Galway teacher wins ASTI award for service to union
A Galway teacher will receive the ASTI 2024 Honorary Life Membership Award in recognition of her exceptional service to her school and to the ASTI. The Award will be presented at a reception in Dublin tonight (Friday, May 24th).
An ASTI activist since the 1990s, Maura Greaney has worked as a Home Economics teacher at Seamount College, Kinvara, until her recent retirement.
Maura was instrumental in the campaign to retain Seamount College, following an announcement that the school would close in the 2000s. Maura was ASTI School Steward at the time and became the staff representative on RESCUE – a community coalition which successfully campaigned for the retention of the school.
Maura’s efforts played a vital role in preventing the school’s closure. This included distributing a petition to second-level schools all over Ireland.
Maura has been a committed ASTI activist and member of the Galway ASTI branch for three decades. As well as serving as ASTI School Steward, she has served as Galway branch secretary and on the ASTI Central Executive Council. Maura was also elected to the ASTI Equality Committee in 2009 and continues to serve on this Committee. She was Chair of the Equality Committee from 2015 to 2021, during which time the ASTI established its first ever LGBTQI+ group for teachers.
Honorary Life Membership is the most prestigious award that can be bestowed on an ASTI member. It is given in recognition of singular and exceptional service to the ASTI involving substantial and commendable personal input.
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