About Us - Navan Education Centre

OUR MOTTO: "Serve, Sustain and Strengthen the Education Community."

Navan Education Centre reaches out to the Education Community to influence positively its quality of life by providing for all concerned support resources, training and opportunities for personal and professional development.
Navan Education Centre - one of 21 such full-time Centres throughout the country - provides support for teachers, schools, principals, Boards of Management and allied school personnel in counties Meath and Louth. The region has approximately 214 schools, both primary and post primary. Navan also gives professional ICT support to the schools and teachers of Co Cavan. In total we support over 4,000 teachers and allied school personnel.

Staff

Director: Éadaoin McGovern
Centre Co-Ordinator: Joan Shankey
Finance: Pauline Connolly & Sharon Gavillet
Administration: Breda Johnson, Esther Herlihy, Trish McCafferty, Aoife Gargan, Sandra McAuley
Services: Michael Egan, Brendan Daly

Other Personnel based in the Centre

NCCA – Patrick Sullivan
NCCA - Dónal Ó Buachalla

Management

The following make up the Navan Education Centre Management Committee.

Chair – John Condon
Vice Chair – Michael Farry
Treasurer – Clíodhna Devlin
Committee – Bernadette Clarke-McGuinness, Pauline Egan, Jennifer Bowser, Mary Toland, Byran Leonard, Maria Harney, Angela McGarvey, Laura Kearns, Eimear Flanagan, Muireann Broderick
Secretary – Éadaoin McGovern

History

In 1972, an invitation was send to all Primary and Post-Primary schools in County Meath to nominate teachers to attend a general meeting in the CYMS hall in Navan - now the Community Centre - in connection with the establishment of a Teachers' Centre in the town. There was a large attendance at the meeting and officials from the Department of Education outlined the purposes and aims of the new centres, which were being set up at that time in various parts of the country. At the meeting in the CYMS hall several teachers were nominated to form a steering committee to run the Navan Teachers' Centre. The centre in Navan was among the first centres established in the country.

The local inspector of schools, Mr Brendan Molloy, was commissioned to organise accommodation and to purchase some basic items of furniture for the centre. Two rooms were rented in what was the old Vocational School, now the planning section of Meath County Council, and chairs, a desk and an ink duplicator were purchased. The first meeting of the steering committee was held on Thursday June 15th 1972 at 8.30pm. The minutes of that meeting record the fact that Mr Pat Whitelaw was elected chairman and Mr Jim Culligan was elected as the Centre's first Secretary/Director.

In 1974 the Teachers’ Centre moved to St. Anne’s Loreto Convent. This was its home up until 1989 when St. Anne’s closed and the entire convent along with the Loreto Sisters moved to St. Michael’s in Athlumney. From then until December 2000, the centre was accommodated in a wing of the convent. In 1997 the Department of Education and Science announced that the centre in Navan was to be accorded full time status. The search was now on for a site for a new building. Having considered a number of options, the present site on the corner of the Loreto grounds was chosen. Construction of the new centre began in November 1999. One year later the building was complete and the links with Loreto now entered a new phase.

Services & Resources

Navan Education Centre Library :

Open to all schools for a membership fee

Please download a list of available books for borrowing

Colour and black and white photocopying.

Prices: Black/White A4 - 10c; Back/Back - 20c; Colour A4 - €1.50; Colour A3 - €2.00.

Laminating:

Protect, enhance and prolong the life of your charts, posters and work cards.
Lamination at €4.50 per metre.
Pocket Laminating A4 50c, A3 80c, A5 30c, Badge Size 20c

Resource Materials:

Bronze Age Handling Box
Samba Drums
Lego We Do
Bee-Bots

Facilities and Rooms

The Centre can accomodate groups from 10 - 80 comfortably, all rooms are fully equipped. Arrangements can be made to suit your catering needs. Why not book your next Seminar, Meeting or Staff Day in Navan Education Centre?