
Deirdre Barry
Multimedia reporter at the Irish Independent (Mediahuis), a former primary school teacher who retrained into journalism via the Mediahuis Emerging Talent programme and appears on The Indo Daily.
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APPEARANCES
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PODCASTS
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Oct 12, 2026
Ireland’s AI Future: Regulation, Job Fears & Public Sector Strikes
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Deirdre BarryGUEST
Well, I suppose, you know, speaking from my experience as a primary school teacher, like, there's a mass exodus there.

Deirdre BarryGUEST
There's so many teachers leaving the profession because they don't believe that it's a viable career.

Deirdre BarryGUEST
Um, and I suppose they just don't feel like they're getting bang for their buck, so to speak.

Deirdre BarryGUEST
Um, and Maureen Kelleher, the assistant generity, general secretary from the INTO, made a really good point when she said to me that, you know, in schools, we need those experienced teachers to help induct the newly qualified teachers.
Love Island: Why Irish teacher ‘Fitzy’ has sparked a hot debate
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Kevin DoyleHOST
So if he has to lean into that for survival, which this show is all about-Does that become kind of problematic for parents who are trying to explain what exactly is going on here to kids who, as you say, will find it?

Deirdre BarryGUEST
So interestingly, I spoke to Colm O'Rourk last week, the GA pundit and former primary school principal, um, and he said that if a staff member had come to him previously when he was, when he was a primary school principal, and had said they had this opportunity, that he would be behind them 100% and think they would be a fool to not go for it.

Deirdre BarryGUEST
Equally, he said that should this present any problems in the future for Fitzy should he decide to go back to the classroom, that it, it is more of a reflection on the interview board than on him.

Deirdre BarryGUEST
In a society where our school system is supposed to be inclusive and tolerant and respectful and empathetic, that he shouldn't be defined by the fact that he wanted to seize this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Deirdre BarryGUEST
For me, I feel like somebody that had already amassed following over 96,000 on TikTok, he already had done paid partnerships with Pennys, he had modeled for Lifestyle Sports.

Deirdre BarryGUEST
It appeared to me and to probably a lot of followers as though this is what he wanted.

Deirdre BarryGUEST
Does he want to go back to the classroom? Will he want to go back to the classroom? I know that Greg O'Shea, who was on Love Island, I think that was summer 2019, he's-
