Eileen O'Rourke

Biography

Eileen was appointed as General Secretary of NABMSE in 2021, having spent her teaching career as a post primary teacher, deputy principal and principal in DDLETB and then in CMETB. Eileen worked in a range of different schools: two DEIS schools, a green field school, and a green field racially diverse school with two special classes: all of which helped her gain a valuable breadth and depth of experience which she still cherishes today. Eileen has always been passionate about the transformative potential of education, and in particular the enactment of that potential in and through classroom practice. As a school leader, Eileen focussed on embedding classroom practices which were safe, democratic and engaging, to facilitate the agency, participation and achievement of every student. Eileen’s Master’s thesis focussed on School Factors Relating to Early School Leaving, and she is currently completing a doctoral thesis which explores The Lived Experiences of Black Students in a White Post Primary School.