Mrs. Eileen Nolan

Here at Sacred Heart, we were deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Mrs Eileen Nolan. It is more poignant in light of it being show week here at school. 

Mrs Nolan had the most profound contribution to our school in light of the Arts.  She retired in 2015 but still kept abreast of all our productions here at Sacred Heart.

Eileen Nolan founded Montfort College of Performing Arts in 1962. She qualified at Trinity College London and also at Sion Hill, Ireland. Her school became recognised as one of the leading drama schools in Ireland. Mrs Nolan was a member of the Association of LAMDA teachers, British Federation of Festivals and the Society of Speech & Drama teachers. She has been twice nominated for the 'Cork Person of the Year' Awards for her contribution to the Arts over the last 50 years.

Mrs Nolan had a long history with Sacred Heart Secondary School. She started  teaching Speech & Drama in the boarding school in 1964. She was the director of our of our first musical SMIKE, in 1979 and she went on to direct 37 shows here at our school. Mrs Nolan was like a breath of fresh air on a Friday morning coming into our staff room, so full of energy and enthusiasm for her teaching. She had a wonderful way of working with the youth and brought out the very best in our students. For those of us lucky enough to have worked alongside Mrs Nolan, we are very grateful. We have learned so much and we hope that we are doing her proud as we continue to strive for excellence in the Arts here at Sacred Heart. She will always be remembered here at our school by staff and students alike.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam