As teachers go, Sacred Heart Primary School principal Marett Smith has been nothing short of a colossus for the profession. The north Longford town school’s flagbearer for the past 30 years, Marett, or Ms Smith as she was more affectionately known last week called time on a career that was not just ahead of its time but effective in delivering a school that has fast become the envy of villages and towns countywide. READ MORE BELOW PHOTO Last Thursday marked the culmination of those exploits as pupils, parents and staff paid tribute to their long serving principal with a special ceremony inside the school’s state of the art assembly hall. “Today we salute you,” said Deputy Principal and the man chosen to fill her head teacher’s shoes, Francis Gray. “You are the primary reason that ordinary students down through the years have dreamed to do extraordinary things.” Mr Gray said his outgoing colleague’s hard work, dedication and loyalty to a profession she has dedicated over four decades to provided the backdrop for scores of pupils under her tutelage to “dream big to surpass their wildest dreams”. The high-reaching beliefs Marett passed down to the hundreds of pupils who filed through the doors of Sacred Heart Primary School were values the woman at the centre of last week’s celebration upheld closely throughout her distinguished career. Having graduated from Our Lady of Mercy College, Carysfort, Marett’s first teaching post would arrive in September 1981 at Mullahoran NS. Subsequent propitious spells at Killoe NS and Bunlahy NS would follow before she would settle in Granard and in so doing become the first female principal of a boys school in Co Longford. In 1999, a decision to amalgamate the school with Granard Convent Girls' School coincided in another piece of history, this time with Marett becoming the first lay principal of an educational facility she has remained front and centre of ever since. In laying claim to Marett’s involvement in the roll out of Cumann na mBunscol inplaceholder image
As teachers go, Sacred Heart Primary School principal Marett Smith has been nothing short of a colossus for the profession. The north Longford town school’s flagbearer for the past 30 years, Marett, or Ms Smith as she was more affectionately known last week called time on a career that was not just ahead of its time but effective in delivering a school that has fast become the envy of villages and towns countywide. READ MORE BELOW PHOTO Last Thursday marked the culmination of those exploits as pupils, parents and staff paid tribute to their long serving principal with a special ceremony inside the school’s state of the art assembly hall. “Today we salute you,” said Deputy Principal and the man chosen to fill her head teacher’s shoes, Francis Gray. “You are the primary reason that ordinary students down through the years have dreamed to do extraordinary things.” Mr Gray said his outgoing colleague’s hard work, dedication and loyalty to a profession she has dedicated over four decades to provided the backdrop for scores of pupils under her tutelage to “dream big to surpass their wildest dreams”. The high-reaching beliefs Marett passed down to the hundreds of pupils who filed through the doors of Sacred Heart Primary School were values the woman at the centre of last week’s celebration upheld closely throughout her distinguished career. Having graduated from Our Lady of Mercy College, Carysfort, Marett’s first teaching post would arrive in September 1981 at Mullahoran NS. Subsequent propitious spells at Killoe NS and Bunlahy NS would follow before she would settle in Granard and in so doing become the first female principal of a boys school in Co Longford. In 1999, a decision to amalgamate the school with Granard Convent Girls' School coincided in another piece of history, this time with Marett becoming the first lay principal of an educational facility she has remained front and centre of ever since. In laying claim to Marett’s involvement in the roll out of Cumann na mBunscol in

PICTURES | Longford school bids emotional farewell to ‘extraordinary’ long-serving principal

By Liam Cosgrove
Published 13th Oct 2022, 08:00 GMT

Caption: Cliadhna Sheridan, parent representative Picture: Shelley Corcoran

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Caption: Cliadhna Sheridan, parent representative Picture: Shelley Corcoran

Caption: Coinciding with last Thursday's Mass and function to mark the retirement of Marett Smith as principal of the Sacred Heart Primary School, Granard, the school also opened its new extension and sensory garden. Pictured are Cora O’Hanlon, Saoirse O’Donnell, Lena Kelly, Kathleen Kelly, Amelia Clarke, Nicole Sheridan, Kai Gill, Mia Lukawska, Alice Nannery, Peter Cooke O’Hara, Jacob Keyes Moran, Thalia Smith, Marett Smith, Fr Simon Cadam. Picture: Shelley Corcoran

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Caption: Coinciding with last Thursday's Mass and function to mark the retirement of Marett Smith as principal of the Sacred Heart Primary School, Granard, the school also opened its new extension and sensory garden. Pictured are Cora O’Hanlon, Saoirse O’Donnell, Lena Kelly, Kathleen Kelly, Amelia Clarke, Nicole Sheridan, Kai Gill, Mia Lukawska, Alice Nannery, Peter Cooke O’Hara, Jacob Keyes Moran, Thalia Smith, Marett Smith, Fr Simon Cadam. Picture: Shelley Corcoran

PICTURES | In 7th Heaven - Colmcille bravehearts celebrate Longford championship glory BIG PICTURE GALLERY | Smiling faces and excitement as Longford schools welcome new Junior Infants classes PICTURES | Lovely atmosphere at Longford fundraiser for Abbeylara Tidy Towns PICTURES | Thrills, spills and smiling faces at Longford Primary Schools Cross Country Championships Caption: At last Thursday's Mass and function to mark the retirement of Marett Smith as principal of the Sacred Heart Primary School, Granard were representatives from Rath Mhuire Mens Shed Francis Gray, Carmel Shaughnessy McKeon, Eamon McIntyre, Donie Smith, Marett Smith, Mel Smith and Seamus Frizzell. Picture: Shelley Corcoran

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PICTURES | In 7th Heaven - Colmcille bravehearts celebrate Longford championship glory BIG PICTURE GALLERY | Smiling faces and excitement as Longford schools welcome new Junior Infants classes PICTURES | Lovely atmosphere at Longford fundraiser for Abbeylara Tidy Towns PICTURES | Thrills, spills and smiling faces at Longford Primary Schools Cross Country Championships Caption: At last Thursday's Mass and function to mark the retirement of Marett Smith as principal of the Sacred Heart Primary School, Granard were representatives from Rath Mhuire Mens Shed Francis Gray, Carmel Shaughnessy McKeon, Eamon McIntyre, Donie Smith, Marett Smith, Mel Smith and Seamus Frizzell. Picture: Shelley Corcoran

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