Kitty Meehan – An Tóchar Adult Education Centre, Causeway, Co. Kerry
At the moment, I’m doing Animal Grooming at level 5 in our local Adult Education Centre, An Tóchar. It’s a part-time course which suits me, as it’s just one evening a week with four Saturdays within the 12-week course. It’s a very practical course and we are working mainly with dogs that students bring in as models, either their own or friends or families. We have three retrievers at home so this course will be very handy to have. My dogs have actually been models for previous animal grooming courses there, so I was delighted to get the opportunity to do the course myself now. It’s really interesting and there is quite a lot to learn. We have to take photos and videos of our work for the assignments which include a learner’s record, skills demonstration and then there’s an exam at the end of the course.
It’s a very small class at only seven in total. Two of us are in the ‘older’ age bracket and the rest are all much younger, but we all get along and work well together as we all have the same interest and love of animals. Our tutor Pauline is excellent and is very patient and pleasant She is also very accommodating to adapt the grooming techniques to suit individuals like myself with conditions like arthritis. While it can be demanding, we also have a lot of laughs and it feels like reliving my daft days at school there.
We actually had the privilege of grooming one of the famous Irish Wolfhounds from Ballyseede Castle. He was huge but easy to handle as he’s very sociable and well used to people. This was a great opportunity and a first for everybody, including our tutor. Even better still that he was then leading the Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Tralee a few days later.
The centre is called An Tóchar which is the Irish for the townland of Causeway. This previously was the local comprehensive school which I attended back in the 70s but I didn’t finish my education as I just wanted to work. I did a secretarial course there, and went on to work in office jobs for several years
As my oldest son was born very premature. He had and still has lots of challenges as a result. I gave up work that time to take care of him. I also had another son and daughter afterwards. I really enjoyed being a stay at home mum and carer. When my daughter started school, I decided to try and get back to the workforce after ten years and was lucky enough to get a part time job in Eircom as an operator. It was very accommodating as I worked evenings and weekends and my husband came home from his day job to be with the children. We were lucky that we never had to depend on childcare. I was in that job for over twelve years when I was advised by my doctor that it was no longer suitable for me to be in a constant sitting position due to bad arthritis.
After a few years I got back into community employment and was on a CE scheme with NEWKD, North, East and West Kerry Development Company where I got great opportunities in different forms of training, for example community development. My oldest son who was now in his 20s was also on a CE Scheme with Friends of Able in Tralee which was very handy as we were able to work the same hours as he was travelling with me.
In 2015 when the CE schemes finished, both my son and I enrolled in a Drama course which started as Community Education one night a week in the An Tochar centre. My daughter also joined in the drama course. This was very enjoyable and a welcome social outlet, especially for my son, and we had many great productions which were performed in the centre. The same year we also got to be extras in a movie which was filmed by the Kerry ETB Film Production course students. The drama in An Tóchar continued for a few years until unfortunately Covid stopped it, and disappointingly it never returned since. This is such a pity as it was very beneficial for the community and social inclusion.
Later in 2015 the centre ran an Art, Craft and Design Level 5, a two year part time course which again we both enrolled in. This was really significant for me as I never got the opportunity to do art when I went to secondary school as it wasn’t an option in the class level I was in. I always had a love and a flair for drawing and was so delighted to get the chance in later years. This course included drawing, painting, batik, communications, digital photography, ceramics and work experience.
I enjoyed them all but the one that I excelled in was ceramics which I never knew I had such a flair for. So much so, I went on to do a Level 6 in Sculpture there also. Our house is fairly full of all kinds of art especially ceramic pieces including a life-size guitar. Discovering your ability to do something new is lovely.
My son had a very helpful art teacher in secondary school and was quite good at it already. He won many competitions even as an adult at All Ireland level in the Credit Union special category. He has availed of other courses since at An Tóchar including horticulture, genealogy, exercise for men etc. It is very reassuring to know he is in a safe and helpful environment and extra help was always on offer. It is also so convenient to be close to home.
I have also recently completed some short courses such as nutritious cooking and chair Pilates which were very beneficial for me. My husband also changed career by doing a healthcare course there some years back, and my daughter also availed of a bartending course which helped her get employment in a five star hotel while on a gap year from college.
There have been all kinds of courses in An Tóchar over the years and it is going from strength to strength with a very competent management team running it. People are travelling from far and wide to avail of courses there.
I’m so happy to have the opportunity to try out all these things in my later years and prove it’s never too late to learn. It is so good for both the body and mind, and offers distraction from stresses and worries. It’s a chance to meet likeminded people and make new friends, especially being from a rural area. There’s also a great sense of satisfaction and pride after completing a course and challenging oneself. I’d really encourage people to see what courses are available in the ETB Adult Education Centres. We are very lucky that there is such a wide variety here in Kerry. I may go on and do a level 6 in Animal Grooming which apparently will involve grooming cats… That should be fun!!!!
