Well, by now you’ll probably have read all about the courses I offer. You’re probably wondering what kind of person will be teaching you. How much experience does he have of teaching and of life? Let me tell you a little about me.

I was born and brought up in a little village called Creeslough, in County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Nothing much has changed there in the last 200 years. You could say teaching is in my blood. My father was a lifelong school teacher, as well as several of my aunts and cousins and all my grandparents!

Like many Irish people at the time, I moved to London to look for work when I left school. At this time Ireland was not the economic powerhouse it is today. From a population of less than 4 million, 100,000 would emigrate every year. So it wasn’t difficult going abroad as most of my friends were there too. To give you an idea of how widespread emigration was, both my brothers and all my 3 sisters emigrated, none have returned or plan to. So when Poles say “Why don’t you want to go to Ireland to see your family?” the simple answer is they’re not there!

In 1993 I went to university, graduating from the London School of Economics in 1996 with a degree in Government & History. At this time most people were looking for professional jobs. A friend of mine was putting together an environmental roadshow and I agreed to work on the project over the summer. I eventually stayed for over 3 years.

After that I had a great urge to go travelling. I spent a year in Australia doing odd jobs to pay my way and later in Brazil. Here’s where I had my first experience of teaching. I really enjoyed working with people so after a year I decided to go back to the UK to get a teaching qualification and to travel some more. I moved to Lisbon in 2002, but for new teachers it was difficult to get work. My teacher trainer suggested eastern Europe. I applied for jobs in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and I accepted a job in Tarnow. I arrived here in January 2003 intending to stay for one year and then to move to Italy. 5 years later, I’m still here!

People often ask, why Poland? Just as many ask why Tarnow? For me, Tarnow is a small city with many friendly people. My students are very keen to learn so I get a lot of satisfaction from my work. We also have some beautiful countryside here. I love cycling and it’s great to spend the day cycling in the region. I also learned to ski a few years ago. It’s great to be able to leave home, go skiing for the day and come home again after. That’s something no one in Ireland can do! I also enjoy going out and meeting my friends.

I think it’s important for teachers to learn, so they can understand what it’s like to be a student. I’ve been learning bridge since last year and I’m also learning to play the clarinet. This year I’m starting an MA degree in Teaching Methods and Applied Linguistics at Jagiellonian University.

If you see me out and about in town, come say hi!