Principal retiring after 12 years at Long Tower PS helm

Preparing to hand the Long Tower Primary School reins to incoming principal Ms Claire Doherty, Ms Joyce Logue, who is retiring after 12 years at the helm of the cherished city centre school, was understandably reflective.

“If you look back over the years, for me personally it has been the highlight of my life to have worked in Long Tower,” she said.

“All my big occasions have taken place here, my children’s births, my big birthdays, the passing of my parents; all of that happened when I worked in Long Tower.

“It has played a big part in my life,” said Ms Logue, who was also taught at the school for 14 years with principal Phyllis McLaughlin, before taking up the post of vice principal at Holybush Primary School alongside then principal, Ms Carmel Dunn.

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Joyce Logue retires after 12 years at the helm of Long Tower PS

“I was in Holybush for seven years. We had a great time there. We were two Creggan girls and we got on very well,” smiled Ms Logue.

Having completed her degree in Irish, Joyce Logue’s first teaching job was in the Falls Road Naíscoil. She then moved to England where she taught in St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Dunstable before getting married and returning to Derry in 1992.

“I always knew I wanted to come home,” she said.”Like all Derry ones, we like back to our mammies.

“I have loved my time at Long Tower. For me it has always felt like home from home, like a family. I have made such great friends here and the youngsters here are just brilliant,” added Ms Logue.

“People talk about how difficult the job is and it is difficult, but not because of the youngsters; it’s because there is so much paperwork. We have to be very accountable, as we should be.

“When I got the job here I was absolutely delighted and over the years I have taught every year group. There is just something special about the school. I love the tradition of it. I love the community here. It is so good and so supportive.

“I had my retirement Mass on Monday, and I was really touched by the people who turned out. The people here are just so genuine and so good but they will also hold you to account if they feel you are not doing right by their children and that is totally okay too.

“We had a meeting on Tuesday for the children starting nursery here in September and I was saying, a child’s time at school will not always go smoothly, and families need to understand that. However, our job is to try and make it run as smoothly as possible and to give the children here the best opportunities possible. That is our core business. It is all about the children.

“We have good teachers at Long Tower and you need to look after your teachers. After all, children spend most of their day with a teacher. As a mammy of two girls, what I would want for my youngsters is a nurturing teacher, a teacher who will look after them.

“Now, that doesn’t mean saying ‘Yes’ to everything that they want. It is a teacher who will do the role of a parent, get the best out of them, but make life enjoyable when you are trying to get the best out of them,” said Ms Logue.

“They are here to learn, bottom line, but you can do that in a way that a youngster will thrive, that is what we want and that is what the teachers at Long Tower do,” she added.

Quick to praise her whole school team, Ms Logue said: “I have a great group of teachers here in Long Tower. And then, of course, supporting all the teachers there is the whole troupe of classroom assistants, who often go unseen in the background, but who will always have your back.

Ms Joyce Logue at her retirement Mass in Longtower with Fr Gerard Mongan PP.

“Often children will be as dependent on the classroom assistant as they will the teacher. You need a good teacher to lead that and you need good classroom assistants.

“You need people who have a love of children, who want to do the job. It is not a job you do just to pay the mortgage or buy yourself a fancy car. You have to have a love of the job,” she added.

According to Ms Logue, the location of Long Tower Primary School means it gets invited to participate in “many really interesting activities”.

“We work so closely with the Bogside Brandywell Health Forum, The Gasyard, Pilots Row, and New Gate Arts and Culture Centre. We also do a lot of work with Fountain Primary School, Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir and Nazareth House,” she said.

Clearly relishing her job, Ms Logue spoke about the satisfaction of seeing a child thriving.

“It lifts my heart when I see a child and all of a sudden life is going well for them. Something has turned around for them.

Maybe a child was finding it difficult to come to school and now they are coming in in the morning and saying, ‘Hello’. That is a definite highpoint for me as principal,” she beamed.

“We also had past pupil Lisa McGee, [creator and writer of Derry Girls] here in February. She is a lady. She was absolutely brilliant with the children. Talk about somebody who knows how to get down to a child’s level. She knew how to talk to the children. A lot of them had written out parts of the play they had done, a wee drama sketch, and she was just so encouraging. That was a great day.

“Another highpoint was the celebration of our Centenary in 2014. We had a group of past pupils from the Boy’s School visiting and the craic was 90.

“One of the longest serving principals here was Brian Friel’s father, Paddy Friel. He was a principal here for 21 years I think he was very fair but he ran a tight ship. Brian Friel attended the 100 year birthday.

“ I had been in the same class as his daughter Judi, at school and Judi and her father and her mother came up for the anniversary. We were thrilled. Brian had also taught here for about a year. Interestingly, when you were a principal in those days you got a house down in Joseph’s Place!” said Ms Logue.

When the alarm clock doesn’t ring on September 1, Ms Logue revealed she and two other retired teachers friends will be preparing to walk the Camino.

“We are doing the last leg of the Camino,” she said, “which I am told is the easiest part. We will be going right into Santiago. We need to get out walking in preparation. I will pounding the hills, Shipquay Street and Bishop Street over the summer.

“And then, I want to get back to Irish which is my first love. If you don’t use it you lose it. It is such a rich language, so, I want to go back into An Cultúrlann and get up to speed with my Irish again, more than content, Long Tower Primary School will be in very good hands and is facing the future with confidence.”