outside of the classroom – guest speakers, trips, short courses; and a further innovation is a system which accurately tracks college spending on a day-to-day basis, which has proven hugely beneficial in the overall financial management.

Another revolutionary programme Cianan devised is a student results database: students’ results are collected from a variety of assessment types. The system calculates the total score for each student and once all components of the course are complete, the system generates a final result based on the student’s overall performance.

These, however, are just some of the systems that Cianan has generated; others touch on everything from enhancing education tools to improving administrative processes.

“His impact has been profound and far-reaching. His contributions have made a lasting difference in the day-to-day operations and long-term success of the college,” the nomination form stated.

It stressed, however, that Cianan was nominated not just because of his work on IT systems and administrative processes: “In every interaction Cianan demonstrates a genuine passion for helping others and a commitment to improving the college’s culture and operations. His innovative spirit, paired with his unassuming nature, make him an invaluable asset to our institution. I have no doubt that Cianan will continue to inspire and lead with the same dedication and excellence for years to come. He is a true hero in our college and totally deserving of this award.”