Lead the Way | Education Leadership Skills

Leadership isn't about having all the answers—it's about creating the conditions where others can succeed. In this episode, we are joined by Pat Curran, an experienced leader in the Irish education sector. With over 30 years of experience in post-primary education and more than 16 years steering St Angela’s College, Cork as Principal, Pat brings an incredible wealth of practical wisdom to us in this episode. His commitment to leadership development extends far beyond his own school gates; he actively mentors aspiring school leaders, supports senior management teams, and helps educators confidently navigate complex organisational change and high-stakes decision-making. On a national level, Pat also serves as the Chief Advising Examiner for Design and Communication Graphics with the State Examinations Commission, directly contributing to the standards and assessment of Irish education.
In this episode, we explore:
The Power of Networks: The vital role peer support plays in mitigating the inherent loneliness of the Principalship.
Stress Management: Practical strategies for school leaders to navigate high-pressure environments and prevent burnout.
The Case for Early Coaching: Why systemic investment in professional coaching at the front end of a Principal's career is crucial for long-term retention and success.
Connect with Pat Curran
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pat-curran-237aa611a/
Connect with Ann for interview or / and Life Coaching and Mentoring
https://leadthewaycoaching.my.canva.site/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annbyrnecoach/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-byrne-3a7779179/

LIFT stands for leading Ireland's Future Together . It is a social enterprise aimed at increasing the level of positive leadership in Ireland.  LIFT is being rolled out nationwide via a facilitator network in LIFT's partner organisations and individual volunteers.
The LIFT programme is an eight-part, group learning programme. It is a 5-step self-reflective roundtable personal leadership process focusing on core human values. When consistently repeated, it creates lasting change through small but conscious actions.
In this episode, Ann talks to co-founder Joanne Hession about her own leadership story, the origins of LIFT and the vision behind it, how schools can get involved and how the roundtable model could also work to support school leaders.
Anns website:
https://leadthewaycoaching.my.canva.site/
Please note, the LIFT booklets could be used for TYs out of the Book scheme in some instances as has happened in some schools to date.
https://liftireland.ie/
https://www.instagram.com/liftireland/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51030908-don-t-get-a-job-build-a-business

Máire Coates has been the Principal of Monaseed National School for 5 years up to 2026, a vibrant, rural primary school situated in Gorey, County Wexford. She has decided to step away from this teaching Principal role for a few reasons and talks also about why she set up her Instagram page PrincipalTemplates to help other new Principals starting out. Máire kindly informed me these podcasts really helped her in the early days of being a Principal so she is now paying it forward!
https://www.instagram.com/principal_templates/
Màire's website:
http://www.principaltemplates.com/

Ann's website
https://leadthewaycoaching.my.canva.site/

Dr. Nicolaas (Niekie) Blom is an Associate Professor in Educational Leadership in University of Limerick. He is the course director of the Postgraduate Diploma in School Leadership, as well as the International Masters in Educational Leadership. Niekie is a qualified Design and Technology teacher. In this episode, we discuss a topic he has been working on a lot lately: followership, particularly the ways in which people move between leading and following in their everyday work. We cannot all lead all the time, and even senior leaders need to step back at times, support others, respond to influence and allow someone else to take the lead. We examine how this can also play out during meetings.
Ann's contact details: https://leadthewaycoaching.my.canva.site/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-byrne-3a7779179/
Niekie's links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolaas-blom/
Scoping Review mentioned
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15700763.2025.2608046Introducing Linkography to study strategic conversations
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13632434.2026.2696861

Clodagh Kelly began her teaching career in 1994 in John theBaptist Community School. From there, in 2010, she took on the role of Principal of Newport College for 10 years. In 2020, she became Director of Schools for Tipperary ETB, whereby she supported 10 post-primary schools, one CommunityNational School (Nenagh CNS), one high support primary school (Coláiste Shliabh na mBan), Nenagh Community Special School, Music Generation programmes, youth work provision across the county, and managed the REALT team. In May 2025, she was appointed to the role of Chief Executive of Tipperary ETB. Clodagh, originally from Templemore and now living in Ballina, assumes the position after serving as Acting Chief Executive previously. Clodagh generously offers her insights into her own leadership journey, what interview panels are looking out for in potential school leaders and how it is ok to want more once you reach school leadership.