Birr Gaelscoil teacher awarded John Coolahan Research Bursary

Ailbhe Curran, a teacher at Gaelscoil na Laochra in Birr, was recently awarded the John Coolahan Research Bursary Award by the Teaching Council for her doctoral research project entitled, Plots, Playmakers and Pawns: A review of Arts educational policy and practice in the Irish Primary sector, 1921-2021.

Ailbhe was also recently appointed to the Teaching Council’s Research Engagement Group which supports the council’s work in the area of research and promotes engagement by teachers in, and with, research.

Ailbhe has been heavily involved in research in Irish arts education for a number of years and her most recent research article was published in the Routledge Companion to Drama in Education (May 2022), an internationally recognised comprehensive reference guide to drama education.